Every Friday the Waldorf School of Garden City High School gathers in the student room for the weekly Student Assembly that consists of (1) an extended speech by a senior on a topic of particular interest to them, and (2) the recitation of a poem, (either existing or original) by a junior. The Senior Speeches and Junior Poems are a rite of passage for Waldorf students and are a required part of the high school curriculum.

Friday, January 6, 2017

Senior Speeches

First, Senior Max Pascucci gave his speech entitled “Money Can Buy Happiness.” His presentation, despite it’s suggestive title was not about endorsing an overly materialistic worldview, but rather an exploration in how responsible financial planning can give people the freedom to follow their passions and give them the opportunities to lead happier lives.

In his speech Max explained how he felt that people should not have to choose between making money and pursuing their dreams. With the right planning, both are achievable. To this end, Max presented his steps on how to make money while achieving personal goals. His advice included: mastering a skill to help establish one’s place in the job market, learning how to save and develop good spending habits, and remembering to give back to the communities that helped one achieve their goals along the way. We wish Max the best of luck in all future endeavors.

Next up was Senior Sidra Akhtar, who spoke about her self-made magazine, “I am the Dead Bird.” In her speech she explained how she was inspired to create her own magazine based on her life experiences and using her love of photography. She showed off some of the magazine layouts and explained the ways she used her art to connect different times, places and ideas.

Throughout the pages, Sidra explored a connection between the past and the present, using photography to draw correlations between her current family and past generations. She also explored how human emotions have striking connections to nature, using an image of raindrops on glass resembling human tears. She passionately explained how the process of making the magazine helped her through difficult times in her life, and she hopes a future magazine will present a more upbeat image now that she feels she has grown stronger as a result of her experiences. We wish Sidra good luck with her magazine!