Valedictorian Speech
As told to Sam Kegley and Dick Klitch by Dr. Christopher George
Dr. George was meeting with the honor students who would soon graduate from B.I.S’ High School program. One student raised his hand to talk. In an extremely anti-tone, he declared that the speech by the valedictorian should not be allowed at the coming commencement. He made that a motion. Dr. George asked who would second the motion. After a second-less delay, one of the students meekly raised his hand as a second. .
Dr. George explained that the speech was an honor for that one student who excelled above all others. He didn’t want to disallow it, but he would go by the wishes of the seventeen honor students. He tore sheets of paper to be used as ballots and passed them around. He asked one of the students to go to the blackboard and when the ballots were in, Dr. George would slide a ballot across the table, open it and ask the student to tally. The vote came up to an eight to eight tie, with one ballot remaining. Dr. George kept that ballot to himself and dismissed the meeting without telling of the final tally.
The final grades came in and, as fate allows, the valedictorian was the student who raised the anti-speech motion. Dr. George called for him to come to his office. He initially explained to the student that he had become the new valedictorian-that the honor was his. Amid the student’s jubilation, he informed him that the valedictorian would not be giving the commencement speech. “What?” exclaimed the hurt young man? “I get a chance to be honored for the first time in my life and you take it away from me.” He grimaced and even cried there in front of Dr. George. Then Dr. George slid the final ballot to the anguished and disappointed student. The motion was actually turned down so that the speech would be given by the valedictorian. He would be allowed the honor he almost motioned away.
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