This year’s Hays Speaking Prize felt different than the ones I have experienced over the last few years at Proctor. We audience members definitely experienced our fair share of hard stories to hear. Sophomores telling their well-crafted narratives that discuss human sexuality, anti-semitism, ADD/ADHD, difficult transitions, and even sexual abuse have all been done before to be sure. Yet, this year’s audience filled the Norris Family Theater, once again, to hear stories that packed a punch, and the students who delivered their speeches truly tried their best to connect with the audience in new and effective ways.
Listen to Brian read this week's blog here!
The English Department and sophomore students did a miraculous job vetting harrowing and even more than a few uplifting themes. You could sense and experience what some of the students were feeling given our mirror neurons that activate when a student storyteller told us an emotional tale. There was also a gravity and seriousness to each presenter that seemed somehow to elevate the evening’s importance.
The Hays Speaking Prize was created twenty-five years ago by former trustee, parent, and teacher, John Pendleton, who provided Proctor with a way to feature students who may not be all that visible as speakers or writers, but who certainly gained wide support from their peers in being voted in and, even more importantly, accepting the huge challenge of speaking in front of a very full house of their peers, some family members, distinguished judges, and other folks from the community. The competition was named in honor of Bill Hays who was a former Bowdoin College debate team standout and former Proctor Academy Board of Trustees Member. Each year, and for the past 25 years, the contest provides the sophomore class a vehicle to talk about the most pressing issues of their lives as well as a way for a larger audience to hear a smaller subset of the class listen in on the raw materials of those members of our community who are nearly half-way through their Proctor careers.
Once again, English teacher Tom Morgan navigated and framed the evening for all in attendance. Tom gave a nod to his friend and mentor, Peter Southworth, who is retiring at the end of this year from Proctor after 39 years of service to the School. The proceedings were anchored and moderated by last year’s Hays Speaking Prize Winner, Paige ‘25.
The first speech came from Layk ‘26 who kicked off the evening with a thoughtful speech about what he and others have endured because of their body image. Layk provided vivid details of how he has had to endure name calling by his elementary and middle school peers before entering Proctor to not being able to find the right clothing when shopping. However, Layk found acceptance on the football field at Proctor where his size served as an asset and he found a brotherhood of others on the offensive line, which has served to boost his self esteem.
Next up was Christina ‘26 who spoke about her grandmother’s battle with Alzheimer’s and how hard it is to watch someone you know and love disappear as the disease progresses. The statistics that Christina provided about the number of people in the United States and around the world who have had to live and cope with the disease reminded us just how many in the audience were likely impacted by a similar experience. Christina also told the audience that increasing exercise and reducing obesity, smoking, and high blood pressure might mitigate or slow the progress of Alzheimers. She ended by saying, “It could one day affect you, too.”
Lila ‘26 was the next sophomore to take the podium as she spoke about her cousin, a little boy who gives the best hugs, but who people don’t often understand because of his behavior, especially at school. Her cousin has lived with ADHD, which makes him both sweet and sometimes hard to deal with because of his impulsivity. Lila mentioned her own ADHD, which has not had the kind of disrupted life that has often made her cousin feel scared, reserved, and changed his behavior because of how people often judge him for his actions. The point of the speech was about how your behavior, even things you cannot easily control, can impact how people view you.
After Lila spoke, Ada ‘26 also talked about memory. She said that powerful memories and learning from others can be the building blocks of new memories, but as a young girl, kindergarten age, she could not see the future and was reluctant to build those new memories after having to move to one of Yale University's Residential Colleges with her family, which both shook her, but eventually formed who she was as a person. The experience of being a young girl, growing up and living amongst college students taught her that she could also avoid some of their hard and even terrible experiences by watching the undergrads at Yale falter as a kind of cautionary tale to her and her older sister. Ada learned lessons of what to do and what not to do from those people who were not her family with whom she also lived.
Ozzy’s ‘26 speech was one that certainly had many people in the audience buzzing afterwards because she told of how a friend’s boyfriend in 8th grade sexually assaulted her; however, they quickly pivoted from her being a victim to that assault to being a person who took back their life after the young man was punished and fined by the criminal justice system. Ozzy posited the idea that teaching about the joys and pleasure of sex and sexuality could mitigate against the risk of abhorrent behavior and even the self-perception in people, particularly in young women.
The evening shifted after each person spoke, but Annie’s ‘26 speech about sexual assault seemed to have all in the audience hold our collective breath. The hard thing to hear in any speech is the uncomfortable truth, especially when it is how survivors of sexual assault sometimes blame themselves or sweep the encounter and the assault under the dusty rug of their memory, which surfaces later. Annie disabused us of the idea that assault survivors are only girls and women. While the majority tend to be women, boys and men also suffer as victims, which makes it hard for many of them to come forward.
After Annie’s speech, Alice ‘26 spoke about eating and body image issues, and the battle of never seeing oneself as good enough compared to friends or the people posting on social media. She even mentioned stars like Jennifer Lawrence and Richard Madden who were also fat-shamed as actors or while growing up. Alice admits that no one is perfect, but learning to see through the idea that beauty is a relative concept residing in the eye of the beholder.
Our penultimate speaker, Kaden ‘26, spoke directly about how he and other Jews have experienced anti-semitism, which has devastating effects on being judged and stereotyped by others. Kayden recounts how his story is connected to the larger narrative of Black and Asian hate, which makes it even harder to some extent because Jews only represent about 2% of the population in America while Blacks and Asians represent 13% and 5% respectively of the American population. Kaden had this statistic in the background of his story when he told about attending a previous school where he first experienced the deep sting of anti-semitism, which has only increased exponentially since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Kayden’s understanding of his own identity was deep and soulful.
The last speaker of the evening was Sophia ‘26, who talked about how difficult it was growing up in a split household. The early rift in her family had her mental health plummeting as she battled depression. Sophia discussed how things improved when she came to Proctor because it provided her the space to heal and grow. Although it has not been easy for her in boarding school, Sophia was compelling for the audience in saying that growth happens when people step outside of their comfort zone, which makes “life being a river that is always flowing.”
Each speech and speaker taught us something new not just about the person who spoke, but it also provided us invaluable insights about ourselves. These wise souls, not yet two years through high school, made us understand that a compelling story lives in each of us, which can only be activated if we only use our voice.
Brian W. Thomas, Proctor Academy Head of School
Curated Listening:
The singers Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile provide us a wonderful way to tell the listener about the beauty of collaboration and in using our voice. Listen to their duet called “A Beautiful Noise” HERE.
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