NOCTILUCA June 2017

FEATURES Appleton, Wisconsin June 2017 Volume XXII Issue VIII Page 9

By Henry Ptacek Dedication pays off for North’s ‘Best of Class’ Valedictorian, Best of it up, it’s the most students we’ve ever had attend this event that I’m aware of.

Seniors Erik Bakken, So- phie Mariano and Zoë Throop are this year’s graduation commencement speakers. These students put a lot of work into perfecting their speeches. Erik, Sophie and Zoe shared with the Noctiluca what went into their speech. The Noctiluca: How does it feel to be selected as one of the three commencement speakers this year? Class, whatever one may call it, these North students are being recognized for the work they put forth. Gradu- ating with a 4.00 GPA, they finished strong. On their semester report card it will read 1 for their class rank. Because of their work they were recognized at the “Best of Class” event at Lambeau Field on May 24. Mr. Huggins had some encouraging words in re- gards to these 18 students. “We have a tremendously talented group who will be representing North at this year’s “Best of Class” event at Lambeau Field. To sum

tions and I am grateful to be chosen as one of the three to speak on graduation day. The Noctiluca: What do you believe makes your speech unique? Erik: My speech stems from having two older sib- lings graduate from North and go on to college. I think that being able to draw both on my experiences and knowing what life is like after North helped me to write my speech with a unique perspective. Sophie: I think something that makes my speech unique is that the message within the speech is told through a narrative. My speech is about a three year old that I have taught tennis lessons to, and what he ultimately taught me during those times. Zoë: My speech is unique in that it is an honest and di- rect dialogue. It addresses our futures and how we should approach them in a realistic manner. The Noctiluca: What prompted you to become a commencement speaker? Erik: Two things. First, when I was in eighth grade, I saw my older sister deliver the commencement address at North’s graduation to the class of 2013, which inspired me to try to do the same. Second, as the captain of the Forensics (competitive speaking) team, I’ve written several speeches over my four seasons with the team. I thought it would a powerful experience to deliver my last one at North during commencement. Sophie: I have been to realize how challenging their schedules have been these past four years and just how involved so many are not only within school and co-curriculars, but also within our community. Col- lectively, they are wonderful representatives for this very special 2017 Senior Class!” Eighteen Students qualified for this special recognition based upon their cumulative GPA of 4.0 at the conclu- sion of 1st semester of their Senior Year. If one were to look beyond their respec- tive GPAs, you’d quickly

From left to right: 1st row: Madison Alsbach, Erik Bakken, Samantha Barr, Camille Christensen, Gina Dagostino, Joshua Gasik. 2nd row: Ashley Kuehnl, Wendy Li, Sophia Mariano, Zachary Mar- quardt, Mitchell Mologne, Anna Olson. 3rd row: Madeleine Platten, Alyssa Price, Kayla Schang, Leah Schwartz, Ethan Tetting, Jacob Wright. Photos Courtesy of AASD

North seniors comment on their commencement speeches By Henry Ptacek

The Noctiluca: What were some challenges that you faced writing the speech? Erik: The hardest part for me was trying to write a speech that every graduating senior could relate to. It’s a difficult balance, because not everyone takes the same path after graduation and I wanted to focus on the road ahead. In the end, I think that my speech has a message for not just college-bound graduates, but for everyone in the Class of 2017. Sophie: I think one of my toughest challenges while writing this speech was find- ing that line between “inspi- rational” and “cliche”. It’s really easy to unintentionally became lame while writing these. I want to be honest, but I really don’t want to be lame. Zoë: The biggest chal- lenge was starting the speech. I wasn’t sure what to write about or where to begin, so I’d say that was the hard- est part of formulating this speech. The Noctiluca: What are your thoughts on the process of becoming a speaker? Erik: I think that the pro- cess works well. After going through all the applicants’ rough drafts, the selection committee chooses several speakers to audition in front of a panel. From these audi- tions, two to three speakers are chosen on the basis of both performance and content, and the speeches are orga- nized by content for the day of graduation. The process is actually pretty similar to a Fo-

graduation every year dur- ing my time at North, and I remember listening to the commencement speakers and how they shared really interesting and inspirational messages in such a confident and dignified manner, and I knew that I wanted to do that when I graduated. Zoë: I decided to become a commencement speaker because I thought it would be worth a shot. I knew that it would be really cool to speak that day, and I am thrilled to do so. The Noctiluca: Would you be willing to provide a sneak peek of your speech? Erik: When I was writing

rensics meet, where multiple judges rank students based on both performance and content. Because of this, I’d say I was familiar with the process, and it seems to be the best way of choosing fairly and not based on just one factor. Sophie: I think that the process of becoming a speak- er is worth all of the work. You have to be willing to take the time to write a speech on your own, and practice it on your own too. I like how you have to give your speech to a panel of judges that ultimately decide the speakers, because if you have a great speech but a below average delivery, or vice versa, the speech won’t be successful. Also, once I was chosen, the teachers that are on the panel were really great about giving me feed-

Erik Bakken

Erik: I’m incredibly honored to be speaking. It’s a really unique opportunity to speak to the whole Class of 2017 at the same time, since this is one of the only times we’ll all be in the same place at the same time. I’m glad to have the chance to do so. Sophie: I am so honored to be chosen as a commence- ment speaker this year! I know that a lot of students put in a lot of work writing speeches, and it makes me feel even more honored that mine was chosen. Zoë: I feel honored to be chosen as a commencement speaker. I know that there were a lot of great applica-

Sophie Mariano

my speech, I tried to channel my interest for architecture, which I’m majoring in. Sophie: I think I kind of answered this in question 2, but the title of my speech is “Lessons from a Three Year Old”, and it tells the story of a little boy named Ralph, and what he taught me while I was trying to teach him how to play tennis. Zoë: Google it!

Zoë Throop

back and setting me up with teachers that could help me polish my speech, which I was very grateful for. Zoë: I think that the pro- cess is fair and organized. It was an easy process to follow and I think that it is great that there are three speakers cho- sen for commencement.