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COMMENCEMENT ADDRESSES
The Valedictory Address Lily Napach '21
Hi everyone! I just wanted to put it out there that I am really nervous, but I will take Coach Karpinski’s words about nerves, I think they just mean I care. So here it goes. When our classes ended almost a month ago and we all went on our separate ways to embark on our senior projects, I spent 3 weeks filming an interview with my 97 year old great-grandmother, a Holocaust survivor. Sitting at her kitchen table, we spent hours discussing her experience in the war. We held hands, and our eyes welled with tears as she talked about all that she lost as she went from the Lodz Ghetto to various concentration camps. She sat tall as she told her tale of survival, recounting how she literally ran with bullet and shrapnel wounds in her legs as she was liberated. I sat there proud of the strong, brave, and resilient woman in front of me, and I felt connected to her. In telling me her story, she transformed an isolated individual memory into something we now shared. While the interview was valuable to me personally, I didn’t know what to do with my footage to make it into a senior project. However, during the course of our conversations, my great-grandmother kept asking me — what will you do with the interview? Who will see it? How many will watch?, clearly pressing me to share her story. Being a shy and private person, I was a little confused as to why she would want me to share her personal details with so many people. However, as she continued to explain the importance of spreading the lessons from her journey, I thought about how valuable what I learned was. I learned the dangers when a community does not stand up against hate. I learned how to be resilient, brave, and strong when presented with challenges. And I realized by telling her story, much as sharing a bit about her today, I can
help us all learn to be courageous, to care, to advocate, and to speak up against hate. So, with the help of my great-grandmother, I came away with two takeaways about storytelling: the first: retelling stories is a way to amplify the lessons that can be learned from them. And second: I realized that as a member of a generation that will likely be the last living link to Holocaust survivors, I have an obligation to share her story. More generally, it is important to recognize when we occupy a unique position to tell a certain story. I began to write this speech around the time I was finishing up my senior project. I struggled a lot. It was really hard for me to think of something to say when I felt that each member of our class had an anecdote or lesson that would offer just as much wisdom. With the insights I learned from my senior project in mind, I began to think about my speech today as a chance to be a storyteller for our grade. We’ve experienced some pretty amazing moments as a senior class, and I think as a speaker today, I have a unique opportunity to amplify the impact these stories had on me by sharing them with all of you. The first story I want to tell is one that highlights the kindness that lives within the Hackley community.
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