Mark Shields' Keynote Address

Over the past few weeks, I have had some suggestions from members of the class for what I might speak about this morning. I could describe my U.F.O sighting again, I could discuss the finer points of ‘truckin”,I could talk more about the dog on the Lewis and Clark expedition, I could further profess my love or as I’ve been told, “bromance” for Teddy Roosevelt. I could even have Lester “Hambone” Jenkins from the California Gold Rush speak on my behalf. While all great suggestions, as the saying goes, “been there, done that”. Speaking of sayings, I’ll begin today with a bit of etymology, the study of the origins of words and phrases. Even more than individual words, the etymology and historical origins of popular phases is fascinating to me. Many phrases such as “lock stock and barrel”, “not worth a Continental”, “bury the hatchet”, “the 3rd degree”, “chow down”, “bite the bullet”, and “basket case” are just a few examples with roots in American history. The phrase “big shoes to fill”, however, seemed the most fitting for today. Although the origins of this phrase are not totally clear, it’s first published usage goes back to the early 19th century and a speech by President Andrew Jackson.

Each class at Sanford develops its own character and personality while remaining a collection of unique individuals. The class of 2013 strikes me as a group with a great sense of humor, amazing talents in a variety of areas, and many unique shared interests. I am a big fan of English Premier League soccer, and I will really miss having this shared connection with an unusually large number of the members of this class. Why one could prefer either team from Manchester over Tottenham is beyond me, but how anyone could support Chelsea is, to use another phrase from history, “beyond the pale”. Nigel, and Danny Bloom, try to control yourself. At least Patrick has my back on this.

This class has certainly grown closer together and matured tremendously over the past 4 years, both as a class, and as talented individuals. Our rising seniors, the class of 2014, certainly have “big shoes to fill” next year. This class includes so many extremely talented young men and women, including National Merit Scholars, Award winning scholar-athletes, Nationally recognized artists, All-State athletes, more than our share of the State’s top vocal and musical talent, Delaware’s Gatorade Player of the year in basketball, and Delaware’s male Presidential Scholar. This class leaves “big shoes to fill” in academics, the performing and visual arts, and in athletics. Take for example the underclassmen on the boys’ basketball team. For them, the phrase “big shoes to fill” takes on a more literal meaning with the size 13, 13, and 14 sneakers worn by Kyle Rose, Shayne Sanders, and Austin Ford respectively. A few great examples of the talents of this class have been very apparent over the past few weeks at many end of year ceremonies, and for those who might have missed them, you have already and will continue to be wowed as we go through the program today. Not that I can in any way claim to be a trained music critic, but in my opinion, what comes out of the duo of Alex and Olivia is always better than anything that I have heard from professionals.

When asked to identify the one area, outside of academics, where they developed their individual talents the most, a significant number of this class pointed to leadership skills. Certainly Rob, Caroline, Megan Kozar , and Dan Rios would agree, having done a tremendous job as the senior class officers this year. Many, including Megan Yung, Asiyah, Kyle Oberle,Morgan, Kira, Dylan, Shayne, and Sabri found those leadership opportunities on the fields, mats, trails, and courts of our athletic program. Others, including Greg, Cailin, Anna, Rob, Weston, Sammie, and Valerie gave credit to our performing arts program for their opportunity to develop self-confidence and leadership skills. Members of this class including Lauren and Chelsei noted that learning to take responsibility for one’s own actions was an important area of personal growth. During my freshman or plebe year at the Naval Academy, I was restricted that year to using only 5 basic responses; Yes Sir, No Sir, Aye Aye Sir, I’ll Find Out Sir, and No Excuse Sir. That last one was especially difficult because sometimes you really do have a valid excuse. But excuses also come far too easily. Try that one, making no excuses for even one week and you’ll see what I mean.

Own up to your own actions or inactions. In the words of a great American President “If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month”. Guess who said that? (Teddy Roosevelt) Of course I had to work him into this speech. Many members of this class also gave me some input of examples of specific people who have or continue to inspire them. Although I fully expected to see many names of celebrities from the entertainment world and professional sports, the overwhelming majority singled out individuals much closer to home. To our parents in the audience, I saw your names a lot and read quite a few very moving tributes to your impact. Others credited siblings and in many cases grandparents as their main source of inspiration. To my fellow faculty members, so many of our graduates have been inspired by so many of you. Athletic coaches have also inspired many of our graduates. I want to urge the many graduates who credited parents, siblings, teachers, and coaches as their primary source of inspiration to please make it a point to tell these important people that personally. Thank them, and let them know how they have made a positive impact.

Part of any commencement address is for the speaker to provide some parting words of wisdom or advice to the soon-to-be graduates. I know that you have all been bombarded with advice over the past year from your parents, teachers, college counselors, etc, but I have 5 short points of advice, some broad, some specific, not with any theme, but all important to me. So to borrow a line from Lloyd Johns, “Listen up, these are pearls”. Advice #1: Be open to compromise. President Obama has been recently making the point that this nation was built on compromise. As a history teacher, I can confirm that this is indeed true. Our Constitution and our nation’s past is filled with compromise. Some have worked out rather well, while others were shortsighted and short-lived. There are certainly times when a particular situation warrants an uncompromising stand, but in my opinion, our nation is currently in desperate need of leaders willing to build consensus while also being open to compromise. Too frequently, progress in our nation and around the globe is being held hostage by close minded and extremist groups or individuals. To the class of 2013, I urge you to keep an open mind, carefully consider all points of view, but generally be open to compromise.

