Good evening, Class of 2025, family, friends, and RMHS staff.
My name is Caitlin DeRosa, and I am honored to address you all tonight as the Salutatorian for the Class of 2025. To begin, I would like to thank my family, friends, teachers, and coaches for not only helping me reach this milestone, but also for shaping me into the person I have become. Without all of you, I would not be standing up here today.
Throughout my time at RMHS, I have had the privilege of meeting amazing people, getting involved in various clubs and teams, and creating memories I will cherish forever. I have always loved to be busy, which has been visible the past four years as I got involved in every extracurricular possible while still keeping up with schoolwork. My parents can attest to the many nights they have yelled at me to go to bed because I was trying to perfect my Spanish homework, watch game film, or finish a DECA slideshow.
Throughout these past four years, there have been countless instances where I have felt myself get pulled in different directions, each of my activities demanding my attention simultaneously. Sometimes, I would even feel like completely giving up because the workload became so stressful.
One of those moments hit me about a month ago. Like many of you, I had just returned to school from spring break, ready to begin summer; however, I still had to finish out the school year, study for AP Exams, attend Unified Basketball and club soccer games — all while trying to enjoy the last few weeks of senior year.
One Sunday afternoon, I had absolutely no motivation to go to my club soccer game, but I got myself up and drove to the field. I could tell the rest of my team felt the same way as they sluggishly put on their cleats and trudged onto the field to warm up. My coach quickly huddled up the team, stood in front of all of us, and said something that stuck with me:
“You do not have to play soccer today — you get to.”
These few words switched on a light bulb in my brain, giving me a new perspective on a game I have played for 15 years. This slight shift in mentality got me through the rest of the game as I realized it is a privilege to play soccer — a sport that has made me a better leader and a better person.
Each of us has been given so many opportunities throughout our time at RMHS, whether it was playing on a sports team, taking on a role in a show, participating in a club, or just learning in class. It was not just the great moments from these experiences that shaped who we are today, but also the difficult ones that taught us resilience and persistence.
By being here today, we have proved that we can persevere, even when we may not want to. As we move forward in life, we will only face bigger challenges; however, we cannot let these stop us from pursuing our passions. Rather, we must take advantage of the plentiful opportunities that will come our way to shape our future into the best version it can be.
Every opportunity we receive is not something we must do, but rather something we get to do. Each time new opportunities pop up, our power to make a decision is invaluable. Although sometimes we may think we are undeserving or will fail, each new chance we get is because someone believes in us — our abilities, and our hard work.
We must choose to do hard things so that, in the end, we grow and find new paths we never would have imagined ourselves on. We also must take full advantage of them, because not everyone may have the chance to.
As we reflect on our time at RMHS, we can clearly see that we are beyond capable of achieving anything we set our minds to. Each of us has survived high school, gained a great deal of knowledge, formed lifelong friendships, and found a community where our individual strengths shine.
So if you walk away from this speech with one piece of advice, let it be this: never limit yourself due to the fear that you will not succeed. Take advantage of every opportunity — not because you have to, but because you get to.
Today, celebrate all of your accomplishments within the Reading community, and prepare to take everything you have learned here and use it as we move forward in life.
Congratulations Class of 2025!
I wish you all the best of luck as you continue in your journey.
