LYNN — Lynn English Valedictorian Jake Meagher walked up to the podium during Friday’s graduation, thanked administrators for approving his speech then tore it up.
“Before I begin my speech I need to make an apology,” he said. “The speech was full of life lessons … but today is about 2013.”
Meagher’s speech to 364 of his peers packed into in a steamy field house was full of thank-yous to staffers and family and included individual shout outs to “those that paid me a $1 to name them in my speech.”
He joked that anyone who doesn’t think they’ve come a long way since middle school should, “check out your old MySpace page and try not to shed a tear. Seriously I tried it and I couldn’t.”
But it was also full of heart.
Others quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson, Winston Churchill, Mark Twain and even Judy Garland, but Meagher quoted his baseball coach, Joe Caponigro when he told his classmates they should “earn your shower.”
“Always put your best effort into everything you do,” he said. “Everybody is capable of great things but you still need to earn your shower every day.”
However he also brought down the house when he said, “to quote Shakespeare, at least I think it’s Shakespeare — We started from the bottom and now we’re here,” which is actually a quote from hip hop artist Drake.
“I knew that would get a good reception,” he said.
Class President Kati Vu also drew chuckles and cheers when she reminisced about elementary school.
“We were ready to take on the world with our Britney Spears and Power Rangers backpacks,” she said, adding, “by the time we became seniors, freshman appeared smaller and teachers had become mentors, she added.
Keynote speaker Rep. Robert Fennell, an LEHS alumnus, urged the students to find their passion and City Council President Timothy Phelan urged them to choose the right path not necessarily the easy path.
Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, a Lynn Classical High School graduate, whose two children attend English drew cheers when she admitted she was becoming personally attached to the school.
But for all its pomp and circumstance the ceremony left some students a little dazed.
“It’s surreal,” said Leo Awokang. “I can’t believe 12 years is down to these last few minutes.”
Emmanuel Jaidah said prior to Friday it seemed it took forever to finish high school.
“Now it seems like it was just yesterday that we were freshmen,” he said.
The Mason boys, Kyle, Cody and Robert, cousins, have been together a lifetime and Friday they graduated together.
“From diapers to diplomas,” said Robert Mason.
The three will go their separate ways in September with two headed off to college and one into the Air Force.
“We will definitely miss the teachers and friends and all the dumb stuff we did,” said Robert Mason.
Lindsay Barrios called the day bittersweet. Guadalupe Barrios, no relation, agreed but also said it was a good time for a fresh start.
Salutatorian Kelsey Littlefield reminded her classmates that although they are moving on, they will always be bulldogs.
“We will forever bleed maroon and gray,” she said.
Chris Stevens can be reached at cstevens@itemlive.com.
