The first day of school is one of my favorite traditions because– looking out at this group– I can’t help but notice that you are, as all students should be on the first day of school, naturally excited and curious.
You might be wondering if you are ready to lean into the greater responsibilities and challenges of your new grade, which includes more challenging academics, sports, and a wider range of extracurricular activities.
I think you are. And I have a few suggestions that I think will help. Like many of you, I was obsessed with two very different things this summer: International and National Politics and the Summer Olympics. And I’ve got some tips and takeaways from both that I want to share.
First, politics. There is no doubt that we live in a fraught time. Far be it from me to be able to summarize the cumulative effects of an act of political violence like the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the dynamic effect of the entrance of Kamala Harris into the presidential race, and the continued violence in Ukraine and Gaza. As much as I desire to understand these issues to the best of my ability, I’m humbled by these megatrends’ effect on the world and my life and emotions.
And that is why I feel so lucky to be here with you. Our school provides many things for us– challenges, both intellectual and physical, and, most importantly, community. Unlike the world of politics, your actions are something you can control, and our community is something you can influence. While Prep is proud of its past accomplishments, the past is gone, and the future is not here yet. If we are going to have something special, we need to build this community as we intend it to be today and every day going forward. In that spirit, I expect you to interact with your peers with friendliness and respect. I ask you to care for our campus and not to tolerate anyone who would do differently. Your actions, students, will make a critical difference in how our school feels day to day and what it achieves long term. Thank you for making the most of this daily responsibility and opportunity.
In this community, city, state, and nation, we have many divergent opinions and so much common ground to bring us together. At Prep – we are fortunate – our core values (courage, curiosity, respect, resilience, and integrity) provide the architectural plans for us to build this community together. Let’s start with something simple – by greeting every person we meet when we travel through campus and shifting our focus from our friend group to being friendly to all.
This leads me to my other, much lighter summer obsession, the Olympics. The first normal summer Olympics since 2016 in Rio – when our seniors were 10, was relaxing to watch and contained many lessons.
It’s easy to look at the Olympics and call out the sensationalism, the nationalism, and the cost. What could be accomplished if the money was spent on eradicating childhood poverty, for example?
These ironies exist, but perhaps because I came of age with the 1984 Olympics in LA and lived down the street from the Olympic training center for 20 years, the Olympics are close to my heart. Am I alone in this? Can we take a quick show of hands? How many of you watched?
It’s a thing. A couple of days ago, I got a haircut from a new barber, and even though I had only known him for 3 minutes, he had to stop and wipe tears from his eyes when we discussed the transcendent play of Steph Curry.
I was also surprised at my own reaction to great champions delivering under pressure – a very incomplete list:
- Katie Ledecky’s four medals
- Simone Biles and the other Golden Girls’ dominance and sportsmanship
- Quincy Hall and Cole Hocker, coming from nowhere to win the 400 meters and the metric mile, respectively.
Did you know that Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and LeBron James are a combined 110 years of age? This was their chance to deliver a gold medal against the stiffest of competition, and they did.
Many things demonstrated in the Olympics are applicable to us here:
We need to commit to growth and improvement. The first time I met Olympic superfan, Heather Robinson, she said very clearly we need to bring an Olympic mentality to Prep and always think about how we can get better.
She was right, and very significantly, sometimes that personal growth actually happens off the field. Sha’Carri Richardson said, “Sometimes getting better is not just about adding performance: it’s about becoming better a person. In the past three years, I’ve grown– [I have] “a deeper respect and appreciation for [the] gift that I have in the sport and as well my responsibility to the people that believe in and support me.”
We need to be humble. Noah Lyles, the fastest man in the world, is slowed down by his oversized ego. Compare him to Stephen Nedoroscik, the glasses-wearing pommel horse hero, who embodied a perfect combination of excellence and humility.
We need to have high standards: After leading the American crew teams to their best performance in 40 years, Josy Verdonkschot, who took over as coach in 2022, said, “I could be proud, but I’m Dutch… If [we] really want to be competitive with the biggest teams, we have to improve, which is basically the fun of the business.”
Verdonkschot is right– doing our best is fun, and humor, joy, and fun are the engine oil of individual lives and organizations. Let’s not miss the many opportunities we have to laugh with each other.
Seniors, you can help us with that. I hope you enjoyed your hike up Sun Mountain last night, and I look forward to seeing you in your Ferris Bueller t-shirts tomorrow. Today marks 287 days until your commencement on May 30th. This doesn’t seem like a long time to me because I know how ambitious you are. I know you’ll find the right college or university to call home in the future, and I know that before you graduate, you have some things on your to-do lists.
- As you can take your skills and knowledge to a higher level, I want you to focus on taking younger students with you and emulating those seniors you admired when you were younger. Be a truly inclusive and supportive influence in the lives of your peers.
- I look forward to hearing your voices (and hopefully your recorders – Asha and Ben) in our assemblies.
- I know you’ll lead StuCo and our clubs in responsible and creative directions.
- Let’s be, under your leadership and with the creativity of our younger students, humbly ambitious this year – I’d like to formally request some more wins against crosstown rivals.
- Or a dramatic production at the level of last year’s blockbuster, Spamalot?
While I don’t know the outcome of these future events and contests, I know Prep is as strong and as intentional as we have ever been and that, if we make the most of it, we have a truly amazing year in front of us.