SHARE

Fox Lane Salutatorian Is Not Clueless After All

KATONAH, NY-- “I'm not known for amazing public speaking skills,” Fox Lane High School Salutatorian Matthew Karle said as he began his speech for the opening of the Class of 2011 commencement ceremony.  Despite this warning however, he delivered a speech that garnered cheers and laughter from his fellow classmates and others in attendance.

Karle made sure that everyone knew right off-the-bat his wouldn’t be a traditional graduation speech that only offered up advice on the future. 

“This speech is supposed to be about some great advice, about how to live the rest of our lives," Karle said, before declaring that he was only 18 years old and had no great wisdom to impart on his classmates just yet.  “I'm sure that one day the meaning of life will come to me, but until them I'm as clueless as everyone else my age," he said.

Instead, Karle opted to focus on the events and memories that the seniors at Fox Lane had experienced over the last four years.  He talked about how they had snuck a Christmas tree into the school and left it in the lobby, how they played soccer with the teachers before class started in the morning, and how they created a “rejection wall” where students posted rejection letters from colleges, demonstrating how they “disagreed with colleges' poor decisions.”

Regardless of how many rejection letters hung on that wall, Karle firmly stated that his class was capable of achieving anything.  “I've witnessed and met some extraordinary people who are already changing the world,” he said of his classmates.

Karle did leave his fellow seniors with one piece of advice: “Keep doing what we are doing, we are already remarkable at making a difference."

 

What words of advice do you have for the Fox Lane graduating class?

to follow Daily Voice Bedford and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE