evening everyone i was so happy to welcome you here tonight to honor all of our seniors who have done exceptional work certainly over their four years here at belmont high school but definitely this year and terms of their community service we are here to honor them for all that they have done for our school and for our community and in some cases the greater world depending on the service that they did we want to take some time tonight to congratulate you on all that you've done and to wish you the best as you graduate from belmont high school and move forward and i'm sure you will continue to do much community service as you go on i want to start tonight by introducing to you she has you know as our community service director and has been here at the high school in this position for sixteen years now we are so lucky and privileged to have her as the person who is coordinating our community service i can't even begin to describe the the life that she brings to this program i can't even imagine it without her her commitment to providing opportunities for students to counseling students to find the best placement for them and her support of you as you move forward in community service is really second to none this is an important opportunity for you because this is a place where you learn about citizenship and you learn about responsibilities as a citizen of the united states and this is a really wonderful way  thank you welcome everyone to one of the loveliest nights of the year a night when we honor a group of seniors who have committed themselves wholeheartedly to community service i'm always sentimental about the evening always sentimental in battle but as i realized today this is our problem of presidential seniors so it really is a milestone and with that in mind then i thought that i'd begin by taking a brief look back a community service belmont high school when i arrived on the scene at the high school in the fall of one nine hundred ninety eight forty our service requirement one year old but it existed really only nominally without infrastructure and without employment but there was a very rich background of service that dated back alex dated back probably forty five years or more and it started with a pub called the keep this national service club those of a sociology course for baker some of you will remember started an intergenerational program which was so successful with students that it spawned the creation of the service class one thousand nine hundred ninety eight also became the site of researchers found that most students who completed the forty hour requirement went on to do well there's no surprise laughs that's why we're here tonight to celebrate twenty nine inspirational seniors served far beyond the requirements earn the president's volunteer service award in fact seniors in this particular year have formed over five thousand two hundred hours of service that you guys that's to american cities in need who are distant places around the world as you know the presidential awards are part of a national campaign to promote and recognize the stay in service among americans of all ages not just the high school level but for high schoolers students who at least one hundred hours of service in a twelve month are honored at different levels students who perform between one hundred and one hundred seventy four hours rounds of ward one hundred seventy seniors with local certificates now as we await the arrival of the official wards washington i promise they'll arrive and you will get to like to ask dr kingston and the slap him up to do the honors volunteered at wellington after care know hardy was in the karada when a community based project in trash cans on the sidewalk and also working with children amy lynn was in taiwan where she worked in from broken homes andrew logan to trail work with the appalachian mountain and built bridges for our own habitat for in belmont lucy martin roshan volunteered at belmont acres belmont only arm and a very historic moment that dustin rogers also worked at peter stop volunteered at the red cross food pantry we have in the past had kids run in their baseball bats in their baseball uniforms and jason wu did the same thing working on research and cell biology and camp prof unable to be here tonight was a founding mother of the water drop of sorts an orphanage in madagascar and then volunteered andrew struck ridge who also couldn't be here tonight is  still working actually on immigration issues in senator warren's office congratulations all the pro you recognize now the seniors who are earning the silver award for between one hundred seventy five forty nine hours of service ran across for fallen teared with an orienteering group as well as in the  in part by volunteering in birmingham alabama where she painted houses he received a goal toward and volunteered in a hospital lab doing cardiovascular research adults in belmont in vermont and in guatemala david sullivan another gold winner that's worked on immigration issues and senator warren's office and a has also earned a gold award has done many different types of service from wellington after care to breast cancer and congratulations to all of you  good evening i am so honored that miss monica asked to speak tonight about community service means to me over the past four years community service has changed my life all that my character and open my eyes and mind to the world outside of my daily routine and i am thrilled to share some of my thoughts and experiences with all of you is also an incredibly special opportunity for me because i remember being asked to give a similar speech at the community service awards and sixth grade which had been our first year of exposure to there was at school i actually found that speech the other day it made me laugh a little bit because despite the slightly more rudimentary language the