Good evening families, faculty and the Class of 2012.
When I moved to Sleepy Hollow in April of 7th grade, I was very pleasantly surprised at how friendly everyone was. Everyone enthusiastically introduced themselves, and helped me find my way from class to class. When I later got lost trying to find the cafeteria, I asked a random person for directions, and he was more than willing to help a new student. These are my first memories of my five-year journey with this class.
In addition to the fundamental friendliness of our class, I have come to realize just how much talent and skill we have. We have dedicated musicians and actors who – in my opinion – rival professionals. We have artists whose creative abilities – especially with sidewalk chalk – amaze me. We have athletes who train tirelessly for soccer, volleyball, and many other sports. We have writers with great imaginations and scientists with deep interest and understanding of how the world works. We have leaders who act as if leadership is the most natural thing in the world. I know in particular that our class listens to our school president even more than it does to our esteemed faculty.
But where would this talent have gotten us without our teachers’ mentorship and inspiration? I believe we owe more of our last four years to our teachers than to anyone else. They have stood by us through the easy times and, more importantly, through the more difficult ones. They have taught us in their respective disciplines; they have, in many cases, impacted our choices of majors and careers; they have mentored us and shown us how to be better people; they have inspired us to use our abilities to their fullest potential.
As Shakespeare once wrote, “Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Whichever the case, I know that everyone will show their greatness in the future. I am sure I will see Broadway shows with our actors, pro sports games with our athletes, books by our writers, technology from our scientists and engineers, and news reports about our leaders in the private sector and in government – Kyle, you have my vote for president. I believe that every student sitting here this evening can and will make a special contribution to the world in one way or another.
It has been an honor to be part of this class and I wish everyone the best luck in all of their future endeavors.
Andrew Eagan
2012 Valedictorian Sleepy Hollow High School
