Malden High School Class of 2025 Class President Christina Anasthal’s remarks

By Christina Anasthal

Malden High School

Class of 2025 President

Good evening, Class of 2025, friends, family, staff and honored guests.

I stand before you today filled with immense gratitude, pride and disbelief that we actually survived the past four years. If you were to ask five-year-old Christina where she would be today, she would’ve said something wildly ambitious like a singing doctor.

That clearly didn’t work in my favor, as I am not holding either a stethoscope or a record deal. But I am class president delivering this speech, so you could say my dreams have evolved. The past four years have been ones filled with lessons both in and out of the classroom. We’re not the same little kids we used to be on August 28th, 2021. Today we are graduates who have matured into the young adults MHS has shaped us to be. High School has taught us how to advocate for ourselves, how we can put our differences aside to reach our goals, how we can bounce back after our setbacks, how to read a summary on our assigned homework five minutes before class and even how to covertly leave the school to go pick up our Dunkin’ orders.

Most importantly we learned how to support one another, through our victories, in the classroom, on stage, in clubs and on the field even when the scoreboards weren’t reflective of our spirits.

We grew into a family that’s as diverse and strong as the city of Malden itself. We are so lucky and blessed to have been alongside such different kinds of people at once. As you take a look around, realize this is a final moment you’ll be surrounded by these same people, experiencing these same victories, at the exact same time.

And when you step into the next phase — going to trade school, the workforce, the military, community college, taking a gap year, or university — I want you to remember that even when we’re hundreds of miles across the map, we will forever share this moment and this feeling that is unique to us. This moment that you remember the kid you’re sitting next to used to pick their nose or pee their pants.

But now we are Malden High School graduates, Class of 2025. We have physically and mentally watched each other grow, taking the time we had for granted.

But truthfully this is not our end. We have spent the better part of the year clamoring about how we wouldn’t miss high school or the experience, but it’s the space where we allowed ourselves to love, make mistakes, get roped up in silly drama, and memories that we could tell our kids. Memories like skate night, Friday night games and all of Mr. V’s endless but true lectures on what’s wrong with our generation today.

The future may be uncertain but so were the best parts of our past, and look how far we’ve come.

As I get into my thank you’s, I want to start with the woman I wouldn’t be who I am today without, my mom. My mother could easily be one of the most intense people I know. She will hover over you, constantly give out her opinion, even when you don’t ask for it, and lecture you anywhere at any time.

Over the years I’ve watched my mom break herself down to provide the life she gives to my two brothers and me, and even if you’re not her biological child she would give you her very last. My parents came to America with nothing but their hopes and dreams, as wildly ambitious as my five-year-old dream, and they had the potential to match it but they weren’t given the same opportunities that I have.

Haitian Creole: Manmi, daddy, ak tout fanmi mwen ki la jodi a, mwen kanpe devan nou pou m di nou mèsi pou tout bagay, mèsi pou lanmou nou, sipò nou, ak lefèt ke nou te kenbe m nan priyè nou yo. Tout sa m fè se pou nou.

I owe everything to my family.

And for all the other children of immigrants who grew up translating documents and dreams, navigating two worlds at once you carry more than just your books and ambitions. You carry the legacy of people who crossed oceans in hopes of seeing their children walk across stages like this one. Our parents have sacrificed quietly and shouldered burdens that we were not aware of, but their strength echoes in our every success. You are proof that their journey was not in vain. So as we move forward let us honor them not just by remembering where we came from but by building our futures with purpose.

I want to thank everyone on the student council, Bertha, Jess, Sarah, Jaslie, Saniah, Kevin, Julianna and Jenn, the past three years working alongside you all has been a pleasure. A special thank you to our wonderful class advisors Mr. Grinnell and Ms. Braz, you both gave us your all and a chance when nobody else would; thank you for all the hard work you put in for us effortlessly.

To all our teachers and staff k-12, thank you for all the tough love and encouragement you have shown us. Our contributions to the real world started in your classrooms long before we realized it. Shout Out to the people who work behind the scenes in order to keep our school functioning (and who signed me in when I was late), Ms. Casaletto, Ms. Andino, Ms. Glennon, Ms. Christina; thank you to all the janitors, cafeteria workers, athletic department, the nurses and the social workers, especially my rock, Ms. Holmes, I wouldn’t have made it through without you.

Last but not least, to my Step Team, the family I found for the past four years, with unforgettable memories and lifelong friendships to where I was mentored and grew to become the mentor. It reminded me that growth happens when you step out of your comfort zone and, in our case, into rhythm with others.

Before I continue rambling on and stalling the graduation, I have a few things to say to the class. Go out into the world and remember the lessons Malden has taught you: to get back on your feet, rely on your community and believe in yourself. Because the cruel and unforgiving world beyond our streets needs people like us — people who can lead with empathy, adapt with change and push for change when it’s needed most. We’ve learned that strength doesn’t always look like being the loudest in the room, except it looks like listening when it’s the hardest, standing up when it’s uncomfortable and showing up when nobody is watching. Today we carry with us not just diplomas. But a deeper understanding of what it means to care, to question and to create.

The world will say we’re too young, too ambitious, and dim our light but we know who we are, what we value and what we’re capable of; nobody gets to write that story but us. In the famous words of Malala Yousafzai, “Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.” Thank you, and congratulations again to the Class of 2025!