Valedictorian's Address

Valedictorian's Speech

Thank you all for coming tonight, to celebrate the greatest cohort in schooling history, the graduating class of 2023. 

To say I was surprised to be appointed valedictorian would be an understatement, I don’t think I even knew what a Valedictorian was when Gary asked me, and once I did I figured there were so many capable people within our year level. Let’s face it, I didn’t choose English Language because I love speaking in front of crowds. 

So it is truly an honour to be given this opportunity.

I would like to start by thanking my fellow school captains, Tabby, Ezzat, and Monique,

it has been a privilege to work alongside you, I think we’ve been an incredibly strong leadership group, and your ongoing commitment to the school throughout the year was remarkable. 

I’d especially like to mention Tabby who along with being a captain, represented us as a school council member, and has been instrumental in organising and planning school events and captains’ meetings. We may have given her the Teacher’s Pet Award at the Formal, but we truly thank her for planning all the things we would otherwise only have talked about. 

We are the biggest group of Year 12s to graduate from CHS since the school reopened in 2015. And since our start in 2018, through to our final days of high school, we’ve seen the school change drastically around us. 

We’ve seen additions, like renovations, removing the open-plan classrooms  which was a well-needed change. (thanks Stewart)

We’ve seen new blue courts, new portables, which have greatly improved our physical fitness in terms of travel time. 

We've witnessed the school evolving around us, but it doesn't seem like much has changed because we've also grown and evolved along the way. 

Each of us has changed so much in six years, that who we were in year 7 might be completely different to who we are now, but some of us are still the same. 

Sometimes we take for granted the support that school has offered us. 

To our senior school leaders Katherine, Callum, Eve and Dave, your support over the past three years has meant the world to us. 

Your dedication, patience, and tireless efforts haven't gone unnoticed.  And although sometimes we could be painful, (especially in assemblies), you managed to get us all here tonight and were always there for us when we needed help. Christina, your unwavering support for everyone completing missed SACs and handling our forms has been a lifeline for many of us. Agnes, you have provided invaluable guidance and support, helping us chart our paths beyond high school. And to all the other support staff, you are the backbone of our school, and without your continuous hard work and persistence, so many of us would have not made it here tonight.

I’d like to thank our principals Mel, Belinda, Gary and  Brent our School Principal for providing us with the most seamless schooling experience, and creating an environment that allowed us to perform to our best while feeling supported and valued every step of the way.

And I’m positive most of us would not be where we are today without the incredible teachers we have the honour of being taught by. The time and effort they have put into helping us has solidified them as not just skilled educators, but mentors and role models that have a genuine interest in our well-being and future. For me this included Tina who gave up numerous afternoons answering my trivial maths questions, sometimes staying past 5pm at school just to help a few students and I understand a topic. This was also Selina for me, who again gave up her time to help English Language students, providing thorough insightful feedback and masterclasses after school that provided invaluable knowledge and showed her dedication towards us. 

There are so many teachers who have looked out for us in this manner and most of what they do happens without acknowledgement, so to all the teachers, on behalf of the 2023 class, I’d like to thank you for everything you’ve done for us.

I would also like to acknowledge the parents and carers. As I look around the room tonight I can see so many proud parents and carers and let’s be frank, a few surprised ones… 

Some of us are lucky enough to have two people at home keeping on top of our busy lives, caring for us, driving us to school when we sleep-in,helping us with schoolwork, while also working full-time jobs, and trying to ignore the stresses of their lives with the additional stresses that year 12 brings. I’m very lucky to have two parents who are willing and able to help me whenever I need, and while they may not be the best at helping me with my Methods homework, their flexibility and willingness to support me has benefited me in every subject. 

For example in my film, who better to play the father and mentor of the main character than my dad, without him the film would not be possible, I just asked him “hey can you drive me out with a bunch of other mates to a random place in the bush to film and also be one of the main actors in my film?” to which he agreed without hesitation. To have a mum who reduced her workload to help me in my last year of high school is something that I maybe didn’t appreciate until I needed that support. 

For a lot us having mum onside is something that meant the matter of passing VCE or not.

It is reflecting on moments like this where I realise how much my parents have sacrificed for me, others are not as fortunate. However, if we’re lucky we all have someone in our corner. It might be a sister, an Aunt, a grandparent or family friend, and our achievement is also theirs. Tonight is about not just acknowledging our cohort's achievements, but also the people around us who have got us here through every hardship and every success.

