Madeline Booth Graduation Speech

Madeline Booth – Graduation Address – June 9, 2021

I used to think that school was just a place you go to learn; Just a boring building with teachers, a few friends and that was pretty much it. I had a fairly questionable shadow day, but the second I walked into Brandeis as a real student, I realized that it was the place where I would feel at home for the next three years.

I am going to miss the beaming smiles on the teachers’ faces. Even though we can’t see them anymore because of the masks, I know that they’re there. I am going to miss our full-grade knock-out basketball games. I am going to miss leading prayers and saying Kavanot at our Tefillah. I am going to miss all this and so much more. 

But I know that I am ready for the next stage of my life. I know that where I am going and whatever I decide to do, I will be taking the lessons and the values that Brandeis has given me. I have made the type of amazing relationships that I didn’t even know existed.   

So thank you; Thank you for always making me feel safe and heard. Thank you for making me laugh until I can’t breathe. Thank you for allowing me to have some of the most meaningful conversations I have ever had. Thank you to my teachers for always supporting me in every way possible and for being there for my classmates and me. I cannot express how much I have grown as a person here whether it be from exploring my Jewish identity in JS, understanding and learning about major world issues with Ms. Daniels and Mr. Friedman, or just being part of this extraordinary group. Thank you to the administration for allowing everyone in the Brandeis community to have the best experience possible. I know I have. 

Thank you to my parents for encouraging me to be confident, standing out, pushing me to follow my passions, and always stand up for what I believe in. Thank you to my siblings, all five of you, for always keeping a smile on my face, well not always, but you know what I mean. And finally, thank you to my class. Throughout the ups and downs of our middle school experience, we have made the best we could of it. Always having fun whether it is from bursting out into the Macarena or the Hava Nagila. We made it!

So thank you all for making me realize that school is SO much more than a building.