Speaking From the Heart: Rivers’ 25-Year-Old Senior Speech Program

As student body co-president, Burkhead was the first senior to deliver a speech this year, followed by co-president Madi Pugatch ’27. Well before it was time to sit down and write, Burkhead knew he wanted to focus his speech on the ways he’s changed and grown during his time at Rivers, beginning in Grade 6. “For me, the process was super easy, because it was coming from the heart, and I meant what I was saying. It’s not like I really had to second-guess what I was doing,” he says.

“Rivers does a really good job of preparing us to be good public speakers,” Pugatch adds. “We do so many presentations in class—even in my math class, I’ve had to get up and present.”

Pugatch used her speech to share a lesson she’s learned during her time at Rivers: “When you feel stressed out, and things get busy, it’s important to slow down and remember there is a little bit of joy you can find in every day, even when those days feel hard,” she says.

Senior speeches, which are four or five minutes long, are presented at assembly to the Upper School student body, professional community members, and guests. “We spend a lot of our communal [assembly] time listening to seniors, and I think that shows how student voice and the wisdom of students at the end of their time here is something that we really, really value institutionally,” says Mac Caplan, who co-leads the program with fellow Upper School English teacher Dan St. Jean. 

Seniors’ advisors support them as they brainstorm and begin writing their speeches, and each senior solidifies a speech topic three weeks before their scheduled presentation date. They draft their speech within the following week, finalize it with Caplan, and then rehearse it with St. Jean, who also provides feedback after they’ve delivered their speech. 

“I offer some pragmatic feedback, but mostly it’s just celebrating what they did well and acknowledging that they did something challenging and scary, and that they should feel good about it,” St. Jean says.

Besides the co-presidents kicking things off, the order for senior speeches is randomized. That aspect of the program adds serendipity to the equation—what a student chooses to share in their speech might be very different depending on what time of the year they are scheduled to speak.

Caplan has been involved in the senior speech program for 17 years, and St. Jean for five. Both say they appreciate the opportunity to help students share a part of themselves with the broader community and note that it’s hard to predict what kind of speech each student will give. Some speeches are deeply vulnerable, others are laugh-out-loud funny, and some are both. “They can really surprise us,” St. Jean says. 

“Giving a speech about something important to you in front of your community requires organization, humility, facing one’s fears, and expressing oneself in a very public forum,” Long reflects. “The skills honed from that experience were my main focus—I didn’t realize the profound impact those speeches would have in creating a sense of community and an inclusive culture at Rivers.”

Burkhead and Pugatch both started at Rivers in the Middle School, so they also experienced the tradition of Grade 8 speeches. (A program also created by Long.) “It was cool to get to do it again—it felt like a very full-circle moment for me. I’m way more confident about getting up there and sharing a personal story, and I also feel like I’m able to share more advice now,” Pugatch reflects. “In eighth grade, I was sharing my story and what I learned. But now, I’m sharing what I learned—and how I want you all to learn from it, too.”

Pugatch encourages her classmates to take advantage of the opportunity to impart a piece of advice to the underclassmen in the audience, and Burkhead encourages his classmates to use their speeches as an opportunity to express something personally meaningful—not just what they think others want to hear. 

“Throughout my Upper School career, I’ve had to speak in front of large crowds a lot,” Burkhead says. “But a senior speech is much different than making an announcement or anything that I’ve done before, because you’re talking about yourself. My speech in particular was very vulnerable about who I am, and it’s scary to be yourself in front of others. But it was also very freeing.”