‘Don’t sell yourself short’: North Hills commencement speakers offer positivity, encouragement

With high school in the rear-view mirror, this year’s graduates embark on paths that they hope will lead to prosperity, accomplishment and happiness.

In preparing her farewell address for the North Hills Class of 2024, Avery Gallagher provided some perspective in that regard.

“I thought a lot about what I can say about success, but I’ve had a difficult time because success truly is defined differently for everyone. Success for some of us may be finding the perfect college, buying a house, getting married, landing our dream job or even checking something off our bucket list,” Avery, the senior class president, said.

“But we all unquestionably achieved a great success today as we walked across the stage to accept our diplomas.”

She served as one of the featured speakers during commencement on May 31 at Martorelli Stadium, giving her classmates a confidence boost.

“Success starts with yourself and believing you will be and are successful. Surround yourself with people who want to see you succeed and people who will celebrate with you when you succeed, no matter what that success looks like to you,” she said. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

With that, she led the traditional moving of graduation-cap tassels from the right side to the left, and the grads celebrated by tossing their caps skyward.

At North Hills, seniors who have earned a quality-point average above 3.5 during four years of high school can submit entries to give the annual Academic Honors Student Speech, with a panel of staff members choosing the speaker.

This year’s selection, Connor Gerst, further addressed the concept of achievement.

“In the words of Maya Angelou, ‘Success is loving life and daring to live it.’ I think we should all live by this quote,” he said. “It takes courage, the audacity to dare, to escape our comfort zones and reach the realm of success.”

As a personal example, he told about opting out of playing football in 12th grade because of injury, causing him “to leave behind a piece of my identity.”

“To stay connected with the team, I decided to pick up a camera. I found a new passion in sports photography, and from there, I only grew. I did not give up. I found perspective and a new way to pursue sports,” Connor said.

“Failure and loss are important parts of life. They should not create stalemate. We need them in order to grow. What may appear to be the end actually creates new beginnings for us. This can only happen if we enjoy life while still solving our problems.”

As North Hills School Board president since 2019, Allison Mathis has spoken each year at commencement. This time, she did so as the mother of a graduate, Colter Mathis, his class’ treasurer.

“I guess that means I am also graduating, graduating from being ‘medium old,’ as my kids like to say, to just plain ‘old,’” she joked.

“A few of my friends suggested that I use ChatGPT to write my speech, but AI tools just don’t have the thread of memories or the authenticity,” Allison said. “Finding your authentic voice is not always easy, but I believe that in the age of AI and ChatGPT, it is more important to try. So as I began to write my speech, I sat at my desk feeling uncertain but determined.”

Nevertheless, she came through with a message of positivity.

“I’m grateful to have had a unique view into this class: the personalities, the challenges, the losses, the triumphs,” she said. “And as I stand here before you today, with confidence I say that your journey adds up to something special. You are all individually special and collectively special as a class.”

Principal Kevin McKiernan offered similar words of encouragement.

“As I’ve watched you grow over the past four years, I was constantly impressed by this senior class: your drive, your leadership, your perseverance, your willingness to see obstacles as opportunity, your creativity, your service, your care for others and your never-ending pride in being from North Hills,” he said. “For that, I thank and am proud to celebrate you here tonight.”