Advice #2: Don’t neglect the effort. As students, your performance here at Sanford has been based on a combination of ability and effort. From a teacher’s or professors perspective, the ‘dream student” consistently applies a strong effort to their innate ability. Personally, however, if asked to prioritize the two areas, I’m sure that most teachers, professors, and employers would choose the effort first and foremost. Many of our graduates, including Austin, Greg , Dani Miller, Alexandra, Kyle, Lauren, Sam, Lucas, and Ian Cruz recognized the importance of effort, dealing with adversity, and being able to manage and balance multiple tasks as a significant area of personal growth. Advice #3: And here’s the one that might make some of you a bit uncomfortable, but it’s for your own good. Your generation, as I repeatedly told you in class, are the trend-setters. I tried to get your class to bring back “truckin”. I even taught you how to do it. And while I do appreciate the effort some of you put into trying to spread it for a few days, it never caught back on. I tried to get you to bring back the mullet haircut. Another failure. And for the guys, I tried to convince you to bring back the short shorts like I used to wear “back in the day” and that my friend Clint Williams continues to sport on the weekends. Probably a good thing you brushed me off on that one. But please don’t brush me off on this one. I urge you all to do your part to, in this case, reverse a trend, the growing trend of distracted driving. Please keep your full focus on your driving and don’t use your phone to talk or text. Is it illegal? YES. Is it illegal for a good reason? YES. Does it diminish your focus on the road and other traffic? YES. Do many people get in trouble for doing it? NO. Using your phone while driving puts yourself and all of us at risk, so the reason to not do it isn’t about the law or fines, but because it is unsafe and not right. Can it wait? YES. We often talk about how Sanford is like an extended family. This really is more than a cliche´. I speak for all of the faculty and administration when I say that we truly care for each of you and for your wellbeing, and that doesn’t end with your graduation. Advice #4: Fit in Fitness. Every member of this class has participated on athletic teams here at Sanford, and a significant number will continue to compete at a higher level at college. But for all of you, find ways to fit fitness into your lives for the long haul, for both your physical and mental health. Consider intramural or club teams at college, adult leagues after that, or something more individual. You may even learn to love running as Mary has over the past 4 years. There is such a wide variety of fitness and workout options, find ones that are fun. Make the time to fit in fitness, put down the electronics, get out in the great outdoors, it’s spectacular.

And my last piece of advice, #5: Be nice to people. Both my son and daughter were Sanford lifers, so for many years until they acquired their own cars, we had the daily drive together to school. At the time, I know that it drove them crazy, but my standard daily line to both when they got out of the car was “be a good student, and be nice to people”. You cannot overstate the positive impact of a compliment, a few kind words, making eye contact and initiating a greeting when passing, or even a simple smile. My mood and energy always improved from the consistent daily greetings I received from Sabri, Gabi, Shae, Mary, and Will at the start of class last year, or from Cristina’s smile or Lucy’s laugh, or the consistent hallway greeting that I can always expect from Bobby. Learning to embrace diversity, relate to people, and build friendships were important skills mentioned by Rob, Jo, and Kyle Rose. As you leave Sanford, I hope that my daily reminder to do an R.A.K, random act of kindness each day, stays with you. Again quoting from T.R, “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people”.

To conclude, I want to return to that phrase “big shoes to fill”, for there will be opportunities to do just that in the coming months here at Sanford. I want to recognize the decade of superb and tireless leadership that we have all benefitted from with Mark Wagner as our Upper School Head. The good news is that he will still be here next year in a new position. The class of 2013 has been lucky to have had 4 years with Mr. Wagner, and you guys also have to admit that he is a heck of a floor hockey goalie. And speaking of “big shoes to fill”, we wish fair winds and following seas to 3 Sanford legends; Andre Dagenais, Sue Dagenais, and Lloyd Johns, as they begin their well deserved retirements. Andre’s passion and energy for math, science, and engineering has never wavered, nor have his standards of excellence and his commitment to nurturing his student’s interests and talents. Sue has worn so many hats so to speak during her tenure at Sanford, her leadership and especially her compassion and positive example have been instrumental in maintaining and growing our school climate as a safe and welcoming community. And what can I say about Lloyd? He has been a mentor to me and to my colleagues in the History department. His standards of academic excellence combined with his wit, humor and prowess for phrases in a variety of languages have deservedly entered into legend. He is also a brilliant person. So here is another piece of advice, and again, this one’s for everyone; If you ever find yourself on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and you are getting up into the big money questions, but you are unsure of the answer, use the “phone a friend” option. But here’s the tip, you don’t even need to think twice, call Lloyd Johns. If anyone will know the answer, he will! I’ll be posting his phone number on the website later today. I have been on the Sanford faculty for a long time, but even when I started these 3 superb educators were fixtures here. Over the years they have achieved icon status. If Sanford was a professional sports franchise, we would be retiring their numbers, and hanging their jerseys from the rafters.

Sanford’s class of 2013, you have been primed to shine. I wish you all the best of luck as you go forward. While I do believe in some element of pure “luck” so to speak, I hope that many of you remember the quote that hangs in the front of my classroom, “luck is when preparation meets opportunity”. Sorry, not T.R this time. As you head off in the coming month’s to distant locations like Israel, Colorado, California, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, the Carolinas, or in many other cases, just down the road a bit, there will be numerous opportunities for each of you to make your mark, to fill some big shoes in a variety of areas. The personal examples of leaving “big shoes to fill” that I have used today share a common denominator and that it their passion for what they do. Follow their example, find and pursue your own passion, and leave your mark on your community and on those around you. But for right now, just enjoy this day, time with your families and friends, graduation parties and celebrations, accepting all of our congratulations for a job well done and for having reached a significant point of transition in your lives. Thank you again for the honor and opportunity to speak today.