Valedictorian Speech

Graduates from the class of 2023, administrators, family, and friends. My name is Lou Ferguson, I am your valedictorian, and I am happy to welcome you to our graduation ceremony.

I would like to start by thanking some very important people who are here supporting me tonight. To my mother and father, Allison and Philip Ferguson. Thank you for always supporting my dreams and ambitions no matter how many I’ve had in the past and present. I love you both so much. To my grandparents, thank you for showing me what the good in humanity looks like and for always being there for me. And to my little sister, Laura Ferguson. Thank you for teaching me to chase the things I strive for in life. You are my biggest inspiration by far. I love you.

If you are sitting here in this room, you have probably known a kid or was the kid who asked “why?” a lot. To the people around us askers, we were annoying. A burden to the mother just waiting for her doctors appointment, a phase that every child goes through and will eventually grow out of. “Why is that man so tall?” Because you’re seven, honey. “Why do I have to go to daycare?” Because if I leave you home alone, you’ll climb on the bookshelves. “Why is the sky blue?” Because it just is.

I don’t know if you can tell but, I was an asker. Never annoying, just curious. Not a bother, just thought-provoking. And certainly, not going through a phase. While the other children around me stopped asking their parents “why?” And started to build their own mental picture of the world around them, I didn’t stop. Just the idea of there being an answer to a question or a piece of information out in the world that I was unaware of made me anxious, unable to understand why I couldn’t just know everything. There were people out there who were just like me, I was sure of it. I just had to find them.

A February night in 2019, a big answer to a big question of mine came home in the form of a booklet. The front read “TEC VOC STUDENT HANDBOOK”. Confused, I asked my father “why is this here?”. “It’s a high school, I went to their open house while you were at theatre. You should check it out!”. I opened the first page, and then the next, and then the next. I read the whole handbook that night. Four times. Front to back. My mind was set and my question was answered.

I was lucky enough to walk into my first day and feel seen. I was amongst the class of askers. WE were the ones who always asked “why?”. WE are the ones who search and search until we get the information we need. WE create our own answers. If you have followed what we’ve been doing, these four years have been a whizzing blur of concentrated creativity.

 Even when COVID hit, we didn’t stop asking “why?”. Why don’t we hold class parties and play KaHoot on Google Meets in order to keep connection with our peers? Why cancel the student-led events when we could pre-package the meals for pickup and create fantastic educational videos to send to schools across the province? Instead of looking at a problem and considering it to be “none of our business”, why don’t we make it our solution to find? Like when our stunning carpentry team partnered up with Sleep In Heavenly Peace to provide beds for children without access to one. Or when we introduced soup cards and the free breakfast program to provide nutrition to the students who need it. And how about when Hornets put the climate crisis on the front burner and introduced composting systems in our kitchen, cafeteria, and classrooms. Why would we ever give up on brilliance if it’s lying just right under our masked noses.

If you can believe it, after four years of the class of 2023 asking “why?” and proceeding to find answers, I still have some unanswered questions. Consider the following. Number one, If Mrs, Bouchard is everyone’s favourite teacher, why is her classroom so hard to find? Number two, How does the bake shop manage to be so ridiculously efficient yet precise with their craft all day, everyday? Number three, How does Chef Gloux still have a functioning voice box?  Number four, How many tours of the school does Mr. Mogg give to random people in a day? Number five, Are the industrial arts students doing okay? Number six, WHERE ARE ALL OF MY PHONE CHARGERS? And finally, one that may resonate with all of you. Number seven, why does it have to be over?

Well, I do have an answer to that one. While your time within the walls of 1555 Wall Street  is quickly coming to an end, your time in the world, as a hornet, using the skills and information that you were taught within that building, is just beginning. And sure we could talk about biology, quantum physics, and the trades. We could talk about that. But that’s not what I mean. We would not all be here today if we didn’t learn how to uplift one another. We would not all be here if we didn’t learn how to advocate for one another. And we certainly would not be here if we didn’t learn how to be proud of who we are.

So, with that being said, I am going to encourage that we step into this new chapter of our lives with one mantra in mind. I suggest that we think green, act gold, and be hornets. Class of 2023, the kids who asked why, we did it!

 -- Lou Ferguson - Valedictorian for the Class of 2023