Valedictorian Speech by Philip Mycek and Hamza Zuberi
Journey from elementary school and beyond….
Hello. This year, like many others, we have all faced adversities. But still, these directors have made their art shine through their movies-
No Hamza, wrong event man.
What? This isn’t the Oscars?
No man, that’s next week
Ok mybad mybad- The Grammy’s have always been an event I’ve wanted to host. Err- is that Drake?
That’s Mr. Bruneau Hamza. Similar style but not quite.
Wait, this says GRAD
Good Morning Parents, staff, siblings, students, and distinguished guests.
It is with great honour that we get to represent the incredible Riverside Secondary Class of 2022.
As a grad class, we have accomplished numerous things:
From the athletic victories
To the academic victories
To the community we’ve built around each other
We belong to a school comprised of incredible teachers, students, and staff.
As a graduating class, we’ve raised money for causes, donated food and clothes, and have fostered a pretty welcoming environment
Some of us survived Lepore’s history classes
(Even if we didn’t always do all the readings)
(I did all of the readings, Mr. Lepore
Speak for yourself)
Our Grad class has witnessed and triumphed over great adversities throughout not only the past four years, but since our academic journey began, back when we still had naptime.
Some of us still have naptime during our math classes.
That’s not to say I don’t love finding the sin of 30
But how’d we even get to the point where practice problems gave us headaches?
It was 13 years ago we first began our kindergarten journeys.
We had our first day
Learned to count
Learned to read
Learned to want to go home
Little did we know that those days would serve as the foundation for our education today
In Elementary School we were even more dependent on our parents then we are now
They made our lunches, dropped us off, picked us up, we complained, they wondered why they picked us up
But despite our complaints, they still put in the work and put in the hours toward our futures. And we have them to thank for shaping us into the mature, conscientious-
*beautiful*
sure, beautiful- Individuals we are today
We had activity days
Watched Disney channel cliches
Called half a paragraph an essay
And dont forget about the olympics, though the only thing i rember was carrying that weird looking torch to take pictures with
Elementary School is where we made and shared our first memories with our friends, making connections that would last a lifetime- or until grade 6 at least.
Then Middle School hit, perhaps indisputably the most awkward phase of our lives
I can still remember my first whip nae nae
And Hotline Bling caught us by surprise
Thanks Drake (both)
And fetty wap had us all hype whenever our math teachers would say the numbers 17 and 38
But it was hard to sing when our voices suddenly went down 3 octaves and we couldn’t hit that high e flat no more
Yeah those voice cracks sure didn’t help when trying to talk to our crush
Please, it was embarrassing enough as it is, i don’t think anyone here wants to re-visit it.
And finally, the main event, high school
New experiences, and a whole lotta new people
There was our first relationship
For some our second relationship
Perhaps the third
Realizing you were the problem
(slightly awkward pause)
Do any of you remember grade 9 for a day?
Was I the problem?
Shh, Philip. It’s okay… (He WAS the problem)
Walking through the halls in our first weeks, it was at times hard to distinguish the grade 12’s from the teachers
Especially Barrington, looking so youthful and joyous…
I wonder what his skincare routine is
Rumor has it he’s all nach-oo-rall
Spirit assemblies connected all of us
And spirit we had
RSIDE pride had us wearing our black t shirts
We all adjusted quickly to the more self-directed nature of high school
Then, grade 10. The year started off like any other.
Move4Mana
Spirit assemblies
Our last spirit assembly
Then, March of grade 10, 2020. It hit.
Mr. Neufeld got the nicest fade I’ve ever seen
And a global pandemic took center stage in our lives
Covid-19 provided many obstacles
The world shut off and Netflix turned on
Suddenly we were all obsessed with Carole basking and the tiger king.
Online school provided us with almost too much free time
*cough* almost (but not quite)
Waking up 5 minutes before class started
-And waking up again 5 minutes before class ended
Was a different experience that had varying satisfaction
Grade 11
Like a game of basketball, we were playing in quarters
The quarter system was both a blessing and a curse
(My GPA went up) (My GPA went down)
I guess it depends on who you asked
For some, it was a perfect balance between the aspects of online and offline schools
Walking through halls that we’d been through thousands of times had been accompanied with a feeling of… foreignness
It was pretty foreign only being able to walk UP the main stairs
Yeah trying to sneak down them was like trying to rob a heavily secured bank, it was always guarded and was impossible not to get caught
But maybe looking back hallway patrol wasn’t too bad
It was BAD on my back man, those side hallways were C-R-A-M-P-E-D cramped.
Grade 12
Seeing our peers in classrooms and crowded hallways felt… wrong
For like a week then we got used to it
Boom, grade 12
Land of the independent free-thinkers that are in this crowd
And the guy who took my spot in the student parking lot
Scrambling to figure out where to apply, how to apply, when to apply
Trying to plan out our whole future out while at the same time trying to find the correct outfits for spirit week was Overwhelming to say the least,
The stress of trying not to get stung didnt help
Yeah, im pretty sure the teachers lost some faith in humanity’s future when we refused to walk out of class and requested to be carried out.
Oh, and who could forget about that famous Oscar Ceremony-
Woah, be careful what you say next, you never know where Mr. Smith is hiding
After all that struggling I know one thing
Started from the bottom, now we’re here
Started from the bottom, now the whole team here.
