Becky Hoving ’17

Several years ago, then Social Studies teacher James D’Amico had a proposal: get rid of valedictorian.

“Mr. Dodig thought I was nuts,” D’Amico said. Fast forward to Staples High School’s 130th graduation ceremony, a speech from the valedictorian will still take place, however Megan Hines ’17 will also be addressing the student body as Staples’ first ever class speaker.

“At graduation, it’s good to have a speech from the valedictorian, I mean they are, in one way of thinking, the top student,” D’Amico said. “But there are so many other stories, and so many other kids, that could represent other parts of the senior class.”

With this in mind, D’Amico put together a committee of a freshman, a sophomore, a junior, an administrator and himself to review submissions for the address.

Students who submitted were subject to no GPA requirements– all that D’Amico and the committee required for eligibility was that he or she had “shown evidence of active citizenship, promoting social justice, and/or exhibiting social responsibility within the local community or area communities” and had “exhibited ethical and responsible behavior during your years at Staples,” according to an email sent out in mid-May.

Hines, who is the president of Kool to Be Kind and is extremely involved in Staples Players, having participated in 10 shows throughout her four years at Staples, noted that the absence of a GPA requirement is what most intrigued her about the opportunity.

“I’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons outside the classroom in high school, and I wanted to share that with my graduating peers and the community,” she said.

Hines noted that her speech focuses on lessons learned outside the classroom, and she candidly dictates the fallacies in what she describes as Staples’ high, sometimes unrealistic, academic standards.

“I talk about the small acts of kindness that help make the days at school easier, people just smiling or saying hi in the hall, people that offer you gum or a snack, people that go out of their way to support you,” she said. “I want students to maybe think back on the people who helped them get through the days and also how they may have helped others.”

Colin McKechnie ’17, one of Hines’ close friends, is enthusiastic about how her speech will contribute to the ceremony. “When megan told me she is speaking at graduation, I got excited because she will definitely have something funny that will liven the audience up,” he said.

Hines’ speech was selected out of many submissions, and D’Amico hopes it further humanizes the graduation ceremony experience by pairing it with the valedictorian, Emily Schussheim ’17’s, speech.

“The group that would be in the running for valedictorian, as incredible as they all are, represents a pretty small slice, about 4 percent of the senior class,” D’Amico said. “But there’s 96 percent of the class where that’s not necessarily their goal or maybe they haven’t hit their stride yet. I think it would be great if they felt like they had someone speaking for them as well.”

Hines echoed this sentiment, stating that she hopes her words serve as a reality check for the community.

“I really want students to take away the fact that they and other people are more than their course load, the schools they got into, or their GPA,” she said.