by Steve Maxon

Before we start, I just have to say, "Go Indians!"  You know they'll always be the Indians to me . . .

I've heard it said . . . that if you're giving a speech, and you feel nervous, you should imagine the audience in their underwear.  Have you heard that trick?  Well, unfortunately, with your president, my brother, I don't have to imagine.  I'm all too familiar with that sight.  And believe me.  It doesn't help.  *shudder*

As Tom said, I’m Steve Maxon.  Most of you already know me; I know I remember many of you who are students.  I started school here at Sackets in 1985, when I was four years old.  Not a whole lot has changed for me since then; I was much shorter in 1985, I couldn’t drive, and I took fewer naps; enjoyed them less.  I made it through elementary school here, and then junior high, and high school, until I finally graduated in 1997.  Some of you seniors - although I hear that most of the seniors who aren't up here on stage have already left, but maybe you guys might understand this – I believed for years and years that I just hated going to school, and I absolutely couldn’t wait to graduate. . . but then it got to February senior year, and all of a sudden things sunk in, and I wasn’t so enthusiastic to leave after all.

So it's kind of nice to be back here again.  It wasn't too long ago – this is kind of embarrassing to talk about – that, well... I was sitting in a class here at Sackets, and I was pretty intimidated by one of my teachers.  In fact, I was so afraid of this teacher that I didn’t dare to raise my hand and ask to use the bathroom.  But I really needed to go!  So I tried to hold it in, I really did.  I was trying my best.  I was thinking I could wait until class ended, but it was really getting harder and harder, and then I got distracted, and I relaxed a bit, and the next thing I knew – BAM – I’d wet my pants.  Absolutely soaked.  Ruined the chair.  And then of course I had to walk out of class with everyone staring at me, and I had to waddle down to the nurse's office, past classes going to lunch, and get a new pair of pants, all alone.

But now I’ve graduated, and things are a little different, so I want you to know this.  I'M NOT AFRAID OF MS. THORNBER ANYMORE!

No. . .  I'm just kidding. . .  The truth is, I actually am still afraid of Ms. Thornber.

Okay, really. . . that story is true, but I was only five years old at the time.  And I’ve decided I’m not going to tell you who the teacher was, because she suffered enough that day.

Anyway!  After I left Sackets five years ago, I went to Houghton College.  Houghton’s a small Christian liberal-arts school in western New York, where I majored in political science, minored in professional writing and Bible, and had a whole lot of fun.  I don’t have time to tell you about all of it now, but I will say that in my time there, I found very few things that couldn’t be improved by wearing a kilt.  Right now, I’m taking a year off, before I attend law school this September, at either Harvard, Cornell, or Syracuse.  I’m not working, but I play music at coffeehouses occasionally, and I spend a lot of time driving Tom and Rose around – and if you know anything about how Tom drives right now, I'm doing that for your sake.

But that’s more than enough about me.  The reason we are here today is to celebrate and recognize the achievements of your classmates, students, children, and friends.  To be inducted into the National Honor Society, a student must excel in five vital areas – scholarship, leadership, character, service, and potential.  Of these five, I want to talk to you mostly about the last three.

Why do I want to stress character, service, and potential?  Well, it’s easy for me to remember what it was like to sit out there as a student.  And I know that some of you might see this assembly as just the last obstacle between you and a week’s vacation, something to sit through, with little relevance to your life.  You might struggle with your grades, and think that the value of scholarship is for the so-called smart kids.  Or maybe you may not feel comfortable as a leader, for one reason or another.

Well, scholarship and leadership are very valuable, and I think everyone should strive to improve in these areas.  But not everyone can graduate with a great average, no matter how hard they try.  And if we all led, no one would ever get anywhere.  Different people have different strengths in different areas.  And that’s the beauty of character, service, and potential.  No matter who you are or what your strengths may be, those three principles remain the same.  They apply to everyone, and everyone should hear about them.

CHARACTER

So the first principle I want to address is character.  It is not really the responsibility of a school to teach character to its students – that’s a job for their parents – but it is essential that this be a place where the formation of integrity is promoted, not attacked.  Public schools are the way that we, as a people, provide our children with the basic knowledge they need to keep civilization going.  If we ignore the role character plays, our country will suffer.

So what does it mean to encourage character?  It means we cannot teach students it’s okay to cheat on their taxes, with the weak explanation that “everyone does it.”  We must tell the truth – when we cheat the government, we only rob ourselves; we are really auctioning off our honor for a few lousy dollars.

What does it mean to encourage character?  It means we cannot look at sports as an end in themselves, but we absolutely have to put them in their proper context.  Far more valuable than the banners that hang in our gym are the lessons our student-athletes learn on the court and the field – how to work together as a team, how to devote themselves to a greater goal, and most importantly, how to deal with life’s disappointments.

