The following text is Zach’s 8th grade graduation speech from  May 19, 2011.

Four score and seven, plus one, divided by twenty-two years ago, our founder brought forth on this continent, a new school, conceived in hope, and dedicated to the proposition that education should change. One headmaster, a handful of amazing teachers, and seven pioneering students became what we all know now as the University School of the Lowcountry. It was May of 2008, the end of the first year of this school, when my family came to a performance here at USL. It was fantastic, and my parents began talking with Mr. Kreutner. Afterwards, my parents researched the school more deeply and decided it was a great place to go. I was a little skeptical because I wasn’t sure I was ready to leave homeschooling. Finally I decided I would give it a try. It was one of the best decisions of my life.

I’d like to start with Mr. Kreutner. Mr. K, you have always been a great role model. You always have a positive attitude; you have always been interested in everything I do, and you have made my days go from a Monday morning, waking up on the wrong side of the bed to an amazing day with the whole week to look forward to. Whenever I was having trouble you helped me work through it. L & L has been an amazing course. I have really enjoyed discussing news and other topics; I have even come to enjoy LOTC prep. Thank you also for creating such a great atmosphere at USL. This school would not be possible without you.

Mr. Buchanan, since PE is first, I would like to thank you next. I think that this year has been the best, by far, in PE. There has been a good balance between games and work, and sometimes a mix of both of them. Thanks also for helping me tune down my competitiveness, so that I can enjoy a game even though I didn’t win. In Latin you have been a big help, whether it was conjugating “sum” in the imperfect tense, deciding what person, number and tense “sumus” is, or identifying the meaning of “et negotium inter se agebant”. You have really helped me with my English grammar through Latin. Thank you so much for everything.

Gracias por todo, Señora Rowland. Me gusta su clase de español mucho. Thank you so much. You have made Spanish one of my favorite classes. Spanish is almost second nature now. Sometimes I will be in the middle of math class and ask “pasame un lapiz por favor” instead of “pass me a pencil please” or bump into someone and say “perdon” for “sorry”. I love speaking Spanish. Thank you for teaching me these last three years.  Your cheerful attitude is always a great way to start my morning. Spanish class at USL has put me in an amazing place for Spanish in high school and life. I can spell better in Spanish than in English; I also know Spanish grammar better as well.  It has been a great three years. Thank you.

Math has definitely been challenging these last three years, but Mrs. Brown has been there to help me the whole time…well since she has been here. She helped me struggle through Geometry and again through Algebra II. She made proofs fun, until the 999th proof when I lost it. Postulates…no problem…yes, I can do theorems…all thanks to Mrs. Brown. Thank you so much for everything. I hate to admit it but you have really helped me with negative numbers…(its kind of embarrassing).

I would now like to thank Mrs. Logan. Mrs. Logan, thank you so much for everything you have done for me these last three years. I’ve read three works of Shakespeare, written an uncountable amount of papers, and never finished a single movie. Still. I don’t think I could have ever gotten through Shakespeare without you…too many thy’s and thou’s. My writing and spelling has also improved dramatically thanks to every one of those papers. I know now how to make oil from whale blubber, what Eastern Indians liked to eat and where they hunted, more about the Reconstruction (after the Civil war) than I think I want to know. Thank you for an amazing three years.

Mrs. Paeschke, you made the impossible, possible. First of all you figured out how to make me not only like grammar, but be good at it!!!! You deserve a medal for that one. My writing greatly improved thanks to your help. I went from writing an essay that was less than five sentences to a book. Well, it was not that long, but it was a very well-developed essay if I may say so myself. Thank you so much for being here and teaching me.

Chinese class has been pretty awesome.  There is no way I could have learned it without the help of Mrs. Ma. Whether it was trying to read pin yin, or writing a Chinese character, she has been there to help. Now I can write what…100 characters in Chinese!!!! Thank you for helping me, especially when I was completely confused trying to read pin yin. It’s been a great year. Xiexie Laoshi.

Mrs. Ewing:  Thank you for teaching me Science these last three years. Wow where to begin?  Air, Earth, Water, Fire, and Kilbey. The best part: The rollercoaster. It was amazing!!! I guess I’ll start with Air…I loved simple machines, especially our project with the human body and my life-size leg…and of course the rollercoaster. I appreciate all of your hard work and support.

Mrs. Coll, thank you for helping plan my job shadow day. It was amazing. I loved every second of it. Also thanks for helping with the high school prep and looking in to high schools with me/the other 8th graders. It was really helpful to have you opinion of the different school and you help with the applications and other things necessary for high school.

Finally, I would like to thank my family. Out of everyone I could not have done this without my parents. They have helped me with countless hours of homework.  They always have time for me no matter what. Mom and Dad, thank you for everything. My brother…he is there for me too. Whether it is to lend me his Moby Dick book AGAIN because I left mine at school or just sharing complaints about homework, I can count on him. Thanks, Sebastian.

I would also like to thank my classmates. Y’all are great. Thanks for your support. I would especially like to thank the 8th grade class. The “original five”: Taylor, Kilbey, Lexi, and Tyler. We’ve come a long way together, couldn’t have done it without you. Maya, Jordan, Adrian: Y’all are a great addition and have really helped make this such a great 8th grade class. I am really going to miss everyone.  Have an amazing summer, and I hope to see you next year as a mentor. Thank you.

Zach Parker
University School of the Lowcountry – Class of 2011
Academic Magnet High School – Class of 2015