Valedictorian to RHS Class of 2024: Lace Up Your Spikes, We're Running a Mile
On Friday afternoon, June 14, Ridgefield High School Class of 2024 bid farewell to their high school education during the 108th Annual Commencement. The ceremony took place indoors at Ridgefield High School due to the threat of rain.
During the commencement ceremony, several students addressed their class including the Class President Abigail Seal, Class President Colin Nelson, and Class of 2024 Valedictorian, Steven Hergenrother. The Princeton-bound running star began, “For weeks, I thought about the best way to communicate the successes and failures of high school. I found it hiding in plain sight - running. I know, I know, who would have thought that Steven Hergenrother would give a speech about running? However, running is so inextricably linked to my academic journey that I found its inclusion essential to any message I convey. Now it’s time to lace up our spikes and down some Gatorade--we’re running a mile.”
Read Steven’s commencement address below. And, congratulations to the great class of 2024!
Thank you, RHS faculty and staff, Dr. Greenwood, and Dr. Da Silva, for the opportunity to speak today.
I stand before you because my fellow classmates voted me as most likely to be late to graduation. I guess this speech is the school’s attempt at ensuring I’d be here on time. Don’t worry, Ms. DeJulio, I made it.
For weeks, I thought about the best way to communicate the successes and failures of high school. I found it hiding in plain sight - running. I know, I know, who would have thought that Steven Hergenrother would give a speech about running? However, running is so inextricably linked to my academic journey that I found its inclusion essential to any message I convey.
Now it’s time to lace up our spikes and down some Gatorade--we’re running a mile.
There are four laps in a mile, and there are four years of high school. Each year possesses remarkable similarities to its corresponding lap within the race.
The first lap: freshman year. Every distance runner will tell you that there is a moment at the very beginning of a race when you ask yourself, am I really doing this? The start seems so surreal after so much anticipation. Such a reflection depicts the beginning of our freshman year extraordinarily well. Some of us went to school in person, some of us were exclusively online, but I am sure all of us were bewildered that high school had started that way--in the middle of a global pandemic. But just like in a race, your legs carry you forward even as your mind is still adjusting. And before we knew it, we were a quarter of the way through high school.
The second lap: sophomore year. At this point in the race, time seems to slow. The difficulty increases. Classes, too, challenged us more. Some of us took our first AP or honors classes, some of us pushed ourselves in new extracurriculars, but we all tested our resilience through the transition back to in-person learning. In the second lap, a runner will enjoy the act of racing--both in spite of the challenge and because of it. One day in sophomore year stands out in my mind more than any other. It was mask reveal day. In addition to the utter shock I experienced when everyone removed their masks and I saw the bottom halves of faces I had imagined in my mind, I noticed that everyone smiled way more than I expected. It was one of the most pleasant surprises of high school. Seeing people’s smiles allowed us to engage our senses of humor. We started cracking subject-specific jokes as we returned to group work for the first time in two years. We demonstrated our ability to find joy in the midst of adversity.
Then, the third lap: junior year. This is the most difficult lap. This is the first time in the race that you think about the end, and you just wish it’ll arrive sooner. We had countless essays and tests, and we began to think about our future. Yet, throughout this stressful time, we found enjoyment. I spent many afternoons at physics study sessions during which I had the most chaotic and joke-filled conversations I’ve ever had--and almost no actual physics. Bound by our common challenge, we laughed and smiled. Before a relay race at the national outdoor track meet last year, my teammates and I were paralyzed with nerves. I thought about how many hours we had practiced and how, in just ten minutes, the race would be over and the nerves wouldn’t matter anymore. I decided to force a smile. My teammate Magnus smiled back. The smile spread to Ethan and then to Isaac. Suddenly, we couldn’t stop smiling. Soon after, we had our best races of the season. The best path through the third lap is to find a way to smile.
The final lap: senior year. Time flies as you quickly approach the finish line. That is, until the very last straightaway. Your supporters form a tunnel around you and urge you to sprint to the line. Suddenly, the race is no longer about yourself. It’s about our teachers, our friends, and most of all, our families. We are greatly indebted to them. Let’s take a moment to thank all of our supporters who stuck with us through the last four years.
We will run many races in our lives--challenges that cause us self-doubt and discomfort. In retrospect, these are often the times of greatest growth and fulfillment. Perhaps we think about when we could have pushed harder or we regret not having enjoyed every moment.
We have to enjoy the race before the last straightaway; we must strive to enjoy every moment--whether trying or triumphant. The best way I know to ensure this is to pursue our passions. Passion is the harmony between challenge and enjoyment. Passion does not ensure ease. In fact, it ensures difficulty. Passion allows us to challenge ourselves while maintaining an unmasked smile.
So, as we exit the last stage of this race, I urge everyone to explore and push themselves. Some races may be more difficult than others, some more enjoyable, but all will teach us how to thrive in the face of adversity. And lastly, no matter what occurs during the race, remember those who supported you on your journey to the finish line. Congratulations, Class of 2024!
** Image courtesy Ridgefield Public Schools Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ridgefieldps