What does it mean to encourage character?  It means that we set up rules to govern conduct, and if they are broken, we follow through with the appropriate punishment.  Some of the most important lessons of integrity come when we fail.  Allowing students to avoid the consequences of their actions never helps them grow; it only HURTS THEM, and holds them back.

It’s not always easy or comfortable to create an environment that respects and encourages character.  But in the long run, it’s what we need to do.  We must hold ourselves to a high standard, and learn from our mistakes.  From those to whom much has been given, much will be required.  

SERVICE

  Service.  After all that’s happened in America this past year, one of the things I can be proudest of is the vote I cast for George W. Bush in the 2000 Presidential election.  I’m sure that many of you watched his last State of the Union address, where the President asked each and every American to commit to the equivalent of two years of service to our country, announced the expansion of AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, and proposed a new program – the USA Freedom Corps – to engage more citizens in service.

 This seemed to come as a surprise to a lot of people, even some within Bush’s own party, who seem to see government-encouraged service as somehow insincere.  But it fits exactly what I expected from George W. Bush, because of an answer he gave at a primary debate in December 1999.

Now, at the time, I wasn’t even a Bush supporter – I was rooting for Alan Keyes – and actually, if you voted in the 2000 New York State Republican primary, like I'm sure maybe five of you did, you may have seen me there on the ballot as a delegate for Mr. Keyes.  For my trouble, I picked up a whopping 163 votes from our county, and just over one thousand in our whole district – which works out to a little bit under 1%.  Just missed it!

But as you might remember, at this debate in Iowa, all the Republican candidates were asked who they felt was the most influential political philosopher in their life.  And George W. Bush answered, “Jesus Christ.”

So if Jesus Christ is influencing Bush’s political positions, what did He say about service?  Well, in Matthew 20, He said this:  "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, LET HIM BE YOUR SERVANT.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Bush understands Christ’s words.  The measure of greatness is not scholarship; how intelligent you are, and how many facts you can stuff into your head.  The measure of greatness is not leadership; what you can achieve, or the orders you can give.  The measure of greatness is not position; what people think of you, your status level when compared to others.  The measure of greatness is not power or prestige, accomplishments or ability – the true measure of greatness is SERVICE.  When we can recognize the tremendous wealth of blessings we’ve been given, and then further realize our obligation to help those who are less fortunate, we will soon find that as we give of ourselves, we will receive a higher reward than we could ever dream.

I recently had the privilege to take a mission trip to New York City, where this principle was put into practice.  This trip was actually led by a Sackets student; a friend of mine – she’s here right now – Rachael Hogancamp.  And on this trip, we had the chance to help the homeless on the streets and in the parks of Manhattan and Brooklyn – feeding poor families on Thanksgiving, and handing out warm clothes, baked goods, and toiletries to men who had nothing to their name.  The gratitude we received in return brought us all to tears.  It was very real, and very moving.

I strongly encourage you to become involved in service to others.  It’s one of the most worthwhile things you could ever do.  

  POTENTIAL

I feel very strongly about this last point – potential – because I’ve talked to a lot of people in high school who have a fundamentally wrong opinion of themselves and their potential.  Listen carefully, because this is very important.  Every single one of you is capable of doing something great.  If you don’t think that applies to you, you’re wrong.  And if someone else has made you feel like that doesn’t apply to you, they’re wrong.  Why do I say this?

Our worth as people – our potential – does not depend on what others think of us.  Today, whether you are well-liked or you feel left out, don’t let it affect what you believe about yourself.  The praise of man is fleeting.  It will pass away!  And honestly – I know this is true – not too long after you leave this high school, all the things that seemed so important this past week, and this past year, will just disappear.

When my sister Rose (the fourth-leading scorer in the Frontier League ‘B’ Division, by the way) wasn’t selected as a league All-Star last week, it was disappointing.  But no matter how much it hurt, or how much she deserved the honor, not being picked didn’t take anything away from what she achieved, or what her team achieved.  It’s a hard lesson to learn, but it’s freeing – when you stop worrying about what people think of you, you begin to understand that who you are, and what you can accomplish, doesn’t have anything to do with them anyway!  Don’t let someone else rob you of an honest understanding of your worth.  You all have great potential.  You must never forget that.  

CONCLUSION

Character, service, and potential.  Soon it will be time for us to acknowledge those among us who have excelled in these areas – as well as in leadership and scholarship.  These students about to be inducted into the National Honor Society model for us the excellent fruit that these virtues have produced in their lives.  I hope we can all learn from their examples, for none of us should ever stop striving to grow in these areas.

I am truly honored to have been given the chance to speak to you today, and I want to offer my most sincere congratulations to all the students who will be recognized, to their families, and to their teachers.  Thank you so much for listening, and may God bless you all.

NHS Speech

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