Vivienne Chador Graduation Speech

Vivienne Chador – Graduation Address – June 9, 2021

On my first day of kindergarten, coming onto campus was an exciting experience for me: I was already familiar with the campus because of my then third-grade brother Jake Chador, and because I had many friends from the JCC Preschool coming with me. I enjoyed meeting all my new friends and every morning I would eagerly get up, excited to head to school with my big brother. But then, my first challenge awaited me, in the form of a kindergarten play. I was always the quietest kid in class, and I don’t mean concerning shyness. My voice literally did not know how to be loud. On a loudness scale of 1-5, my voice was a zero, and if you were talking to me it’d look like I was simply moving my lips to look intelligent. It was time for the Kindergarten’s annual Bus Boycott play, and I was cast as the bold Rosa Parks. As I was losing hope of ever being loud enough, Marni came up to me, looked me in the eye, and said “Vivi, use your Rosa Parks voice”. With my newfound inspiration, I was able to go on stage and perform at an audible level and the phrase “Vivi use your Rosa Parks voice!” became a running gag that was said whenever I needed to be louder throughout my years here.

This, like so many others, is an example of how Brandeis has helped me overcome challenges and grow as a person. I can’t believe that my time here at Brandeis is coming to end, but I know that the lessons I have learned and the memories that I've made will stick with me for the rest of my life. From creating songs and gaining the confidence to sing them with Jeff, eating sweets and learning to compete in Mathletes competitions with Ms. Freeman, and Ms. Daniels and Sandra still in the 8th grade telling me to speak slower and louder; I will remember it all. 

Brandeis has helped me discover who I am and build the tools for me to excel at whatever comes my way in the future. Thank you to Mr. Seymour for all the laughs, encouraging me to do better, and igniting my love of science, to Sandra for helping and preparing me to continue to learn Spanish in high school with confidence, and Mr. E, thank you for letting me take up your entire class with my endless questions and helping me discover my Jewish identity. 

Now I am in 8th grade, speaking as loud as I can, ready to take on any new challenge that comes my way. I am so grateful for everything this community has given to me and the ways it has helped me grow, and although this journey of mine is coming to an end, its impact on who I’ve become will forever influence my life.

Thank you!