essence passage and excitement in that speech the work of went to the essence message excitement that i hope to convey tonight now six years older and ready to graduate from high school i feel as though i've finally come full circle meaning of the word community differs for every individual over the past four years i have had the good fortune of being adopted into the wellington elementary school community since my freshman year i volunteer at the after care program working primarily with kindergarten and first grade students while they draw play learn and grow on their first days of kindergarten the kids walk into the cafeteria timidly their innocent faces expressing simultaneous wonder excitement and there they are as lot john locke's it'd tabula rasa blank slates upon which they're free to crack stories aspirations for the future my dream is to foster and encourage these dreams of the children of today but they too can grow up learning to make a positive impact on society i hope to instill none of the belief that the dr seuss book all the places you'll go is not merely a story but a reality that can be achieved effort perseverance by hours is a part of the commute wellington community of utterly changed me i've observed the development of a patient touring company girl able to solve kids problems and remain level headed and stressful situation ironically maturity has also been accompanied by an innocuous regression but i rediscovered the playful and curious child the hidden within me just as it resides inherently within every individual the word service to articulate connotations memories and experiences for different people as a member of the belmont team club our high schools community service club i've been able to participate in a variety of service activities the most meaningful of which has been our breast cancer awareness month fund raising effort and i came in to be h s i heard about the making strides for breast cancer walk at one of the belmont meeting there was little fanfare some minor fund raising and not much visibility for the cause within our school i remember wishing that i could bring this issue to the forefront of the communities mind it broke my heart to see people as well as their families and friends go through the pain and suffering that cancer instigate over the years we have gradually increased our work for the breast cancer organization and this past november our hot pink fund raising efforts to the collection of over fifteen thousand dollars the making strides organization being the thirteen thousand dollars we had raised in my junior year and leading us to become one of the top three high school contributors massachusetts for the second consecutive year that is not an achievement to be astounded and inspired by i don't know what is energy is defined as the interaction of two or more forests so their combined effect greater than the sum of their individual affect service example of this energy is these two simple words come together represent something that cannot be conveyed in words this elusive entity resides in each and every single person in this room in our school and on this earth this energy has built the foundation of who i am and how i perceive the world bring another nerdy science idea and to the equation in third bob motion states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction i have perform community service since the sixth grade from belmont to communities as far away as uganda africa every project action and fundraiser is an adrenaline rush coursing through my body it feels good to give back and i know that i will never stop there this is a self serving as it is wonderful as you undoubtedly gain something equal reaction if you will whether you are volunteering with kids or raising money for cancer research this cannot be quantified its effects and analyzed it cannot be logged in hours or dollars it does not always have a moral or a happy ending to me he service is about reality and acting in order to nudge the world in a positive thank you amy both sharing your personal reflections and for grace in so many with the gift of your service when you mentioned given the again it reminded me i actually had a look at the draft that it reminded me of one of my favorite quotes from winston churchill not really related to what you said but very much on target he once said we make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give to all that so that thank you mrs malakoff i always enjoy crying with you i just don't show it quite as well amy those are wonderful words and i really want to recognize the seniors who have achieved this degree of community service because it is really a part of becoming an adult and becoming a committed member of a community any pointers of the word community which has its roots in what rich a latin word meaning basically common it doesn't mean common by the sense of oh or universal it means common in terms of a commit that we share a value of community and endorsement what we hold as a value in common and the common care we have for one another not merely simply support one another but to strive there is another word that i want to call to mind too is the word philanthropy we normally think of philanthropy as money foundation for belmont education is an organized philanthropies it grants money school system but the word really means love of humankind love of person and the greatest and richest form of philanthrop from the money that you give out of pocket that can be important but it really comes from the service you give to one another the care that we used to support each other i think one of the most beautiful examples of flann therapy that i've been able to witness in these shaking your hand well done seniors our program for this evening again thank you all for coming out and congratulations to all the seniors on all their hard work