B-BP School Chief to Grads: Be Persistent, Surround Yourself With Good People

The following is the commencement speech given by Bayport-Blue Point Superintendent Dr. Vincent Butera at the recent high school graduation ceremony.

In a Boston ice rink some years ago, a talented and upcoming 11-year-old girl prepared for the performance of a lifetime. She was about to audition in front of a renowned Russian skating coach, who each year selected just a few young girls to train for possible Olympic stardom.

That morning, she arrived early with her parents and watched as skater after skater performed their routines. After a few hours, her time had come. She tightened her laces, glided to center ice and nervously waited for the music to play.

With her parents holding their breath with every move, she proceeded to perform as flawlessly as she ever could have dreamed. As the music came to an end, the smile on her face told it all. She sped off the ice into the warm and proud embrace of her parents.

She then quickly dropped down and ran, skates and all, to the Russian coach who was standing at center ice preparing to watch the next skater. After looking up at the coach for what seemed like a lifetime, he turned his face, looked down at her, and said “I’m sorry, you don’t have what it takes.” Her Olympic dreams came to an end.

Roughly 20 years later, at a skating exhibition, that once promising skater found herself yards from that Russian coach. 

She found the courage, approached him and said, “Coach, you may not remember me, but I auditioned for you 20 years ago in Boston.” He studied her face, smiled and said, “Oh yes, I told you that you didn’t have what it takes.” Astounded, she said, “How could you possibly remember? That was 20 years ago,” to which he responded, “Because that’s what I tell everyone.”

I never forgot that story because it is a metaphor for what many of you will experience moving forward. That message will most likely not come from the lips of a Russian skating coach, nor be quite as harsh and direct, but you will encounter it, in the form of unsuccessful job interviews, a failing grade on an exam, a less-than-stellar performance review.

It is your choice whether to allow those experiences to build upon one another and reinforce the message that you can’t, or let them help build in you the one quality possessed by most every successful person I have ever encountered: Persistence…

…The refusal to let anyone else limit what you are capable of accomplishing. No matter how difficult, spend your time figuring out how to get things done and little to no time complaining about why it can’t be done.

You build persistence; it’s not given to you, but it is easier to build when you surround yourself with people who will support you, who are going to make you expect more from yourself, and whose company alone makes you feel better about who you are.

If there was one bit of advice I would give, it would be find those people and keep them close.

And as I say those words, I know that for many of you, you’ve become close to countless people who call this place home, and who fit that description very well. Stay close to them. The culture you are leaving does not happen by accident.

As we deservedly celebrate each of you today, I would be remiss if I did not take the time to acknowledge a person who embodies what it means to believe in, care for and provide support for your children.

And it is one reason why making him the new assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction was for me a somewhat easy choice….Ladies and gentleman, Dr. Timothy Hearney…

And now, by the power vested in me, by the New York State Board of Regents, I hereby certify the 2013 graduates of Bayport-Blue Point High School.

Congratulations!