FINDING HOME AT NDBG

SALUTE TO GRADS: Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons valedictorian and salutatorian speeches

Tatum Liverio (l.), valedictorian, and Julia Jaworowski, salutatorian, for Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons.

Finding a ‘home’ at NDBG

By Tatum Liverio, valedictorian

Since I was a little girl, one of my dreams has been giving a speech at graduation. But as the time came, it seemed like no words could relay just how much my time at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons has meant to me.

My parents and family, my teachers, and coaches, my classmates and teammates: It’s you guys that made my time here so special and it is also you guys that make leaving here so difficult. It is not often one can say that they had found a home in their high school. Well, I did because of the faces I’m looking at right now.

I cannot leave without acknowledging the roles you have played in my life.

To my mom and dad: Thank you for all of the sacrifices you have made to give me the opportunities you never had. Thank you for giving me something so wonderful and precious. Thank you for always believing in me, raising me right, and being hard on me even when it was hard for you. I’m so grateful to have had such strong examples of compassion and selflessness so close to me. This extends to my uncles as well who made sure their presence was known at every game; my constant support systems.

To my teachers and coaches: Without you all, I would have never considered stepping foot onto the court, field or track. Without you all, I would never have pushed myself as hard as I did and accomplished as much as you believed that I would. 

The tremendous support and inspiration I have found in all of you, is something that I aspire to give to others. And I will forever be grateful. Just as my classmates, you are not just people I look up to, you are family to me.

Thank you to my school, Mom and Dad, Mr. Moran and Mr. Mahoney, who cared enough for me to go out and look for my phone on the highway after I left it on the roof of a car. And a special thanks to Mr. Mahoney for introducing me at yesterday’s Mass. I chose you to introduce me because you were not only my teacher for four years, but you were someone I could always lean on. You always found a way to cheer me up, whether that be through your sarcastic humor or cheesy jokes. I couldn’t be more appreciative.

From Mrs.Thibault’s outstanding example of hard work and dedication.

To Mr. Verhayden’s ability to balance being an inspiring teacher and an even better coach. And of course, he only learned from the best, his father, my volleyball coach. In between balancing reffing and coaching, he still managed, no matter what sport or season, to wish his old volleyball girls luck or gift us our newspaper stats.

I’m also thankful for Coach Kienzle who managed to tell me no pressure even in the meets that mattered most.

I look up to Mrs. Silverstein and Mrs. White who have both done so much for the school and its students.

Thank you, Mr. South, for dealing with all of my anxieties and stress without complaint. And Mrs. Baldwin and Ms. McCarthy for gifting us seniors with so many fun memories.

I thank Mr. Houle, Mrs. Harrigan and Mrs. Dobkowski for all they have done to help me deepen my faith.

And of course, I must thank Mr. Carlin for dealing with all of our sing-alongs, flash mobs, spell-casting, and ridiculous question-asking while continuing to be an amazing teacher.

And lastly to my classmates and teammates: Over the years, through sports and all of physics study halls, we have grown to become much more than each other’s peers. We have grown to become friends. And you were such good friends to me. Picking me up and checking in when I was down, rooting for and encouraging me, and never letting me lose motivation in my studies mostly because you’d want me to send the answers but that’s beside the point. I thank you for welcoming me all those years ago. And I thank you for making my high school experience what it has been.

I’m going to miss us:

• Our gym classes

• How much pride we took in cheering at each other’s games

• All of the karaoke bus rides home

But I think most of all, I will miss how you made school feel like home.

You’ve consoled me, laughed with me, and at me when necessary, and given me memories that I will carry wherever I go. Of course, new friends will be made, on new teams will we play, but nothing will ever replace the bond we hold in these halls.

As we separate and grow apart for this next chapter of our lives, I hope that you will find comfort in our time together as much as I have.

This time, pens and pencils and notebooks will not be the only things we bring with us. This time, we too, bring all of the impressions we’ve left on each other. And for that, I couldn’t be more grateful.

Thank you, and congratulations to the Class of 2024!

‘Thank you for giving me this life’

By Julia Jaworowski, salutatorian

I am not up here by my hard work alone. I would like to thank my sister who is here for this. My sister is quiet and keeps to herself. She won’t brag about herself so as her loud-mouthed younger sister, I will. My sister is one of the smartest people I know, and I inspire to be like her. Over the past few years she has spent hours upon hours helping me achieve my academic goals. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times she has stayed up until 1 a.m. re-teaching me a topic just so I could get a 100 on the test the next day. I miss seeing you in the hallways and Mrs. Thibault calling me Victoria during class. I miss taking the “sibling picture” with you for Mrs. White’s yearbook. I cherish every memory we have made together at school.

I come from a family of hard-working people and I thank God for this every day. I know I have never said this to my parents, but I would like to now. Thank you for giving me this life. Thank you for coming to this country with nothing and working 100 times harder than anyone else to build a good life for me. Thank you for putting me through NDBG’s education and for showing up to every award ceremony. My parents work so hard to give me this life so I use that as motivation to do my best in school and reach my potential. Having only my immediate family here in America is extremely hard, especially around the holiday season. What my mom has always said is that “we only have each other so we have to stick close together.” My mom shows this by showing up to every single one of my volleyball games and cheering me on so loud that I can hear her across the gym. At every game, school event or meeting, my mom is there sitting in the front row. My mother expresses the love of 10 people in one combined to make up for the family we miss in Poland.

My father works three jobs to allow me to have this incredible education. I cannot thank him enough. He put my sister through NDBG as well, and now she’s off doing amazing things at Boston College. I inspire to work in the medical field like him. All of the trips to Ellis to visit him while working as well as him getting me a job there made me so interested. I love visiting you at work and have you happily show us off as your family. You are not always easy on me, but I am glad that you are not. You have taught me to fight for what I want and to fight through hard times. I am happy to be hardheaded like you.

Although I feel prepared and ready for college, a part of me wants to stay here and continue my daily routine. Wake up late and rush to hear Mrs. White’s motivational senior speech in homeroom, watch Mrs. Thibault bounce off the walls in math class, talk sports in Mr. Verhayden’s English class, kick soccer balls at Mr. Mahoney during gym, share chips with Mr. Walters in economics, make art with Mrs. Silverstein, update Mr. Carlin on the newest tea and gossip, and chatting about colleges and concerts with Mr. South in study hall, and all the while of course stressing Mr. Moran out. I am going to miss this routine as it has become my normal day.

Thank you NDBG and my fellow seniors — now graduates — for these past several years. As you leave this place for the final time, know that you are loved and cherished. Remember, your life is valuable and it’s up to you and your work ethics on what you do with it.