Sean's High School Valedictorian Speech

Earlier this week, after four years of hard work, AP and other extra credit classes, and maintaining nearly all straight As, Sean became the valedictorian of his high school class of 2013! It was a repeat performance for Sean since he was also the middle-school valedictorian at the same school four years ago. Sean will be continuing his studies at UC Berkeley this fall, majoring in Computer Science and as parents, we could not be prouder, of course!

Video of Sean's speech

Here is Sean's entire speech:

Good evening family, faculty, and friends. It gives me great pleasure to speak to you tonight and it’s an honor to represent the class of 2013 as your valedictorian. I would like to start out with a quote by Justin Bieber... just kidding, just making sure you’re all paying attention!

All kidding aside... Henry David Thoreau said: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."

I feel like I can speak for most of my classmates by saying we are ready to confidently go into the “real world.” Next year, most of us are lucky enough to attend college where hopefully we’ll further educate ourselves in something we love and have dreamt of. And if we want to jump into the workforce or pursue a passion of ours, we can attempt things without a fear of failing; there is nothing holding us back except for our own doubts.

Most of us have been told repeatedly over the years that we should know what we want to do after we graduate. But I would bet that most us—including myself—haven’t figured it out completely. And I think that’s okay. We don’t have to stick to the track that we’re on all the time—as long as we're going in the direction of our dreams, I think we’ll be alright.

l came to MCAA in seventh grade with a group of friends that I grew up with since preschool and a backpack that felt like it was filled with lead. A year later, most of my friends made plans to start high school in Nevada City. I wanted to transfer as well, but it didn’t work out. Every year after that, my friends tried to persuade me to make the move: there were more AP classes, sports teams like track, and—as one of one of my friends who shall remain nameless—put it so eloquently “hella hot chicks.” Was I missing out on the life I had imagined?

Over the years that followed, I made many great friends and it became evident that the teachers and staff at MCAA do their absolute best to help us succeed. Whether it’s Mr. Land spending his free period teaching me calculus problems I didn’t understand, Mr. Pimentel helping me with college applications, or Bonny making sure I ordered my graduation cap and gown on time (yes, that was a close call!), they were always willing and happy to help. I have no regrets about staying at MCAA. To the contrary; I've made long-lasting memories with great friends and received a solid education; I feel confident that I can now pursue my dreams.

So, how can we make sure that we will continue to follow our dreams? How can we make sure we don’t get stuck somewhere along the way? Of course I don’t claim to have the answers to these questions. There are people who are a lot older, wiser, and more experienced that this eighteen-year old high school graduate. But what I do know is this: we have to dream big. In the words of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.”

In closing, I would like to thank all the people who have helped to get me here:

First and foremost, my Mom. I don't think you deserve enough credit for all you've done to bring me here today, so I want to take the time to say in front of all these people that I love you. I can always count on you for good advice and helping me through tough times. You’ve taught me good manners and ethics from a young age. I hope you know I’m as proud of you as your are of me.

Dad: You’ve taught me that hard work pays off and you don’t have to take the traditional route to succeed. Regarding the procrastination part—I’m still working on that.

My brother Rocky: You’ll always be my best friend and the younger brother with whom I’ve shared a bunk bed for more than 12 years. Driving back and forth to school by myself everyday would have been a lot harder without my copilot and personal DJ. Try not to miss me too much next year and I’ll do the same.

To all of my friends, (you know who you are), I love all of you. I’ll miss you next year, but I know we’ll keep in touch. And finally, all the teachers and staff at MCAA. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be in the great place I’m in now. After all, It did take a village to raise this child.

Thank you for your time. 

See also: this newspaper article

Sean, Hayes, and Rocky Rock the Reno Marathon!

During the Tahoe Triple in 2007, Sean and Rocky (then 12 and 10 years old) ran a half marathon and after recovering from that, Sean said that he would like to finish a marathon before his 16th birthday. About 4 months ago, Sean and his friend Hayes (17) decided to start training seriously for a marathon and asked me to coach them. Rocky joined in for the fun as well (he was going to try to run a faster half marathon this time) and before long some of their friends joined in and we now have a complete local relay team for the upcoming Tahoe Relay.

Police Escort at the Start of the Reno Rock 'n River Marathon

We looked around for a marathon, with the following criteria in mind:

• Flat-ish
• Not too expensive
• Close to home

At first we decided on the River City marathon (my favorite), but found out that the date had moved up this year, so we would not have enough time to train. Then we found the Reno Rock 'n River Marathon on May 1st and after reading Gretchen's race report we decided we would try that one for a first marathon, just a few weeks after Sean's 16th birthday.

Rocky and Turi "Running Around Reno" Becker at the Start

The day before the race we went to the expo to pick up the race bibs. While there, we ran into Angel (Tahoe Triple RD) and we convinced a few people to sign up for the Tahoe marathons ;-) Pasta dinner at the Olive Garden tasted good and after that we went to bed early.

With Austin Angel in the Tahoe Booth at the Expo

The next morning, after months of solid training, including several nice long runs, and some almost-injuries, it was time to run! It was going to be a nice day: cold at the start, but not too hot later on. We caught up with Turi at the start, which was fun. Turi went on to break his own half-marathon record, paced by the lightning-fast Chris (1:28:12)--Go Turi! One person we half-expected to see at the start was the infamous Lynryd Skynrod, but he was missing in action.

Rocky at the Start

The marathon started at 6:30 a.m. and the half marathon started at 7. It was still very cold, but that would help later on. Sean and Rocky made good time, sticking to the 1-minute walk breaks after each mile that I had been telling them to take. We found a spot on the course where they would all pass several times and saw Turi, Chris, Sean, Hayes, and Rocky fly by several times.

