BCAT News

Graduation speeches are among the classic high school rites of passage, and the speech-givers of the 2023 graduation class took their responsibilities seriously. The speeches touched on gratitude, excitement for the future, and sorrow at the end of one of life’s chapters. 

“As we graduate and embark on a new chapter in our lives, it is essential to express gratitude to those who have shaped us, find strength in the memories and lessons of the past, and embrace the future with control, confidence and resilience, carrying forward the legacies of those who have supported and believed in us,” said valedictorian Inesh Parikh. 

“In many years when you look back at your time in BHS, you won’t remember the homework, struggle, or tests. You’ll remember winning senior night and going undefeated on your home field. You’ll remember going out at night and somehow having fun driving from parking lot to parking lot just because you’re with your friends,” said salutatorian Ryan Moradei. “You’ll remember who you sat with at lunch. You’ll remember your strange group chat names: Barbarian, No Gas, and Dumbos. You’ll remember your community.” 

Class essayist Megan Ohol said that even in milestone moments like graduations, it’s important to focus on the little moments in between that make life special. “There is no jumping from moment to moment; that’s just not how life (and time) works. Believe me, if there was a remote somewhere out there where I could fast-forward through certain times, I would’ve done it a long time ago. Instead, we have to take the time to walk all those steps to reach each market, because it is all those hours, minutes and seconds in between where we are molded into the people we are today, and the people we are soon to be.” 

Class President Alexander Healy commended the graduation class for managing their high school experience through COVID-19. The graduating class, which started high school in the fall of 2019, had just a few months of “normal” before the pandemic changed everything. “We managed to keep social relationships, keep confidence and passion, and keep an idea of normalcy in the back of our heads,” he said. “What we learned through our struggles, we carried on through our high school years and will carry on throughout life.” 

Congratulations on the speeches, and congratulations to the Class of 2023!