Rise Up! Using your Student Voice for the Greater Good

Carl Rapisarda Vallely, Head of Middle School
The summer, I brought my son, Brennan, to see Hamilton in Chicago. I had seen it before, but seeing it with him, through his eyes, was an awesome experience. He was transfixed, and, as we were leaving the theater he said to me, “Hamilton lost his parents and was poor and then became, like, really important and famous. That’s cool.”
 
And you know what? It is pretty cool. Hamilton could have allowed his circumstances to hold him back, but he didn’t. He overcame, and he persevered, becoming one of the most important figures in American history. How did he do it, you may ask? He did it by using his voice through his writing. His letters and essays, including The Federalist Papers, which promoted the ratification of the Constitution, are among the most important writings in our country’s history. 
 
As the administrative team developed the theme for the year: “Responsible Leadership and Student Voice,” I could not help but think of Hamilton. I thought about the importance of using one’s voice for the greater good, and I spent time reading about young people who used their voices to effect positive social change. 
 
Malala Yousafzai started to speak out for girls’ rights at the age of 11, when the Taliban banned girls from attending school in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. Malala ignored the ban. She kept going to school. At age 15, Malala was shot and almost killed by the Taliban on her way home from school. Following this attack, Malala overcame. She persevered. 
 
The Taliban thought they could silence Malala. Instead, they gave her a stronger voice. Malala was determined to fight for every child’s right to an education. She believes that education is the future, and that one child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. She has her own fund, the Malala Fund, which helps girls get to school. “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful” Malala said in 2015. 
 
The list of young people who have used their voice for the greater good is a long one. Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg, survivors of the Parkland High school shooting, who used their voices after the tragedy to call for safer schools. Marley Dias who at the age of 11, grew tired of not seeing herself reflected in YA lit, and started the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign, aimed at finding 1,000 books with girls of color as protagonists. The campaign collects and donates books and works with educators to discover and promote more diversity in reading. Seth Owens who, after being sent to conversion therapy and being disowned by his parents for being gay, started the the Unbroken Horizons Scholarship Foundation to provide a way for others like him to afford college. And, our very own Marlie Kass, Class of 2023, who created Smart Girls Jewelry, a line of necklaces to change traditional female stereotypes and empower young women. 
 
As we embark on a new school year, find ways to use your voice for the greater good. Whether you serve in the student senate as an officer or class rep, as a choir captain or officer in May Chorale or Greenline, as a captain or leader on the athletic field, or 8th graders, through your Inspiration speech, or simply by speaking up in class, use your voice this year.  And remember you do not have to be in a leadership position to do so. We all can use our voices to be an upstander, so, as Hamilton sings in the musical based on his life - rise up! Rise up for what is right. Rise up for those in need. Rise up for the voiceless. Use your voice to rise up this year. If you do, we will have a transformative year at Brimmer.  
As an inclusive private school community, Brimmer welcomes students who will increase the diversity of our school. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, or any other characteristic protected from discrimination under state or federal law, in the administration of our educational policies, admissions practices, financial aid decisions, and athletic and other school-administered programs.