San Ysidro High School valedictorian Nataly Buhr is angry.
Very angry.
And very patient.
She waited until, last Thursday, it was time to deliver her address at graduation. After thanking her parents, friends, and selected teachers for their support and contributions to her success, at the 1:20 mark, she called out lazy and negligent counselors and advisors, as well as one teacher who was intoxicated during class. The San Diego Union-Tribune quotes Buhr:
“To my counselor, thanks for teaching me to fend for myself,” Buhr said. “You were always unavailable to my parents and I, despite appointments. Only in these past few weeks, with the awards ceremonies and graduation coming up, did you begin making your appearance.”
Buhr went on to thank the school’s main office staff for teaching her to be “resourceful.”
“Your negligence to inform me of several scholarships until the day before they were due potentially caused me to miss out on thousands of dollars,” she said.
Her speech is a thing of beauty (assuming that it is accurate).
-via Ace of Spades HQ
Most of what she said was needless cruelty. No one needed to be reminded about the drunk teacher. Counselors are there to help students in need, not the valedictorian. It is not the office staff's job to find scholarships.
I had similar issues with my high school, so I dropped out and entered college early. Many first rate schools do not require graduation. She could have done the same. And, in case it matters, I was in the top 1% of the class.