Considering our school is likely in one of the most progressive areas in Australia it’s no surprise to learn that we are more than simply a year level that hits the books. 

We have so much talent, whether that be creative, academic, athletic, or countless other abilities, and it’s important that before we finish the year, we celebrate these talents. 

We've seen extraordinary achievements, whether that be Caden and Moe in the Basketball Academy, Moudy playing in the VFL, Leo playing piano at the Jazz Lab, Jack making playing drums look too easy, or the incredible art and film that our cohort has produced, just to name a few. It's part of what makes our year level truly exceptional, it's the range of talents that have brought us together, and what makes our 2023 cohort, the best of the best.

For all of us, Coburg High has been many things. For me it's been sitting out on the grass on warm summer days, the boiling hot rooms in the top of building A, it's the long months where you hate the music that's being played for the bell, or even worse your physics teacher singing to it as you walk into the room. 

It’s the incredible smells from the food tech room when you’re an hour away from lunch. 

The wild goose chase when your class gets moved to EG.15, and you spend 10 minutes awkwardly walking in and out of various classrooms.

And It’s the feeling of excitement as you walk up to Bell St, ride out the front gate or try to find your mum somewhere waiting in Pentridge. 

Our year level has had some incredible experiences, whether that was the cabin wars at year 11 camp, inter-school sports, day out in the city, or the invaluable education from local Wurundjeri people with the Merri Creek just 100 metres from the school. 

We have been provided with a high school journey full of open doors, and endless opportunities. But as much as I could bang on about how great everything has been, it wouldn’t be a fair speech if I didn't mention the hardships we’ve experienced…. 

And this inevitably means I have to talk about covid. 

The Google meets, endless boredom, the terrible sleeping and exercise patterns, we got it all, and we certainly couldn’t have done it without our poor teachers teaching lessons to a sea of students whose “cameras weren’t working”, and trying to connect with students remotely. 

It's crucial to recognise that we, as residents of Melbourne endured more days in lockdown than any other city in the world, and we all still made it here today, but at the same time we’ve had it so good. 

We see all the dreadful news about the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the horrific living conditions millions of people are in, and we take for granted basic needs like water, food, shelter, and education. 

We should be so proud of our achievements, but never forget how lucky we are to have such fortunate circumstances.

We’ve also had our fair share of challenges thrown our way as a cohort. 

Math Pathways made us all feel like Einsteins, just to find out that finishing a couple of modules a week surprisingly did not give you direct access into Specialist Maths.

We’ve had the pass rate for SACs changed on us, which really goes to show how much our year has lifted its game - although that has meant more of a struggle for some. 

We’ve also had to juggle working part-time jobs and other outside commitments with schoolwork, making a year that’s already demanding enough even more difficult. 

Through our perseverance and determination, we have pushed ourselves and become more resilient, and that has pushed us to where we are tonight.

I always find it annoying to hear people talking about Gen Z as if millions of people worldwide can be generalised to a single list of attributes and attitudes. My role tonight is similar. It’s to sum up our school experience and speak for an entire year level. A tough job when we are 140-odd individuals. 

That’s 140 different stories, 140 different experiences of success and failure, 140 people who deserve a speech of their own. And you do deserve a speech of your own, 

but I can only talk from my perspective and I feel that it’s both a blessing and a curse to be the voice of our cohort tonight.

At the start of year 12, it felt like the end was so unimaginably far away, that even the idea of uni applications seemed silly. But this year has been so much work and concentration that I think a lot of us have just had our heads down working. And not realised that it’d been an entire term, then a full semester, then all of a sudden, before any of us have had the chance to take a step back, and take a breather, we’re graduating. With less than a month away from the end of exams and a new chapter of our life beginning, whether that be uni, TAFE, travel, or work.  We can look back on all the opportunities and lessons we’ve had over the span of our 6 years, and see how CHS has tested us and prepared us for future years to come. 

And while it’s exciting to be at such a significant crossroads in our lives, and it is easy to just choose whatever is safe, it's important that you follow your ambitions and don’t be scared to see where they lead you.

As we move forward from this point, the reality is, that in the coming years, we’ll all take different paths, and won't all stay as closely connected as we are today. But what's truly remarkable about our cohort is that regardless of gender, religion, or social standing, the shared experiences and bonds we've formed over our time at Coburg will ensure that, whether it's 6 months, or 70 years from now, our connection as CHS students will always unite us.

Josh Riordan