Matt Halas, Stepinac HS Class of 2020 Valedictorian, Delivers Moving Address About Impact of Pandemic & the Strength Gained from Stepinac Experience

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WHITE PLAINS, NY (JULY 22, 2020) Matthew Halas, Stepinac High School's Class of 2020 valedictorian, delivered a moving address during the school's 70th annual Commencement exercises which were held recently outdoors on Stepinac's campus. With safety as a top priority of the celebration, the 180 graduates received their diplomas during four sessions, each comprising a maximum of 45 graduates.

 The focus of Halas' comments was about how the pandemic impacted him and his classmates, "We were born during 9/11 and we leave high school in a worldwide pandemic," and how the Stepinac family and experience have given the Class of 2020 the strength to persevere. He talks about the emotion of how the Stepinac community rallied around a beloved alumnus, Xavier Flores (Class of '88) , who lost his battle to Covid-19. 

Drawing inspiration from a quote in John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage ("To be courageous requires no exceptional qualifications, no magic formula, no special combination of time, place, and circumstance. It is an opportunity that sooner or later is presented to all of us."), Halas declared:

 "Class of 2020, you ARE a Profile in Courage! Since the pandemic you have taken on new roles in order to help your family and others. You have served those in your community who were impacted most. You have learned how special your connections with others are. We need to continue to courageously meet the challenges we face today and will face in our lifetime. Years from now OUR kids will read about OUR courage and be inspired to do the same."

And Halas addressed how Stepinac's embodiment of the meaning of diversity has empowered the Class of 2020 "to change the world for the better as Stepinac has changed us."

"Our (Stepinac) family supports one another, argues with one another, cries with one another, learns from one another and loves one another. Our family doesn’t see color, race, creed nor culture, it sees heart and THIS is the embodiment of the Stepinac community. "

He concludes: "I want to leave you with one last thought. Though we are #stepinacstrong the world is filled with difficulties we may not be ready to face alone and that is okay. This is because we all know that THAT backdoor is open literally and figuratively day and night as a beacon to come back to our family whenever we need our strength renewed. Thank you and Congratulations class of 2020."

The following is the complete address by the outstanding student and member of Stepinac's groundbreaking Honors Academy who will continue his studies at Wesleyan University:

Good morning, afternoon, evening - there are so many graduations today I’m not sure what time it is! Father Collins, Mr. Carty, faculty, families and friends that are present, or watching online, and especially to the extraordinary class of 2020, Welcome. From the bottom of my heart it is truly an honor to be representing the class of 2020. It is so great to FINALLY see us here together. There is really no other way to say it, but we made it. It is bizarre to think that 4 years ago around this time our parents were driving us to Stepinac to get our first ID pictures taken. I know my eyes widened as we pulled in front of this monstrosity of a building and then pulled into the back parking lot. We overlooked a newly renovated field that gave me, and many of you a rush of adrenaline. This is high school. As we assemble outside the walls of Stepinac, we are reminded of our past 4 years. The front door greeted us to a nice good morning from Mr. Larkin, or a “the bell rings in 1 minute get to class” from Mr. Cupertino. I’m sure most of you got the latter. Or maybe you approached school each day in the back. You were greeted by the S on the field which has become a symbol of Stepinac and all it stands for. Looking at the field I sometimes still get the chills and can hear Coach Venice’s voice telling me to “push yourself” at 7am in August or can envision Mr. Piac and Mr. O’Hare gladiator jousting, or can hear the crowd cheering and airhorns going off after a touchdown. 

            During this unprecedented time we have all been glued to our phones, scrolling endlessly through social media trying to stay connected to one another and to our school. So I found it only fitting to center my speech two hashtags which have been at the core of all Stepinac posts and are synonymous with what Stepinac means. During my time at Stepinac, I have been asked, “Why Stepinac?” more times than imaginable. Yet each time I am particularly excited to answer that question and give the same one word response — family. We see #thefamily everywhere around school. From the first time freshman year that we put on the pullover with the stitched red S, we were in it together. Stepinac has now become a part of each of our families and we a part of the Stepinac family. But what does it mean to be a family?

           The first thing families do is make memories together and BOY do we have many to choose from. Who could forget Mr. Cupertino’s constant reminders to shave and then one day we had our own personal barber in Mr. Carty. Who could forget everyone inching closer and closer to the door in order to sprint downstairs to get to lunch during the beloved lunchtime assemblies. Who could forget Mr. Carty’s enthusiasm on our Europe trip when a certain someone told a waiter in France it was his birthday. It was 100% completely under no circumstances his birthday. Who could forget someone hacking into the tech office and sending a blast email saying that the next day was a dress down. Who could forget OUR fans storming the field in unity after a huge semifinal win against “the school on the other side of town” as we are so commonly referred to by “the man who shall not be named.”

Our class has been school guinea pigs as administrators and faculty experimented with innovative ideas and programs such as the honors academy, plus portals, and everyone’s favorite One Note. The class of 2020 has amassed nearly $45 million in scholarship money and our students have been recipients of numerous academic awards and recognitions. We even tested the liquid recycling bins which Scoop so graciously baptized for us to the raucous applause of the entire lunchroom. No matter how we feel about them, these programs enabled each student to reach his potential and beyond.

