2010 Valedictorian’s Address

June 9th, 2010. Posted in General News

During my first semester at LAS, I was living in Savoy. One night, my Dorm Head and later ToK teacher, Mr. Hitchcock came in and asked me how I was faring up until then. I answered; very honestly, that I dreamt of the day I burnt down the Savoy building. He chuckled and said, “You say that now, but you just wait.” Well, in retrospect, I now, finally, see the wisdom and inevitability in his words. Today we sit here in Graduation robes, ready to say our final goodbyes to LAS, I’ll be honest, I did dream about this day, but now that its here, I’m not so sure anymore.

In my time here at LAS, there have been a number of moments that mapped my life. For that I will miss LAS from the bottom of my heart. We never really expect these moments to occur, but they do and they give us the one thing that lasts with us forever, memories. It could be that moment of a new experience when you had fondue for the first time at The Fromagerie. It could be that moment of utter frustration when you’re banging your head on a table with your friend, comprehending the mystery that is logarithmic equations. It could be the moment you make the unlikeliest of friends while sitting backstage during a theatre performance. Or it could just be the day when you sat outside and stared at the mountains, thinking of absolutely nothing.

These moments have brought meaning and substance to our time here at LAS. They helped forge friendships and create experiences and allowed us to face our utmost fears. For me it was when I stood at the bottom of Berneuse at the beginning of the year and said, “There is no way I can do that…” And my friend Ebi looked at me and responded, “Oh yes you will!” She dragged me, literally at some points, all the way up. That was my moment of victory.

But today is different from all the other days because today we will all experience a number of moments: accomplishment for finally finishing high school, freedom from check-ins, excitement for what comes next and a hint of sadness, as a lot of the people we’ve known and lived with for years are now breaking away from us and heading into different parts of the world. As we step away from LAS and for most of us Switzerland, we all head in various directions to make new moments with new people. But no matter whichever piece of the world we end up in, the moments that we created here at LAS will give us memories that will last us a lifetime.

This day is our day and we’ve all worked long and hard to be here, we all deserve to be here.

Congratulations Class of 2010 for making it to the finish line, for being done with High School.

This is our moment, so let’s seize it!

Thank you.

Soham Panchamiya