CLASS VALEDICTORIAN MERCERA FINGER. (Lisa Lord Photo)
By MERCERA FINGER
Valedictorian
Hello! I would first like to wish my congratulations to the class of 2023. I would also like to acknowledge our salutatorian, Josh Goldberg, for his academic achievement and for being responsible for all of the hot gluing in our AP Calculus project.
So, first things first. I wouldn’t be up here today without the support of some very amazing people, and I feel like they deserve a shout-out. To all of the wonderful teachers I’ve had here at MHS and throughout all of my years of school here in Melrose, I would like to express my deepest gratitude. It’s because of their encouragement, their dedication, and their confidence in me that I made it this far. I would like to give a special shout-out to Ms. Loewald and Ms. Gillette for their support and the competitions we’e had about who can read the most books – Ms. Gillette has won the most, but that’s only because she listens to audiobooks. My thanks also extends to Mr. Merrill, Mr. Corrigan, Mr. Beaver, and all of the administrators who have dealt with the ridiculous number of emails I’ve sent them. I would also like to thank all of my fantastic friends who made high school such an enjoyable experience. You all know who you are. I could give a whole separate speech about what makes each of them such special, kind, and thoughtful human beings, but I think that’s for another time. Last but most certainly not least, I would like to thank my family – my mom, my dad, and my two younger brothers – and all of the other people who make up my support system outside of MHS. I am beyond lucky to have them.
Now, I’m going to be honest. When I was told that I was going to be valedictorian, the whole “having to give a speech” part was not the first thing on my mind. Mr. Merrill actually showed up to my AP Stats class when I was working on a timed free response question, so I thought, “That’s so exciting! But now, I really need to get back to explaining why 810 is an outlier before time runs out” fully register to me that being valedictorian also meant that I would have to give a speech until Mr. Merrill, on his way out, said that he was looking forward to hearing it. No pressure! So, anyway, here we are, and I’m giving a speech. In case you were curious – I did have enough time to explain why 810 was an outlier. Slay.
Now, on a related note, those of you who know me pretty well know that I love math and numbers and patterns and all of that fun stuff. So it probably won’t surprise you that I’m about to share some statistics. I promise, nothing too bad – I know we’re graduating and the last thing anyone wants to be thinking about is math.
So, here we go. We have spent about 700 days of high school together. Now, it’s a little tricky to account for the days we missed for COVID and also, I’m pretty sure the only people who showed up for every single day of school are those who somehow never got sick, never skipped, and never slept in. So, in other words, nobody here actually spent all 700 days in the building. But still! For the sake of this speech, 700 days will be our reasonable estimate. Now, there were many points during those 700 days when it felt more like we had spent 700 years in this building – I know, high school certainly had its challenges. But the reason I bring this up is because hopefully, there are at least a few memories that you can carry with you as you graduate today. I want you to think about that. In those 700 days – about 4500 hours, or 270,000 minutes, of school – it is my hope that you formed friendships, pushed through challenges you never thought you would overcome, and discovered something about yourself in the process. Whether it be bonding over a difficult class, giggling over an inside joke at lunch, or spending time with your teammates from soccer or co-stars from drama or friends from robotics… there has to be something from those approximately 700 days that made you smile. I know that I’ll always remember the silly little drawings we created in AP Physics, the iron triangle of LC-9, and the whimsical adventures of the music department’s New York trip.
Because here’s the thing: in approximately 90 days, many of us will start college – some of us nearby, some of us not so nearby. In about 1,460 days from now, some of us will be graduating college. And in all of those days in between, no matter where we are, we will be meeting new people, uncovering new experiences, and learning new things about ourselves and the world. Our time here passed quickly, and the next days and months and years will fly by until one day, we will look back at our high school selves and wonder how it all went by so quickly.
There is no doubt in my mind that the MHS Class of 2023 will do big things. The talent, dedication, and effort of our class is exemplified by all of the successes that got us here – in academics, athletics, the arts, and all of the other endeavors we poured our time into. Our hard work was highlighted by every win on the field, every performance on the stage, and every moment of teamwork that got us one step closer to reaching our goals. I’ll bring us back to statistics for a moment. This year alone, we had 4 teams win the Middlesex League Championships and 2 teams break team records – our robotics team made it to worlds and our math team made it to states. We took 287 AP exams, presented our musical talents in 31 performances, and had so many people audition for the spring musical that it had to be double-casted. 11 of us have completed more than 300 community service hours, and many of us here today will be graduating on the honor roll. Of the 223 people in the class of 2023 – yes, the numbers work out that well – every single one of us has something to be proud of.
However, I think, above all else, we will bring the kindness, compassion, and empathy that we learned during our time at MHS with us. My favorite memories from Melrose are all related to the connections I made with the people here. The hours I spent reading with younger students through my organization, the Melrose Community Book Project; the chaotic community circles and pep talks during math team; even the fun I had dancing with friends at junior prom – these experiences were made better by the relationships I was able to foster with all of you in Melrose.
I’m going to be cliche and end my speech with a quote. I promise, it’s actually one of my favorites – I’m not just saying it for the sake of including a quote at the end. As said by William James, “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” To me, this means going out of your way to make someone else smile, whether it be by congratulating your friend for their hard-earned A+ on a test or complimenting the person who sits next to you in science class because you love their outfit. Even if it seems unimportant in the moment, those smiles will add up and suddenly, 700 days later, you’ll find yourself in a world when those seemingly insignificant moments have become 700 smiles.
When you graduate today, hold your favorite memories in your heart. Be excited for the future. Carry kindness with you as you go. Because we did it, class of 2023!
