Matt Gorman Speech
September 01, 2010
Good afternoon everyone.
I come here today to continue a tradition. One that Stonehill has used to both honor our history and display for all a sign of our shared values.
It is this same spirit that I present to you the 2010 Senior Class Shovel: a military entrenching tool made in 1942 by the Ames Company.
From the looks of it, this shovel is not that much. It is just shy of two feet tall, made with wood and metal, and stamped with the Ames name. It, and others like it, were "standard issue" for many military personnel: scattered on the war-torn hillsides of central Europe, and digging the trenches that gave shelter to our soldiers in the South Pacific.
Yet it is not about the attributes of the shovel, but what it represents. This small, yet sturdy tool is a symbol of the sacrifices that many of our grandparents and relatives made serving our country sixty years ago, as nations came together to make the world safe and free for all.
The shovel is also a representation of the values present in our community today. An embodiment of the fact that true fulfillment comes from serving causes greater than oneself.
Yesterday, you, the first-year students, went out into the community and gave your afternoon to lend a helping hand to those in need and to meet the people that spend everyday trying to make those lives better.
I hope through this experience you see-at this age and in this place--it is not merely enough anymore just to simply be here. You must now be here for something: serve the school, serve each other, serve the world around you.
It is no longer acceptable to stand on the sidelines of a world crumbling with poverty and riddled with injustice. Each one of us within this Stonehill community-that you are now a part of-is expected to be an engaged and thoughtful citizen in this rapidly changing world.
And to my seniors, my fellow classmates and friends: you have shown what it means to be agents of compassion-logging hundreds of hours of service and touching countless lives during these last three years. Let us keep that spirit of service-this time as the leaders of the student body-- as we prepare to take we what have learned within these walls out into the world.
To truly honor our heritage, it is important to heed the lessons it teaches us. It is does not matter as much who we are or where we come from, but what we stand for.
Thank you all very much.
-Matt Gorman
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