2003 Convocation Student Address
Given on September 14, 2003

by Sam Bush '04

Thank you very much Mr. Widmer. It is truly an honor and a privilege to be speaking with you this evening. Like many of us I love this school more than I can say and so it is really a privilege to represent one of the greatest senior classes I can imagine. Class of '04, we've been waiting for this year to come for a long time, and I am glad to see that one of Deerfield's greatest years is already in the making.

Though I am speaking to all of you I am especially interested in those of you who have just spent your first week here. To you, on behalf of the entire old student body, a warm welcome. You have made a wonderful decision and we are very glad you are here.

Coming back here last week, I easily remembered my arrival as a freshman at Deerfield. The time has flown and it doesn't seem that long ago. I remember one of my first conversations with someone the first day I got here. The two of us were getting to know each other, asking where we were from, etc. He finally said me, "So...what do you do?". "What do I "do" I said, "well, I like to hang out, I guess." I soon found out that I went to a school where everyone was known for something they were really good at. This was bad news for me. The one thing I was known for was having a sister named Sarah who was a senior my first year. I wasn't Sam Bush the hockey player; I wasn't Sam Bush the Scroll Editor; I was Sam Bush, Sarah Bush's brother! That was it. Thus began my search for talent. Through my Deerfield experience I have tried cross-country (way too much running), soccer (again, the running was not my thing), basketball, tennis, the play, and baseball...none of these things have ever been associated with my name. I worked on my classes. I studied long through the night and, although it's always a rewarding experience to strive in academics, I was never known as Sam Bush the smart kid.

One day I was having one of those selfish conversations, you know, when you tell someone, "I'm not good at annnything!" and they have to say, "Oh no! You're good at lots of things!" and then they name something. Well, I think this person was having some trouble; they said "Well, you're good at...you're good with people!" At the time it was the lamest thing I had ever heard in my life. It was as if, when God was assigning talent to each person, He made up a gift for me, like "Sam...I'll give him the gift of... liking people!" That's not a gift!

Today I realize that one of my main interests in life is people. With this I have learned something. Every person in this room is gifted and has something to offer this school, even if you don't know it yet. You might be noticed for your talent in music dance or art. You might be known as the "so smart it's scary" kid or the "amazing tennis player." Or you might be known for being a loyal friend, for being an encourager, for being honest. These qualities of character are just as much a contribution to this community as everything else. I have realized that my gift is of equal value to this place as anyone else's. Each of us has a purpose.

So I ask you to stretch your boundaries here as quickly as possible. Deerfield's admissions office works hard and they don't make mistakes- though I wondered about that when I was accepted. Everyone here can add to your life. During my freshman year, we called our dorm the United Nations of John Williams! My freshmen hall had two of the whitest kids I've ever met, from Greenwich and Vermont. Living between them was a Hispanic from the Bronx and a black kid from Brooklyn. Down the hall was an Asian American from New Jersey. None of the kids were like me. Before my freshmen year, I had never met anyone from New York and the first day I was scared to death of these people. The guy from the Bronx, who graduated last year, had no problem showing me who was boss. Whenever I said anything that was remotely insulting, he would stare me down with one of those looks that someone only from New York can give. I was petrified each time. And we used to scare the guy from Greenwich. We would all hide in his closet whenever he went to bed at, like, 7:30 and scare him to death. He was so "teasable". Three years ago, I would have never guessed that either of these people would be two of my best friends today. After we decided to give one another a chance, the entire hall grew amazingly close..Don't rule anyone out. It takes time to know people and, in the meantime, get to know as many people as you can.

One of the greatest benefits you will receive as a Deerfield student is the relationships formed by spending time with each other. Don't become so busy with activities that you fail to get to know students and faculty and staff. One of my favorite people here is Mrs. Delaney in the kitchen. I love Sandy, the security officer. I see Gretchen at the switchboard everyday and because I know her my day has much more value. If you learn the square root of pi; if you learn how to spell doppelganger, or if you even learn how to launch a space shuttle from your PC but fail to learn anything about the people who are here to serve you, you've missed a great opportunity.

We have the incredible benefit of having some of the greatest faculty members of all time, but my greatest academic experiences have come not just from what I learned about literature from my English teachers or Statistics from my Math teachers. No, my greatest experiences have been talking with them out of class about their subject but also about everything else in life. These are wonderful people! Get to know them and let them get to know you.

Returning to sophomore year for a minute, it seemed that fall I was suddenly all alone. My sister had graduated with all her cool friends. I didn't feel like starting over and meeting new people. A new dorm, new hall, new kids, new teachers. Suddenly the school felt really big as I realized all the familiar things from freshmen year were gone or had grown or were different.

Some of you are probably feeling this way now. Well I can tell you that not only have I felt this way but so has every Senior or Junior who's been here a year or more. So be honest about you're feelings but don't get caught up in them. There are too many wonderful things here to allow you to get lost in self-pity. Look out don't look in.

Find a place where community happens for you beyond your hall. It may be the Greer, it may be Christian Fellowship or in an a cappella singing group as it was for me. It may be in sports or dance...as it was not for me. No matter, everyone here should attend our games on Saturday, our performances in the arts, and other events because they are wonderful chances for the entire student body to rally around each other at once. But then, don't get stuck in these places. Invite others in when you find a place that makes you feel comfortable, without losing your identity in a close-knit crowd where it pays to group think. At Deerfield, we are trained to think for ourselves not just in the classroom, but in life as well.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the importance of academics here. I don't know about you all, but last week was a rough one and I'm still trying to adjust to life back at school. Of course I love Deerfield. But after weeks of sleeping in and days at the beach, to go from 0 to 60 is hard. I encourage you to constantly remind yourself that this is an amazing place to learn and we are so lucky to be here. Of course we all must work hard and give it our best and there will be times that are harder than others. Juniors, you'll notice the pressure has been turned up a notch. And seniors, we have the added stress of college applications. Again, I urge all of you to support one another, be sensitive and kind to each other.

John Adams said, "There are two types of education. One type educates one how to make a living. The other educates one how to live." And I think at DA, we are about learning how to live. By that I mean what defines us as human beings, what our passions are, how we treat each other, what contribution we will make to our community and the world.

Hopefully you were attracted to Deerfield by something other than the buildings, the baseball field, the incredibly beautiful layout of the campus generally, or the science center...but you probably didn't come to Deerfield because of the Arms building. The something else was probably a sense you got that people here treated each other the way you would like to be treated. Character has been the foundation of this school for decades and it is why this place has stood the test of time. And now you are a part of this equation. Others will know Deerfield by the way you treat those around you.

I can't believe I'm telling you all this, but when I was little, each morning as I walked out the door to the bus, my mother would hand me my Batman lunch box...I mean really little, this was when I was seven, I think... and she'd say "Sam, Remember to walk with the King-meaning God- and be a blessing." In no way do I mean to give motherly advice to 600 people who are my own age, however, I can't put it any better. If you are blessing someone else by lifting them up, you tend to feel good yourself. And that is what I hope all four classes will do this year. I hope we will lift this up as a goal: to be a school where we all put those around us ahead of ourselves, a group of people that will do anything for Deerfield Academy and will therefore do anything to improve the world we live in.