2015 Kyle’s High School Graduation Speech

What an incredibly proud night for Roxanne and I having the opportunity to watch our son, Kyle deliver the Salutatorian speech for the St. Francis Xavier High School class of 2015. I was asked to make his speech available for those that had a hard time hearing it with the sound system in the XHS gymnasium so here it is:

On behalf of the class of 2015, I'd like to thank a few groups of people who do not always receive the recognition they deserve: First I'd like to thank the priests and deacons of any church within the area and system. They support and instruct many of the students here at Xavier. I'd like to personally call out Fr. Tom Farrell, Deacon Rick Simon, and Fr. William Van Dyn Hoven from St. Pius, with whom I've spent a lot of time as an altar server. I really appreciated seeing them show support in Madison for the boys' basketball state tournament run and seeing Bishop Ricken in Green Bay supporting the girls.

I'd also like to thank the faculty and staff of the entire St. Francis Xavier Catholic Schools System. I feel blessed for having had the opportunity to learn from the awesome set of teachers that I had, and I would bet that each of my classmates is leaving this place with at least a few teachers who influenced their lives at some point in their education history.

Many of the people closest to me know I'm a bit of a movie buff, so I decided to use quotes from some of my favorite movies to relay the ideas I've learned that I think each of us in the class of 2015 should carry with us to be successful in the future.

First, I want to talk about what I've learned from Mr. Ping, the father of Po, the main character in Kung Fu Panda. Mr. Ping speaks about his secret ingredient noodle soup, yet he offers valuable life advice: "The secret ingredient is nothing." Though we constantly look for a silver bullet or magical recipe for success, we forget that "to make something special, you just have to believe that it's special." So just be you, be genuine, and be consistent. Too often we worry about what others might think of us, but when concerning our own personality, the only two people whose opinions matter are your own and God's. We are all awesome, so we need to be confident in who we are and remember the wise words of Dragon Warrior Po: "There is no charge for awesomeness…or attractiveness."

Use the words of one of the wisest characters of all time, I must. That wise character is Yoda, from Star Wars, who, in The Empire Strikes Back, says, "Do or do not. There is no try." His message is simple: always give your best effort, with the intent to succeed. Even if you don't succeed, you can hold your head up high and get it the next time. Coach Strand always emphasizes the importance of moxie, and though there is a difference between confidence and arrogance, we need to expect success from ourselves. We may not be able to control the outcome, but we can control our attitude.

For anyone who knows me well, you're probably expecting a Pirates of the Caribbean quote, and Captain Jack Sparrow has numerous words of wisdom. Though most of his quotes are quite troll, as Ms. Steinlage would like to say, he does have a soft spot as evidenced when he remarks, "If you choose to lock your heart away, you'll lose it for certain." Too often we hide our feelings and emotions because we fear what could happen if things don't go according to plan. Instead of taking chances, we let the moments pass by. Don't fear failure. In our failures, we grow. Rather, we should jump at the chances presented to us. Even though you win some, you lose some, if you truly want something, the possibility of achieving it is worth the risk of failure.

It's hard to believe our time at Xavier has come to an end. It sure doesn't feel as if it's been four years, and I'm sure it's felt even quicker for my mom who can't believe her little baby is already heading off to college in the fall. It's easy to lose track of the time because, in the words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it." While we anticipate the future and remember the past, we must also take time to enjoy what we're doing and the people we are with. My family used to have a rule when on vacations: No videogames in the National Parks. Even though I probably broke that rule more times than I can count because they were mesmerized by the views and not paying attention to me in the back seat—with good reason—I understand the importance of what they taught me. In a world with technology ever-present, sometimes we need to put down our phones, soak up our surroundings, and enjoy spending time with those around us.

One last idea that resonates with me was reaffirmed in a more recent movie, The Imitation Game. The movie makes me think of the necessity of appreciating everyone around us, even those who often don't receive the recognition they deserve. My favorite quote from the movie goes, "Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine." These words really challenge me to consider the importance of the role players. They may not be the star, but without their contributions, the show, the play, the game, the concert would not be a success. Often unnoticed, these people play the most important role. When these people do amazing things, some people are left surprised; however, they shouldn't be; these people do amazing things all the time, but are humble enough to let others take the glory.

Our class is filled with role players, from the members of pit and backstage crew to the players on sports teams, so it's no wonder our class has had the success we did in areas such as sports, mock trial, and theater performances. Being able to spend the last four years, and even longer for some, with this group of people is more than I could have asked for, but now we need to use what we've learned to best deal with the challenges ahead.

Lastly, I'd like to remind you that the Good Lord gave us each two ends, one to think with and one to sit on. Remember that the success of our lives will depend on which end we use the most. I prefer to look at it this way; heads you win, tails you lose.

---Kyle Van Hammond, Salutatorian

St. Francis Xavier High School

Appleton, WI

5/27/2015

Addendum 02/06/2017 - Kyle's speech was published to YouTube so if you want to watch him deliver it, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCDi709oa6g&t=10s​​