THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, June 14, 2019 Page 27 Saugus High School Class of 2019 The Salutatory Address by Vi Pham (Editor’s Note: the unedited graduation speech of this year’s Salutatorian of Saugus High School Vi Pham follows. Ms. Nicole Wright presented Vi Pham. She plans to attend the University of Massachusetts-Amherst this fall where she will major in Microbiology. She was among 161 seniors who graduated May 31 during the school’s 148th commencement exercises. Vi has a 4.72 grade point average. She plans to attend University of Massachusetts-Amherst this fall) would like to give a special thank you to Mrs. Wright for the amazing introduction and never failing to make me laugh. I feel honored not only to have had you as a teacher, but also as a mentor and a friend. You know, walking out after I taking my last final exam, I really thought that that would be my last week of cramming in projects and essays late at night before they were due the next day and boy was I wrong. As the Class of 2019’s salutatorian, a word that I can barely spell or pronounce myself, my final homework assignment was writing this speech and of course I waited until the week of graduation to actually start it so please bear with me. But here it goes: Coincidentally, my first class at Saugus High School was taught by Mrs. Wright: Block 1 Spanish 2 Honors. Walking into our first class as wide-eyed freshmen, I’m sure I can speak on everyone’s behalf that we weren’t really sure what to expect. I heard so many negative things about the school that the only positives I could find were on the batteries that we’d use in our science class. But as we spent the next few years in good old Saugus High School, walking by trash barrels used to catch water leaking from the ceiling, sitting through a power outage during a thunderstorm, trying to avoid making eye contact with Font as he walks by you in the hallway, crashing in the gym to play basketball, or devouring a Turgeon cookie without realizing that it’ll be the last one you’ll ever have, the special moments that we’ve shared at Saugus High, whether positive or negative, will always stay with us as we part our ways and embark on this new journey. Tonight’s graduation marks an evening of celebration. Not of the end, but of new beginnings. To the Class of 2019, I’m not really sure what’s more unclear: my eyesight when I take out my contact lenses or the future that lies ahead of us. But what I can assure is that the future is bright for each and every one of you. Every individual here today has the potential to be the best version of themselves. Whatever path you may choose to follow, I urge you to recognize that you should live your life to your own vision, not anyone else’s. Don’t expend your energy trying to live up to what somebody else wants you to be. I would also like to take this opportunity to share a few lessons that I’ve learned throughout my high school career, one of which is to set your standards high and expectations low. This is best summarized in a quote by Jenna Marbles in which she states, “There’s a difference between goals, standards, and expectations. You can set any amount of goals you want, as high as you want, and you can work hard to achieve those goals. Your expectation of that outcome of that work and whatever you’re working towards needs to be low or none whatsoever. Working hard toward your goals while having no expectations of what the outcome of that might be allows you to live your life completely without fear of failure. It allows you to really enjoy any successes that you do have.” Another lesson is that it’s okay to fail. Like I thought I was pretty decent at AP Calculus, but then I got a 25% on a quiz (I’m just glad I didn’t get a zero). But anyways, failure is part of the path to success; don’t look at it as a dead end, but rather a detour to where you are headed. Finally to end this speech, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved in my journey to where I am now: Thank you to my closest friends for sticking by my side and always being there for me, especially to remind me whatever homework assignment was due, my teachers who went above and beyond their roles as educators, providing me with guidance and support when I needed it most, the sidewalk for keeping me off the streets, and most importantly my family for shaping me into the slightly above average person that I am today (Hopefully, this honor makes up for all the parties and dinners that I’ve missed while pretending to study in my room.). Congratulations to the Class of 2019! Keep on pushing it to the limit because I know we’re all in it to win it. I sincerely wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors. This is your salutatorian, Vi Pham, signing off. Thank you! PHOTO CAPTION SAVORING THE MOMENT: Saugus High School Salutatorian Vi Pham, the student with the second top grade point average in this year’s graduating class leaves the stage May 31 after receiving her diploma. (Saugus Advocate Photo by Mark E. Vogler)
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