Despite the differing paths we may all take, I am certain that this grad class will accomplish more incredible things in the future
Whether it be a gap year, post-secondary institution, or straight into your passion, that you choose to go into-
Whether you were a provincial champion, an actor who had to learn their lines during troubling times, a musician, a French Immersion student trying not to forget your second language,
Or an international student trying TO learn a second language,
Or in the learning centre or library trying to get that sentence or math problem right,
a shop worker, bike rider, volleyball bumper, puck slapper, penalty kick taker, or a Riverside Lounge couch enjoyer-
-or a skipper
You made it
And always remember that life is precious. There are some graduates unable to join us today who are smiling down on us, and it is ON US to always remember to always work hard, be empathetic, and enjoy life, because it can be taken away at any moment. We are the bearers of their memories.
So you walked across the stage today and proved to everyone that you CAN do it.
But wherever the future may take you
We only ask that you choose to pursue the passions that you enjoy and showcase your greatness
Just like a river, we’ll all flow down our paths, some going separate ways
But we’ll always be rapids regardless of whether we stay in our little ponds or venture into the ocean
G22, be the change you wish to see in this world
(woah Philip I didn’t know you were gonna get all metaphorical on us)
That was actually a SIMILE Hamza.
Please no, Ms. Shong’s class is coming back to me.
While you get ready to say goodbye-
-Take a moment to enjoy not the past nor the future, but what we have now right here, in each others presence, one last time
OK, G22. On the count of 3 I I’m going to say whose side and while you say RSIDE I want you to throw your caps in the air!
3…
2…
1…
Who’s Side?
Salutatorian Speech by Ammarah Siddiqui and Ella Aspinall
Salutatorian Speech 2022
Welcome everyone to the Commencement of Riverside’s Class of 2022 we would like to start by acknowledging the land where this ceremony takes place. My name is Ammarah Siddiqui, and I am a settler on this land. My mother immigrated here from Pakistan and my father draws roots from both Pakistan and England.
My name is Ella Aspinall, and I too am a settler on this land my mother comes from England and my father from Scotland. I would like to take this time to acknowledge that our grad class will walk on the land of the Kwikwetlem, Katzie, Sto:lo, Qayqayt, Kwantlen, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen, Musqueum, Tsleil-Watuth, and Squamish nations whose land we have played on, learned on, and grown on. Teachers, families, alumni, and staff.
And of course, 2022s grad class
We owe much of our success to the people here with us today and to those that couldn’t make it
So, thank you.
Little did we know we’d all be standing here together today
When we were voted your salutatorians, we were a tad unsure of how this speech was going to go
And also, how to pronounce our newly earned title
Say it with me “Saluta – torian”
Sal utorian
Anyway
This role gives us the opportunity to welcome you to our ceremony, or as our youth would call it
A “pregame”
So, lets us take us all back 4 years
The beginning of high school
Little did we know
That these four years would make us the accomplished graduates that walk this stage today
In grade 9 laptops were mandatory
Because Riverside was a tech school, with amazing wifi
Pro: our parents were forced to get us one
Con: the Digital boot camp (insert joke/explanation here)
It wasn’t all bad though
(Transition here)
We underwent social upheaval
Middle school friend groups collapsed
As did our mental health ***(does this need context?)
But we got to know the Pitt River kids
And the Citadel kids
And those of you from Kway
No longer divided by a long road
We were brought together by Riverside
Grade 10 was the year after this convergence
Our grades didn’t really count yet
And we had figured out, pretty much, that rooms with 1s were downstairs and the 2s were upstairs.
We hope that’s not new information
And to talk about the elephant that needs to leave the room
Little did we know
Our grade 10 year would be (the ultimate) cough and cold season
In grade 11 we started to grow into the young adults we were meant to be
We recognized the faults within ourselves
And the world around us
And we sought to change them
Some tried to make capstone bigger than themselves
And others went through hours of volunteering
To leave our childhood in the past
But to make our child self proud
This was the year it finally came to light (ella has questions – ella at 11:40pm practicing)
Who was going to peak in high school
And finally, the day we had all been waiting for
The first day of senior year
We were very different people that entered the building this year
Taller
Not for some of us; Smarter
Not for some of us
Or a little more lost
But changed for sure
Frank Ocean said it best, “we’ll never be those kids again”
The kids that watched Beyblade tournaments in the gym
We now become the adults watching our peers in world stadiums
The kids that were always broken dishes
Were the same ones switching tabs during online school
And the kids that kept silent past chin’s room and walked just a little faster
Okay maybe we still are those kids
To quote Troy Bolton, “we are all in this together”
And we needed to be
Because university applications
And travel visas
and full-time jobs
were all just getting closer
We had spirit days
And stings
Sports games
And literacy assessments
All the highs and lows in our road to graduation
And now that we have finally made it here
To quote what we impose to be G22’s favourite movie
“May the rest of our lives be the best of our lives”
Mamma Mia
So, as we step back for our peers to step forward
We ask you to applaud and cheer with vigor
For all the grads, and all they have persevered through
Because these graduates that walk across this stage
You’ll see again
At their press releases
And their book signings
In Costco lineups
In heated PAC meetings
And on all other world stages
And g22, little do you know
That these years were not the best years of your life
But they were important ones
They made you live, laugh, and love
Despite having 10 assignments due the next day
They gave you another place to call home
More people to call family
And they made your little five-year-old elementary self, proud of all you’ve done
So, thank you for being the best class that we had the honour of being part of and representing
Once a rapid, always a rapid
Whose side? RSide!
Here comes the class of 2022:
Choppy
Funnier
Stopping in the sentences
Conservative
Be more committed to jokes
Goal in mind – invoke emotions
Be yourself
