For most students at the high school, the name Christie Yu ’18 is not an unfamiliar one. Yu has made herself well known through her numerous engagements across different disciplines of the school. It is no wonder, then, that Yu’s accomplishments earned her the title of student speaker at her own graduation.
At the prompting of her beloved senior year English teacher Mrs. Khan, Yu decided to write a speech. She submitted it along with other hopefuls’ speeches, but in the end, Yu’s speech was chosen as the one winner.
One of the positions Yu has been proud of throughout her high school career was being a Bradford member. Most recently, she held the role of Executive Editor for the newspaper, which plays a role in her speech.
“Social responsibility is definitely an important message, especially since we as a generation have to grow less and less reliant on institutions we’ve been so dependent on… I want to tell people that from my perspective, as a student journalist, I think it’s very important to be socially responsible in the way we perceive media,” said Yu.
Yu’s speech will provide some comic moments, but also includes some serious messages for her fellow classmates. She tackles issues like sexual harassment and gun violence. Yu believes that she should not let her opportunity to talk to the whole of her peers go to waste, but rather, she should use her platform to instill a message.
“Especially this year with the #MeToo movement and everything surrounding that… I was inspired to take a more political approach to my speech. I was going to make it more humorous and personal, but I think this year we need a political speech talking about standing up for yourself, and standing up for our rights,” said Yu.
Although she is sad to leave the high school at the end of May, Yu is also very hopeful for the opportunities college will provide.
“I’m so excited by the prospect of college. I have so many friends who are in college right now, and they are having such amazing experiences. I feel like I was ready for college four years ago, and I definitely look forward to it,” said Yu.