The Achievement first graduating class of 2023 gave speeches and also announced what colleges they chose to attend in the fall of 2023 at the Theater of the Performing Arts.

50 out of the 65 graduates of the graduating class gave their senior signing speeches. Multiple students earned a 3.5+ GPA and a few got into Ivy League colleges. While some just introduced themselves then shortly after announcing the college that they’ll be attending, others gave emotional speeches that told their stories and how they got to where they are today. While they all had excellent speeches, there was one particular speech that I found especially touching and that was Troy Meggie’s.

Troy’s speech resonated because as he was standing on the stage giving us a glimpse of his life, mentions only having his mother while immigrating to this country. His story of not having a father figure and how it affected him really struck a nerve and caught my attention for the rest of his speech. He says he hopes to make himself into the father figure that he never had growing up for himself and his younger brother. As people who never really had a father figure and whose mother had to make all the sacrifices as an immigrant a lot of the audience found Troy’s speech extremely relatable.

Troy expresses how he wasn’t dealt the best cards but he was determined to make something of his life that his mother never had the opportunity to. He says in his speech that he has dreams of building his own “architectural company” but not only is that his dream, he intends to make it reality. After all his hardwork and determination he got accepted into Yale University and he plans to major there in architecture. Troy’s story shows us that we should never limit ourselves to the hand we’ve been dealt but to take it as an opportunity to overcome your circumstances and to make the best of it by working hard. When you do this success will be well within reach as we see in Troy’s story.