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Earl Baua - College Captain St Thomas of Canterbury College
 
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Earl Baua - 2017 Graduation Speech

Brendan Biggs —

2017 Graduation Speech

Good evening students, staff, family and esteemed guests. Before I begin I would like to first give thanks to my family, and to the MAN above for giving me the opportunity to address you all. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5-6

My name is Earl Dan Baua and I have been given the privilege of being this year’s College Captain. Starting at Year 9 I can guarantee that nobody here, myself included, would have expected the shy, tiny Filipino kid to be standing before you tonight. Yet here we are, I stand up on this stage 5 years later, as a year 13 and Still a tiny Filipino kid.

Tonight, we celebrate the successes of our college and the graduation of these men behind me. In my short speech, I'd like to firstly reflect on the past year and then pass on a message to the young St Thomas' men in this room. I would also like to take this opportunity to say a thank you to a number of people.

2017 has been a huge year for our student leadership team. At the start of the year we organized a Shave for a Cure group and 34 bald heads later we raised $8,000 for the Leukemia & Blood Cancer foundation. Later in the year a joint mufti day with the other Christchurch Schools raised over $14,000 for the Westpac Helicopter trust.

Then Term 3 came out of nowhere, and four of us Year 13s put together what was the biggest School Ball in St Thomas' history, with over 320 attending. At the end of term 3, I was very proud to see the first ever Filipino performance at the Variety Concert, which also raised $3500 for Maddie Collins and her treatment.

This is just a glimpse of the eventful past year, and I am proud to say that in our 5-7 years these Year 13s have created their legacy at St Thomas'.

To the students and future leaders of our college. This evening I want to share parting words of advice on how that shy little year 9, became the first Filipino College Captain at St Thomas'.

Firstly, step out of your comfort zone. Give everything a go, meet new people, strike up a random conversation. Learn to be UN-comfortable. Especially to my young and shy Filipino brothers, kaya mo yan! I challenge all of you next year to get to know your brothers around you.

Ditch the high school concept of cliques and squads, and make an effort to get along with everybody; you are stuck with them until you graduate.

Take risks and don’t waste any of your time as a youngster. because I can tell you now, as an old-aged 17-year old, you want to be up here graduating without any regrets.

The second thing is to try to be optimistic! When we get hit with our "first world problems" we become blind to the positives. Yes, optimism isn’t easy, but I always tell myself, at least I have food on the table, water to drink and a roof over my head. Right? 775 million people in the world cannot read and another 124 million children are set to follow due to a lack of education. Instead of focusing on the negatives I ask you to look at what you're so blessed to have. Be thankful that you have access to education. Be thankful that you wake up in the 2nd most peaceful country in the world - be thankful that you have the basic human rights, to have life, liberty and security of person. Continue being thankful for the little things and your problems will become minor.

My last piece of advice comes from a quote "Do not make your goal to be the best. Best is a label. It's something someone else decides for you. 'Better' is more personal."

As I wrote this speech, I looked at previous Head Boy speeches and thought to myself...? How am I supposed to prepare anything as good as these guys? But it became so much easier when I realized... I'm not Luke Payne. I'm no Tana Luke. I'm no Tovia Fui, and it goes without saying I have learnt so much from these leaders… but instead of trying to copy them, I thought I should just let Earl Baua speak. Men, a bit of competition isn't always a bad thing but learn to focus on the competition with yourself rather than others sometimes.

To the staff, coaches and mentors. None of these men would be graduating tonight if it wasn't for your dedication to our success. You work hard to get us over the line, even when we lack the motivation to do so, and for that we thank you. I would especially like to acknowledge Ms O'Neill. For the time, you have served at St Thomas’, we as a student body cannot thank you enough.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the many mentors I have had in my time at College. To Mr Milne and Nev, the ballers want to thank you for the coaching you've given us, on and off the court. To Mr Auimatagi and Ms Smith, for the support every morning in every form class for the last 5 years, thank you. Lastly, to Mr. Reddy. Your commitment to every student in the graphics department, including myself does not go unnoticed, thank you.

To the Class of 2017, you have done exceptional to make it this far. As we all move on I wish you the very best in your future and hope that you continue to inspire opportunity. Remember to stay true to your identity as a St Thomas' man, and yourselves as individuals. Like, a famous rapper, J.Cole once said "Take it from a man that loves what you got, baby girl you a star, don't let em tell you you're not." Even if we scatter to different cities, keep in touch and I’ll see you at Redmond's round 5.

So, what does it really mean to wear this crest? A mentor once told me that being a St Thomas' man, is to simply leave a place better than you found it. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you a stage of young men who have certainly done that.

I'd like to leave you with a quote by Ernest Hemingway. "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to yourself."

Congratulations Class of 2017, and to the Student body, it has been an honor to lead and represent you this year.

Thank you and God Bless.

Earl Baua