Tuesday, August 29, 2017

John Tabakian Salutatorian Speech - Class of 2017



Reverend fathers; honorable board members and guests; dear faculty and staff; parents, family, and friends,
My name is John Tabakian, or simply Hovig, and I am your Salutatorian. I have had the privilege of attending AGBU Vatche and Tamar Manoukian High School for four years, and as Ms. Gohar stated, the honor of pursuing my passion of Mechanical Engineering at UCLA starting this fall.
But enough about me… today we celebrate us: The AGBU MHS Class of 2017: a class made up of 53 young adults all about to embark on the next chapter of our lives. But as Dr. M would always preach, you can’t study the next chapter without reviewing the last one first.
Four years ago, we entered through the gates of AGBU MHS. We immediately were introduced to Vlad, the lovable security guard; Baron Assilian, a man with more keys than actual doors on campus; Digin Sepetjian, a science teacher who, because of my older sister, already had crazy high expectations of me; Baron Zareh, the math teacher who we all knew was secretly a chess grandmaster; Baron Dadurian and Oryort Lora, who would later become our parents away from home; the one of a kind (at the time) Ms. M.; as well as countless others, and many more over the years.
We made memories together and conquered 9th grade, one of the most fun years of my life. Then came Sophomore year… one of the most rigorous academically, where we discovered our hidden talent of operating without sleep, and the pain associated with trying to manage Mr. Wiebe’s endless handouts.
Next came Junior year, and with it, the realization that it is impossible to not get sick immediately before taking an SAT. That year concluded with us embarking on the one and only Armenia trip.
            You never really get to know a group of 53 people until you travel to another country with them for 2 weeks. Together we walked around Yerevan, ate Toumanian Shawerma (which for any Juniors here is kind of over-rated), and shared some powerful, emotional moments. I personally will never forget breaking down in tears at Dzidzernagapert—an unforgettable experience that made clear to me what it means to be Armenian. After the 14 day trial by fire, we emerged a family: the Seniors who still can’t decide between Malibu and Huntington; the Seniors who helped finally bring banners to the school gym; the Seniors who survived Mr. Robinson and Mr. Flores; the Seniors who can not wait to get out there and make you all proud; the Seniors who make up the AGBU MHS Class of 2017.
We may not know what this next chapter holds, but one thing holds true: there will be obstacles in our way—times where our dreams and aspirations may seem impossible to achieve. During high school, we got a brief glimpse of the trials that both academia and normal life can throw at us, but Carnegie Mellon University Computer Science Professor, Disney Imagineer, and one of my personal heros, Randy Pausch said it best: There are obstacles in life “for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.”
We all know life is tough. But, I know without a doubt that every one of you is going places. We just have to promise to keep fighting, to never give up, and to remember that everything happens for a reason. We will always remain a united Spartan family, and in tough times, who can you turn to but your family?

            My final remark to my fellow graduates: “Just do it.” I love you guys. Thank you!

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