The Easy Early Miles

Rocky came through at the 7 mile point at 1:35, feeling good. I estimated that it would take him at least another hour to make it back to the finish, but when we arrived (we stopped for a coffee and could not park right at the finish) we found out that he had already finished in 2:23! Sorry we missed that Rocky, but very happy you were able to crank up the pace to finish that strong! Rocky's finish time was good for a third place in the 11-15 age group and he received a nice big age group medal--this race is pretty serious about their hardware!

What's on the Other Side of "The Wall?"

We quickly drove to the Rock Park aid station at mile 23 and waited there for Sean and Hayes. All of the marathoners go through this aid station in both directions, but almost everyone had already passed on the way out. We did not know what to expect--finishing was the only goal for the day, but based on previous long runs, we were thinking of a finish time in the 5:15-5:30 range.

Proud Finishers

All of a sudden, they came around the corner, well ahead of this pace. This was mile 23 and both of them were clearly hitting the wall, but determined to keep pushing. A short walking break just enough to swallow a final gel, and they were off again. 3 miles to go with 45 minutes left to break 5 hours--the race was on! We quickly drove to the finish and waited there.

The Finish

Sure enough, with plenty of time to spare, they came running down the final straightaway. They must have even passed a few "bogeys" in the last few miles. They finished at exactly the same time in 4:48--good enough for a shared 2nd place in the 15-19 age group--more medals.

The Post-Race Meal

I'm obviously very proud of them. It was a great accomplishment and we celebrated with a very well-deserved, big meal before driving back home to rest and ice the legs. Thanks to all the volunteers for putting together a very runnable marathon!

Blast from the Past: Sean and Rocky Finish the Lake Tahoe Half Marathon in 2007

Next Up: The Tahoe Relay! Our team name is "The Extreme Falcons" ;-)

Sean's Eigth-Grade Valedictorian Speech

Last night, after a year of hard work and keeping a perfect 4.0 Grade Point Average (G.P.A.), Sean became the valedictorian of his eight-grade class at the Marysville Charter Academy for the Arts (MCAA).

During the graduation ceremony he played a very nice piece on the cello (Humoresque, by Dvorak) accompanied by his strings teacher and then he went on to address the crowd in his valedictorian speech.


Here is the full text of Sean's speech:

Hello and welcome families, faculty, and friends. I would like to thank you all for coming here today. My name is Sean Lubbers. I’m afraid I couldn’t find anything to copy from Wikipedia, so I’m just going to give you an original speech.

I would like to start out with my favorite quote from President John F. Kennedy (Watch it on YouTube).

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade, not because it is easy, but because it is hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”

This quote relates to the choices we make in our everyday life. Whether it’s fulfilling a life-long dream, acing an Algebra test, or simply finishing a level in a video game. We should strive to take the harder path—the challenge—in whatever we do. Whether we succeed or not, ultimately does not matter. What is important, however, is that we try our very best.

Looking back over my last two years at MCAA, fills me with many good memories. We had some great performances, dances, and fun parties. I have great friends, teachers, school staff, and an amazing class.

I remember arriving at school on the first day in 7th grade. It took me about ten minutes to find the infamous “room 11.” The first thing I thought after looking at the class was “Wow.” It looked like a tornado had just touched down in 1st block History. There was such a diverse population—from the Goths, to the Nerds, to the Preps—that I could not imagine how I would fit in. Well, we are here now and I am friends with, or at least know, everyone in my class.

This year, I had to make a tough decision: leave MCAA and go to Nevada Union (NU), or continue with high school here at MCAA. Some of my older friends are already attending NU and some of my 8th grade friends will be heading to Nevada County next year for their continued education. I wanted to wait to make this decision at the very end, but my dad, being his usual self, gave me an ultimatum: I had only until the end of February to make up my mind. [Thanks, Dad!]

In the end I was leaning towards NU. What happened next was very interesting. I asked Brenda for my transfer papers and will never forget the reactions I received from all the people in the office as well as from my friends that were with me at the time. At that point, I realized how much the school really meant to me and I decided to stay—at least for another year.

When John F. Kennedy spoke about going to the Moon, he had an aim. He did not know whether he would succeed or not, but he started with a lot of determination. A few years later, astronauts landed on the Moon and since then, many more great things have been accomplished.

I think we should continue to strive for great things to happen and we should set bold goals and give it our best shot. My dreams are for wars to be over, to end global warming, and to find a cure for diseases such as aids and cancer.

Once you have a breakthrough or when you accomplish a great goal, it is easy just to kick back, relax, and say “Well, I think that’s enough. We don’t need to go any further.” Is that the right attitude? No! We have to keep discovering, keep learning, and, most of all, keep asking the hard questions. We have to take a step further and move forward from where we were standing before.

What we could hardly imagine just ten years ago in science and technology is reality today. We don’t know what the future will hold, but we do know what attitude we have to bring to it.

8th grade graduation is a big step for all of us. We have finished a great part of our schooling, but this is really only the beginning. We will now be moving on to high school and we look forward to it eagerly—willing to accept all the challenges that await us.

Before I go, I would like to thank my family for their support, all my teachers for opening the doors to my education, Mr. Pimentel, Mr. Skeffington, Bonnie, and Brenda for always being there and doing such a great job.

Thank you for your time.

And of course I have to mention that Rocky did a great job in his sixth-grade year, too. He was the only one to graduate to 7th grade with three straight trimesters 4.0 GPA (Principal's List) and he will be attending Sean's school next year.

Well, we are really proud of Sean and Rocky's academic achievements. The kids are, of course, excited that Summer vacation is finally here and to start it off right, we're all going to run the Tahoe Relay this weekend with their friend Hayes and Chris and Turi!