Graduate Highlight: Emily

For those of you who know Emily, you can imagine that her speech was as unique as she was. If only we could see it instead of read it, I guarantee from her Directress Rebecca that the effect would be full "Emily." Below, her heartfelt speech.From the first rehearsal to the final bow, well, a lot happens through that short amount of time, like making friends, learning life lessons, and growing up. So let’s look back at Act One: Primary and Kindergarten. My favorite material was the bells, because I love making noise and music. My favorite memory was doing skits with my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Jordan; my favorite skit was “The Three Little Pigs”. During my time in Primary and Kindergarten, I learned two life lessons: independence, and generosity. Mrs. Jordan reminded me to share with others and to do things on my own. That lesson paid off. I am independent and now able to work with others easily. Well, I think we should look at Act Two: Lower Elementary. My first two years were not the best; I spent the majority of my time moving from school to school, but, in third grade I found Villa, and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. My favorite memory was when my Dad taught me how to use the computer for the first time, which might have been a mistake…. I loved researching with my Dad; I wrote a report on Martin Luther King, Jr.  This work was pivotal for me; it opened up the curtain to my humanitarian and social justice side. I shall play this role throughout my life. One very important thing I took away from my lower elementary experience is that it always takes a while to find where you belong.

Welcome to act three of my life: Upper Elementary. I have learned so much over these past three years like how to develop friendship, confidence, and…well…come to think of it, I learned to work on the edge of the stage, project my voice, and be vulnerable--a good actress must put herself out there. When I first came to Upper Elementary I felt like an outsider, but Upper Elementary quickly became my home. My favorite lesson is Parts of the Cell; I just love all its twists and turns that make you want to do it more and more, plus it is fun to make models of cells. My favorite memory was hard to choose; really, my favorite memory is upper elementary and all the years I spent being a part of it. The life lesson that I learned over these short years and will carry with me for the rest of my life is that once you are a part of something, it will always be a part of you, no matter where you go.

Before I go, I’d like to thank a few people, my friends, Mrs. Jordan, Mrs. Nidhi, Mrs. Lebeau, Mrs. Anderson, Mr. Justin, Ms. Rebecca, and my parents for supporting me and putting up with me for all these years.As I take my final bow here at Villa, I can’t wait to start my next act in a new play: Middle School. I can’t wait to go to MAP, so I want to leave Villa with the immortal words of Hamilton…“I am not throw’in away my shot!”