Spectacular Senior Speeches

The senior speech is a wonderful opportunity at Gilman that the Class of ‘24 has taken full advantage of. We’ve experienced a myriad of speeches, covering topics ranging from love to the history of the senior speech to special (and illegal) summertime adventures. The seniors have done a fantastic job expressing their love for this school and imparting wisdom that they believe is valuable for others to hear. But let’s be honest, delivering a speech is no easy feat. Coming up with an idea, converting it into a 5+ minute speech, and delivering it in front of the entire student body is an incredibly difficult task, a task that is even more impressive considering that senior speakers voluntarily give the speeches. Why would anyone deliver a speech when they don’t have to? How do students approach this daunting assignment? What is it like to stand behind the podium and be vulnerable with the entire student body? To answer these questions, the Gilman News spoke to various senior speakers from this school year and found out what the experience was like. 

The Class of ‘24 had many different reasons for delivering a speech. David Netzer ‘24 and Nick Lutzky ‘24, the respective first and second Senior Speech prize winners as voted on by the faculty, both felt did so because they had something important to say. Nick said that he thought it was his “duty to give this part of myself before I graduate.” David had thought about his “most impactful Gilman moments and things that are important in my life,” revealing to him that he had something extremely significant to share. Others like Wyatt Winstead ‘24 sought to “leave a legacy at Gilman” by imparting the wisdom he had gained in high school. On another note, Mason Murphy-Lenk ‘24 and Jeevan Khanuja ‘24 both remarked that the senior speech gave them a unique and special opportunity for self-reflection. “Writing a speech was a way to make time to think about who I was,” said Mason when asked about his why for delivering a speech. Although there are some differences in motive, the overall theme remains the same. The seniors wanted to leave a legacy by sharing what is important to them while also taking the time to look inward and truly understand themselves. 

After the why comes the how. How did these seniors go through the process of taking their ideas and putting them onto paper? David found this aspect quite easy: “I thought writing the rough draft was the easiest part - I could write freely without worry, about whatever I wanted. It was exciting to see my thoughts flow freely from my head to the keyboard.” However, most seniors said that coming up with the topic was one of the more challenging aspects of the process. The reason for this, according to Nick, is that “there’s so much you can talk about, but you have to limit yourself to make the message impactful,” which many of his fellow seniors concurred with. 

Now it comes to the actual act of speaking. After weeks of preparation, the students must stand before the entire upper school and deliver their ideas. Wyatt, David, Mason, and Jeevan all remarked that the senior speech was extremely “nervewracking.” Even with this great obstacle, Wyatt noted that “knowing how accepting our community is helps calm the mind.” David concurred with this sentiment, saying, “It’s very intimidating when you’re up on the stage. But, when you remember that you are talking to 500 people who care about you and are your friends, it makes it a lot easier.” 

It’s clear that although the speech delivery can be very daunting, the seniors felt comforted by the abundance of love and support within our community. So, most importantly, would they do it again? Do these seniors recommend that students in the future do as they have? 

The answer is a resounding yes. To close, I’ll let the seniors tell you themselves why you should write and deliver a senior speech.

• David Netzer: Give a speech. The truth is that down the road, you will regret more things that you didn’t do than you did do. There is nothing to lose in giving a speech, and you may find it an incredibly enriching experience.

• Wyatt Winstead: I would say go for it! It was a great experience for me, and any sort of experience that you gain while public speaking is insanely valuable.

• Mason Murphy-Lenk: I would say that if you have any desire to give a speech, regardless of if you know what you want to talk about, sign up when that email comes out in the summer. You won’t regret it, and it’s easier to come up with a topic than most people expect. If you cannot think of a topic, you can cancel it, so there’s no risk. It was a really rewarding opportunity, and I am very grateful for partaking in the opportunity to give a speech.

• Nick Lutzky: If there’s any part of you, no matter how small, that feels like you have something to say, do it.