Video Gallery

2018 Baccalaureate Mass Speeches - Conor Leon

Go to Video Gallery Added Jul 02, 2018 •

Copy this URL:
Embed code:	<iframe class="edlio-embed-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="360" src="//www.stedmundprep.org/apps/embed/?v=187201" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Change dimensions

Go HD

Conor Leon '18 focuses on the relationships with his classmates. The camaraderie between his teammates and his friends allowed them to accomplish more than they could have individually.

Show Transcript

Our next speaker is a young man who I have had the privilege of knowing for a few years before his time here at The Prep. When he was little I knew him to be a kind neighborhood kid, a caring son, and a devoted little brother. But, during his time here I got to know him as the individual that he has become. He is always seen in the hallyways smiling, offering a "Good Morning" and "Have a nice day". He is a person who would drop whatever he's doing to lend a helping hand and someone who will go out of his way to cheer up anyone he's sees having a tough day. As the moderator of The Equinox, I got to see him apply himself outside of the classroom in a really creative way. He was always there to lend a helping hand and when trying to grow the club, which was not easy, he would help make posters and hang them up around the school. He also volunteer to be a representative at the Club Fair, trying to get other students to join. This poor young man was stuck with me for three of his for years here at St. Edmund Prep and all of his English classes. When thinking about him in the classroom, I can only think of his presence as noticed. He was someone who was always eager to participate whether it was to be a part in Death of a Salesman or Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to read aloud and I might add and his own personal and rather unique spin to the various characters, to act in some kind of skit or to offer an awesome discussion point that would get everyone talking. I am so happy that I've been able to get to know him over the last four years and it makes me even happier to know that he will be attending my alma mater in the fall, St. Joseph's College where he will pursue his passion for journalism. Therefore I am so happy to introduce our next speaker of the night, Connor Leon.

Good evening Mrs. McGinnis, Ms. McEvoy, Mr. Raphael, Faculty, Parents, fellow students and honored guests. I have technically been a student at St. Edmund Prep since 2014. However, I felt part of this “family” for much longer. My sister graduated from St. Edmund Prep in 2012. And pretty much after that, I’ve always looked forward to coming to this school that I knew little about. It’s funny because my initial plan was to just survive high school but, just like every high school student at some point, I realized I needed to cherish the years I was spending here.
The idea of building relationships seemed to have been a theme throughout my years here. “St. Edmund Prep is a family”. This sounds like a cliché and I wasn’t really sure I believed it. I was kind of skeptical thinking like “I barely know half the kids in my grade right now; How could we be a family?”. As time went on, I realized that this statement rung more and more true.

Since freshman year, I had at least two or three familiar faces in each of my classes. Having friends in classes was important… more important than some of us realize. Having people to talk to about classwork, of course, funny little things like our “Jersey Shore” themed Romeo and Juliet skit in freshman year English class (Yes, that actually happened). Over the course of these 4 years, I was blessed to have different groups of friends. This gave me this feeling of the camaraderie. And that was something I felt through anything I was involved in here. I felt it on retreat, of course, as that entire experience is meant to bring us closer as classmates. We had people to talk to for advice on anything because we were all experiencing many of the same things at the same time. This created a bond that can’t be replicated. They say that you are the company you keep. I always felt that my friends and even other classmates that I may not have been as close to helped me realized who I am and what I truly value. are a culmination of the company you keep. That’s been true for me however, instead of adopting the behavior and mannerisms, my friends had influenced me to be who I really am and find the things I truly value in life despite what was considered “cool”. I’ve had two friends who were vital to this idea of helping me find myself as a person. When my lame movie or “The Office” references fell flat, Chris Zinser would pick up on it and other times we’d just argue about sports. When I had no real table to sit at for lunch in freshman year, Anthony Colombo was there with his terrible haircut and was friendly to me. When we spoke more I realized that we were more similar than I’d initially thought. This was just a group that has helped me become who I am. This is very important to me because I believe if you can’t be yourself, how are you going to improve and become the best version of you?

I’ve also been part of the basketball program for 4 years. I’ve made sure to say “been part of” as opposed to “played” because I believe I played about 6 minutes in total of my junior year of basketball. Despite my playing time, or lack thereof, I learned that I valued my teammates more than my individual success. Maybe it was to a fault but I felt it was more important to try and make teammates better even if they absolutely hated me by the end of our practice. Obviously basketball at face value wasn’t always the most fun or always the best part of my day. However, during those less fun days of practice and running… a lot… I found the most value in the fact that I had teammates that I looked up to like Jon Auguste, Class of 2017, who felt like a mentor since my freshman year when we played basketball in Marine Park before we even knew each other's names. I had teammates that I’ve known since 6th grade and I could trust like Chris Curatola, because we’ve been playing and arguing about basketball since pretty much the day we met in a small FIllmore Academy classroom. We pretty much knew we’d be teammates for a while so we just stuck together I guess. Moving through the ranks of being on the Freshman Basketball team, then to JV the next year, and eventually being on Varsity for my last two years, there were weeks at a time where I spent more time with teammates than I did my own family at some points. That’s what made me realize that they were at times one and the same. This is that camaraderie I was telling you guys about. And that camaraderie, whether built by basketball or retreat or just sharing the same classes, or struggling through IB classes, it has helped motivate me and make me want to be better in everything that I do. Having this support system around me helped me get through high school and honestly, thoroughly enjoy my experiences. Getting up everyday and always seeing friends in the morning, going through my classes, attending sports events, or putting together fundraisers. That is still a weird thing to think about. I will never be at another basketball practice with my  basketball family again. I won’t be writing anything for Equinox ever again. I won’t ever get to sit in double detention with Mr. Lisboa again. I will never be in another class in St. Edmund Prep. 
	
At this time in our lives, we have become very retrospective. I found myself talking more and more to my friends about memories and immediately be stuck in a state of disbelief that we are even in this position.”Seniors in high school”. This has truly made us realize just how little time we had. And now we’re here. After these four years, I’ve realized what’s important to some, may not necessarily be important to others. Classes like English with Ms. Banilover were instrumental in helping me find what I want to do in life. Basketball taught me what is important in life and the work ethic behind any success. I can proudly say that St. Edmund Prep has shaped who I am today. It has shaped the company I keep, what I do in my life, and of course it has given me the best years of my 18 year old life. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

Video Gallery

2018 Baccalaureate Mass Speeches - Conor Leon

Popular Videos