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Voice of the Graduate - Michael Arnold

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Michael Arnold shares a reflection on his personal growth during his time at St. Edmund Prep and acknowledges some of the important people who helped to shape his life along the way.

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There is an old adage in sports that I heard as a player and used as a coach, “ that player wears their heart on their sleeve”. Those that know Michael Arnold can say that not only does he epitomize this phrase, but he takes to another, incredibly powerful level.  Whether it is hearing his voice bellowing through the gym during a defensive drill for the varsity basketball team or his quiet, but bold presence volunteering for numerous campus ministry endeavors, Mike has always worn his heart on his St. Edmund Prep sleeve. To be truthful, knowing Michael the way I do and all he has done here for St. Edmund, that heart is way too big to fit on his sleeve and for that, we as school have been truly blessed. I’d like to bring up Michael Arnold.

Good evening, members of the St Edmund Prep family, Ladies and gentlemen. I am very pleased to be speaking with you all today on behalf of the SEP class of 2022. I hope you feel as excited as I am to be a part of this great moment. I would like for you all to lend me your ears for a few minutes to share this speech that is very important to me.  First I would like to say congratulations to the class of 2022, we have all worked so hard to make it to this point and our work and efforts did not go unnoticed. But while graduation and diplomas are wonderful things, it is not our end goal in themselves;	it is only the beginning of the larger journey of our lives, the launching point.  We all have a bright future ahead of us. I want to thank my parents, my aunt and my cousins for the sacrifices they have made for me to be at a school with such an amazing community, a great education, and an outstanding experience. Without them, I would be a completely different person, they kept my head over water, and I will be forever grateful for the sacrifices and efforts they have made for me to have a bright and opportunity filled future. My experience here at St Edmund has been nothing but special. I’ve learned so much from not only my teachers but from the faculty, coaches, janitors, classmates, cafeteria workers, security guards, and more. You have all  taught me the value of hard work and how it will pay off. Most importantly, you have all taught me the value of caring for others no matter who they are and what they look like.
I’m also grateful for the coaches I have gotten to meet and play for. It was an honor and blessing to be apart of your teams. Coach Romano, you ran the absolute stuff out of me and my teammates freshman year, but in the end it helped us to be better athletes and made us realize what it took to make it in varsity basketball, and for that I thank you for that experience. Coach Walsh, I’m going to be honest I never met not only a coach but a person like you. You are the most intense coach I’ve ever got the opportunity to play for, you pushed us with a lot of tough love, but you brought the best out of not only me but my teammates, you wanted to see us succeed as basketball players and you worked everyday to push us to be better and I thank you for that. Coach Waitre, you gave me an opportunity I never thought I would have, you gave me the blueprint for playing time and I followed it every time I stepped on the court and I thank you for that. Also I would like to thank you for the clothes you gave me. I am forever grateful for you and your generosity. I want to also thank all my other coaches from over the years. I appreciate every single one of you, you all have made my journey not only great but something I’ll always remember. And I can’t forget about my teammates, thank you for dealing with me everyday. all of y’all are truly special to me and you all hold a special place in my heart, I know I called yall teammates but y’all are more then that to me, y’all are my brothers and family, I’ll forever be grateful for all of you

I would also like to thank all of my teachers throughout the years. Every single one of you has inspired me to be the best version of myself in the classroom. I am happy to say that I not only have teachers but role models, hard working, and inspirational people who have taught me how to grow up for the past 4 years. You all have helped me grow from a young 14 year old kid who had bad grades in middle school to a young man who has improved his grades to the point where I have many scholarships from different colleges for academics. All of you have taught me so much, you were patient with me and you were there to help me with anything and everything. That’s why I’m here where I am today cause of all of you, all the awards and the scholarships wouldn’t be there without the help of all my teachers and I will forever be grateful that I had the blessing to meet and be a student for all of you. 
Next, I want to talk about the administrators that have always been understanding with me, without them I wouldn’t be standing in this building. You took a chance with me and I’m so happy you did. In fact, this is the only high school that accepted me as a student. You gave me this opportunity and I’m very grateful for that. You are the only reason I can say I have a clear future with all your help. You never left me out of any event, you always allowed me to come and enjoy and not stress over problems. Over these past 4 years you have treated me like family, and words can’t describe how thankful I am.

The last two people I want to thank are my mother and father. I know I don’t talk about this a lot but thank you. Thank you for all your sacrifices, thank you for giving me the life that I have, thank you for teaching me right from wrong. And I know my mother is no longer around to hear this, but she will forever be in my heart for being the strongest woman I knew. I know I can never pay you back but I’ll always show you that I understand now, I love you both. 
So to end, from this day forward, let us make each decision with our best interests in mind. Let us believe in ourselves so that we may reach our goals and fulfill our dreams.	Let us be the best that we can be so that we may fill our lives and the lives of those closest to us with happiness and with pride. We’ve already taken the first step by making it to this ceremony today. Now, it’s time to take the next steps in the journey of our lives and begin to build our futures. So congratulations and thank you to the class of 2022!

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Voice of the Graduate - Michael Arnold

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