Stepinac students have also excelled outside of the classroom over our four years together. We student athletes have won two CHSFL and State football titles, 2 Archdiocesan basketball titles, 1 federation title with another one likely this past season, a hockey title, multiple bowling championships, a state champion high jumper in my boy Naz, and were primed for the first baseball title in 60 years.  The theater program at Stepinac has been nothing short of spectacular as well. They have been given the rights to produce pilot productions of critically acclaimed musicals and even produced the national high school premiere of A Bronx Tale.   Service groups across campus have provided meals and supplies to those in need including 5.7 tons of food during the Souper Bowl drive and raised $20,000 for the homeless for Box City. Every student, parent, faculty, and alum here today, or watching online, has impacted this establishment in a positive way enabling our students and school to achieve these goals.

           These class of 2020 memories will forever be special to all of us, but each individual person also holds particular memories that may only be special to him. These may include one-on-one conversations with teachers, waking up early to take the 60 or the train to school, a joke in the locker room or classroom making people fall out of their seats, or just having lunch with your lifelong friends every day. Today we celebrate all these memories.

           Some of us may have less fond memories. But that is another aspect of a family. We disagree with one another. Whether it be arguing with a teacher begging for that extra point, getting into an overly heated debate with a friend, or arguing with a coach about the differences you saw in a play. But don’t argue with Coach OD or you are sure to get a big old bear claw. These differences were always resolved and enabled us to learn that each person has a different perspective and we must respect that and try to learn from it. 

           But the part I cherish most about the Stepinac family is the support for one another. I have experienced this first hand. When I had an illness in my family and my own personal struggles I wanted to hide my emotions and try to live a normal life. Yet friends and faculty knew something was wrong and were at my side immediately. I remember Coach Shed pulled me aside and I could do nothing except cry into his shoulder. With his embrace I knew everything was going to turn for the better. I was not alone. We have all experienced some moment of weakness, hardship, or self doubt and the Stepinac family has been there to pull us through and teach us how to battle through adversity. 

The support of the Stepinac community was never more evident then when a very dear friend of mine and the Stepinac community, Xavier Flores, was battling COVID-19. During his fight there were daily rosary calls in which people would pray for Mr. Flores. I remember vividly sitting in my living room with my parents on the call.  Every time a new person joined, the automated message told you to say your name. I continued to hear name after name after name on the speaker phone. Even people who I know are not Catholic or do not practice religion were on the call. My jaw dropped and my eyes started to fill seeing how the Stepinac Community rallied around Mr. Flores. He was a Crusader through and through. He attended Stepinac himself and gave back constantly because he knew how to take care of his Stepinac family. There was not a moment over our past four years you did not see him at school with his bright smile and upbeat personality. He is a person for all of us to emulate.

As we approached our final months at Stepinac, we were preparing to play our final sports season, participate in our final musical, and ready to make those final memories. Instead we were abruptly disconnected from our Stepinac family. Communications and posts from school now added #stepinacstrong to #thefamily. It made me stop and think about what it means to be Stepinacstrong as we leave the comfort of our family and make our way into the world. Three key attributes came to mind – perseverance, ambition, and courage. I believe that it is only fitting that stepinacstrong was added to thefamily because WE are the ones who are strong enough to endure uncertainty and challenges and bring positivity and change through this situation and other situations to come. As Cayla Mills said, “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.” 

The class of 2020 has the strength to persevere. We were born during 9/11 and will leave high school in a worldwide pandemic. We have learned the strength to tackle our problems head on as that is the only way to foster growth. Each of us needs to continue to find the inner strength to push past obstacles and find the light at the end of the tunnel. We need to be strong in knowing that in our quest to reach our goals we will have moments of weakness and fear but it won’t stop us from going on. It won’t stop us from jumping when we’re afraid of falling. It won’t stop us from taking a leap of faith when the odds are against us.

The class of 2020 has the strength to be ambitious and go the extra mile. Being strong is giving the extra 1% or doing the thing others are not willing to do. It is to set goals and do everything in your power to follow through with them. If we can give a little more of ourselves every day, whether this be preparing an extra 5 minutes for an interview, doing an extra set in the weight room, or just sending a thank you note after someone has helped you, you will continue to progress to the person you have dreamed of becoming. “Go the extra mile. It’s never crowded there.” (And for the football players, whenever you don’t think you have anything left, just remember running snakes with Coach Venice in a monsoon at 8:30. )

The class of 2020 has learned to be independent thinkers who question every situation in front of us. We have learned to stand firm in our beliefs and stand up for those who cannot speak for themselves. We need to continue to be fearful yet not let fear control who we are. John F. Kennedy in his book, Profiles in Courage said, “To be courageous, requires no exceptional qualifications, no magic formula, no special combination of time, place, and circumstance. It is an opportunity that sooner or later is presented to all of us. The stories of past courage can define that ingredient - they can teach, they can offer hope, they provide inspiration.” Class of 2020, you ARE a Profile in Courage. Since the pandemic you have taken on new roles in order to help your family and others. You have served those in your community who were impacted most. You have learned how special your connections with others are. We need to continue to courageously meet the challenges we face today and will face in our lifetime. Years from now OUR kids will read about OUR courage and be inspired to do the same.

Stepinac IS #thefamily. Other schools argue about who “the prep” is, but it is unquestioned who thefamily is. Stepinac has taught us what it means to form unbreakable relationships with people from different towns, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Our family supports one another, argues with one another, cries with one another, learns from one another and loves one another. Our family doesn’t see color, race, creed nor culture, it sees heart and THIS is the embodiment of the Stepinac community. The attributes learned in our family will empower us to change the world for the better as Stepinac has changed us.

           I want to leave you with one last thought. Though we are #stepinacstrong the world is filled with difficulties we may not be ready to face alone and that is okay. This is because we all know that THAT backdoor is open literally and figuratively day and night as a beacon to come back to our family whenever we need our strength renewed. Thank you and Congratulations class of 2020.