LINK Graduation 2010.pdf - Portland High School

“Success”
Valedictorian Speech by Corey Carmichael
Graduation, June 2, 2010
Take a moment and think about how you define success. Maybe it’s balancing school and fatherhood
or becoming rich enough to own an island. Maybe it’s finding your passion in medicine and curing sick
patients. Maybe it’s beating the elite four Pokémon, or simply being happy. Or perhaps it’s becoming a
firefighting, sandworm digging, scuba diving substitute teacher like Mr. Keefe. What your definition of
success may be, it’s right for you. So, instead of using this speech to make a metaphor about Portland
high school being a Tic Taco Burrito or to put in a formal request for a Nap Room at Portland High (Think
about it Mr. Johnson), I’d like to use this opportunity to recognize the different success my peers have
achieved.
On this stage today, there are hundreds of success stories that are not recognized in the newspaper or
by induction into the National Honors Society. The story of the girl who is breaking through gender and
racial stereotypes, enduring the burning of stares of strangers, and kick-flipping her way to happiness. The
story of the young man who has run a plowing business since the 6 th grade, works more than 40 hours a
week, and is often mistaken for a janitor, and does the best Mr. Nappi impression I have ever seen. Then
there is the girl who came to America a mere three years ago and is already in Honors and AP courses.
The students who have faced the terrible loss of a loved one; the students that have had to grow up fast in
order to take care of themselves and their families. These are the success stories we should be telling.
On October 28, 2008, a student graduating today arrived in America. After being torn from his home
in times of civil war, he had arrived in Portland, Maine with plans to become a chemical engineer in order
to help the people back in his home country. A year and a half after she stepped off that plane, this
student was accepted to Colby College with nearly a full scholarship.
There are students sitting on this stage who have had to face types of adversity that I can’t even imagine.
Some have had to integrate into a new culture and learn a new language while their parents struggle to
find work because of the language barrier. Others live on their own, pay their own electric bills, and cook
for themselves. We have deaf students, students who face other challenges. But they haven’t allowed it to
slow them for a second. These students show us that success should not simply be measured in test results
and goals scored, but the journey it took to get to that point.
An outsider looking at the record of the PHS Field Hockey team this season (a whopping 1and 13)
would likely conclude that our season was unsuccessful. However, I beg to differ. When I think of all the
laughs we had as a team, the camaraderie, the fabulous warm-up mix, and the unquestionable
improvement from the first game to the last, our losing record easily
overshadowed by the more important aspects of the season, the
types of success that numbers just can’t reflect.
Every person graduating here today has a success story. We
may not all be state champions or top ten in the class, but that
doesn’t make any of our stories less important. So when you’re
measuring your own success, don’t get caught up trying to reach
other people’s goals or trying to be what society wants you to be.
We are the authors of our own stories and the only ones who
decide if it’s going to be a comedy, a tragedy, or a political
biography. No matter what genre you choose, don’t let anyone
tell you it’s not good enough. Just like the Portland high School
Class of 2010, success comes in, any colors, sizes, languages
and styles. In the words of the great Dr. Seuss, “You have brains
in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself
in a direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know
what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go. “
Corey Carmichael
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