Johnny Buchanan & Michael Gross Staff Writers The seniors shouted “SUUUU!” as Su Kim walked out on stage. It was obvious that something big was about to happen. The attentiveness of the students in the auditorium was unthinkable. During the passing period, Su Kim’s speech was the buzz around the sophomore hallway. Brennan Besser said, “It was good. Actually it was great! It’s rare to hear someones perspective in that manner, which made it even more awesome.” Su Kim’s experience in leaving her comfortable home in Korea and traveling to Chicago, unfamiliar with the American culture expressed a major problem in her world. Su Kim used the innocence of her young age to block out the initial reaction of moving so far away, claiming that “when I was on the plane on the way there it didn’t even hit me that I was moving.” It took Su Kim a little while to adapt to her new environment but she was able to send a powerful message to her classmates, letting them know that she had not only finally began to understand the English language, but also in part taking making progress towards becoming part of the community. The students and faculty members that heard Kim’s speech, were blown away by her story. As soon as Su Kim wrapped up her speech with a thank you towards the audience, the space erupted with clapping, shouting, and chanting. Everyone was standing, complimenting her bravery of sharing a very personal and raw story, in front of all 450 high schoolers. Though the story was not relatable to many Latin students, Su Kim made it easy to connect with her struggles in trying to cope with her scenario. Abigail Nadler touched on Su Kim’s presence on stage. She said, “Su Kim was so brave to get up on stage and present this speech! She seemed so natural on stage, and kept the audience engaged the whole time.” The speech felt as though Su was talking to you personally. Mr. Kim said, “The speech was awesome. Really good. Now will you turn off your iphone, we need to start our lab!” I am sure Mr. Kim would have given more thoughtful feedback right after the speech, but we had a really “fun” lab scheduled during that class. Furthermore, Senior speeches allow everyone to learn something new about members of their community, like Su Kim. Senior Speeches hopefully will be a long living tradition here at the Latin School. Finally, thank you Su Kim for sharing your inspirational stories with the students and faculty. I cannot think of a better way to start this tradition of senior speeches in any other way than what you did on Friday.]]>
