On a rainy Sunday morning, elected valedictorian Alex Rego ’15 addressed faculty, students, and the Class of 2015 and their families. He spoke of his class coming together and becoming a part of something bigger than any one individual, thanks to the shared experiences of the Class of 2015 and of all Middlesex alumni. Alex encouraged his classmates to consider what they take with them rather than what they leave behind, and to look forward to new beginnings. Below are excerpts from his remarks.
We say it all the time, but we’re really lucky to be a part of community like Middlesex. It nurtures us, prepares us, challenges us, all for the day, today, that we will step beyond those two pillars on Lowell Road for good. So with this day comes questions, big questions. Questions about regrets and about wasted opportunities. But also questions about the future and what it holds. Do we have what it takes? How prepared are we? These are scary questions, ones that I don’t have any concrete answers to. But I hope, at the very least, to take some confidence from our experiences as a class, from the communal moments that we all share.
We arrived here four years ago as individuals, but we leave here as a group. We leave here with the confidence that comes from being part of something bigger than any one test, game, or audition. We leave here as a class.
There are some shared experiences that unite every Middlesex student, past, present, and future. Making a plaque, passing Writing Workshop, and stepping on to the field, court, or ice with a Middlesex jersey on your back and feeling an incredible sense of pride. This day should be a celebration of those experiences.
So, what do we leave here with? Let’s focus on what we take from Middlesex rather than what we leave behind. Let’s focus on the positives. Say goodbye today, but don’t let that be the end of it. We bonded so much as a class over these past four years, so let’s sustain these relationships and not think of leaving in terms of loss. Change is not a zero-sum game and we’ve gotten too much from this place to think of graduation as leaving anything behind.
To end, I’d like to quote T.S. Eliot: “What we call the beginning is often the end. And to end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”
Let’s not forget all that Middlesex has given us, but I think we’re all ready to make from this end a new beginning.
Congratulations Class of 2015!