On Friday, June 7th, Keswick School was honored to have one of our former students, Sacha Presburger, address our community during our End of Year Ceremony. We are incredibly proud of Sacha and we thank him and his parents for coming to support TKS. Below is the transcript of Sacha’s speech.
Before I begin, I’d like to thank all of you, the TKS community, for giving me the privilege of speaking to you today. I also want to extend a special thanks to my parents and David and Andrew for coming down from far away to support me in this wonderful moment. I was pleasantly surprised at the invitation you extended to me, and all too happy to oblige.
Six years and many pounds ago, I was in the same situation as you, the transitioning class. I was sitting in the gym (it rained that year), anxious but excited about what the future held for me. I had worked really hard the last two years on many things, and I was worried that maybe it wouldn’t pay off. Maybe I wouldn’t make friends. Maybe I wouldn’t be able to talk to girls after two years in a boy’s school. Maybe I wouldn’t be able to handle schoolwork. Thankfully, I didn’t need to worry about any of that.
When I first attended TKS in the summer of 2011, I was in a very different place than I am now. I was an angry, rebellious, and defensive kid. I was there because I was having a lot of trouble living at home. I was headed in a bad direction. I was getting into fights with people my age and family members. I talked back to teachers, and making life difficult for everyone around me. Even then, I always felt bad about it. But I didn’t know how to change myself. I felt totally and completely helpless.
My first year at TKS was a time in which I had to realize, for the first time in my life, that I had an inherent “us versus them” mentality in my approach to dealing with authority. I refused to buy initially that people here wanted to help me improve, and I behaved accordingly. If I saw something I didn’t like, I had no filter, and I let loose about it to everyone and anyone who would listen. I acted out regularly and with little consideration for anyone around me. From trying to break into the staff room armed with a broom looking for contraband to throwing shampoo bottles in frustration, many of you in the audience can probably attest to what 2011 Sacha was like. Countless hours of green sheet followed my escapades like rabid wolves.
Sacha speaks at the 2019 Transitioning and End of Year Awards Ceremony
It took time, but eventually I calmed down quite a bit, and I began to improve. I began to take my situation a bit more seriously, and I got level 3 in 2012. From that point onward, I became a leader of sorts. I think a major part of this success was the mutual support and relationship I had with my peers. I knew that despite occasional fights, we were all rooting for each other to succeed. Our close proximity allowed us to see the best and worst of each other, and in turn ourselves. My time at TKS allowed me to develop empathy towards others that I’d never had, and also a greater understanding of my own inner workings. Seeing my peers succeed drove me to pursue success myself, and vice versa. There’s also true significance to the fact that we all gave each other feedback and appreciated each other. It also formed lifelong friendships. Before I continue, I want to emphasize how significant the bond many of us share truly is, in a way that it simply can’t be for your typical middle or high school student. These are friendships you will hopefully continue in spite of distance, whether over the phone, on social media, or even in person. The extended TKS community is a strong one, one that can’t be mitigated or weakened by distance or the passage of time.
I decided for myself, before I left TKS at some point in time, that my boarding school experience wouldn’t be over. In fact, it shouldn’t be. I wanted to continue the things I liked about TKS, like dorm life. I also worried that being home might jeopardize my improving relationship with my family. This led me to begin at Middlebridge School in Rhode Island in September of 2013, and I stayed there until I graduated high school three years later. I’m not the only TKS student to attend Middlebridge, and I can tell you why. I found a community there that was equally supportive and welcoming of me as people were here, something I never expected. After graduating, I would go on to pursue a writing major at Ithaca College in New York, where I have just finished my third year. This summer, I’m taking screenwriting at USC, and I will be studying abroad in London in the Fall.
I’ve also taken the last years to devote my spare times to the things that make me passionate. I became a theater geek of sorts. Something stuck with me after wearing a bathrobe and playing Ebenezer Scrooge before Winter Break in the Depot (Keith was Bob Cratchet, which I’ll never forget). I had a year and a half internship at a theater company in Rhode Island, and continued to do improv comedy into college. I found it to be a valuable learning experience for developing my social skills, as well as one of the most fun and enjoyable activities I’ve ever participated in. My advice to you is to find your improv, and devote yourself to it. Continue to pursue your hobbies with the utmost dedication and seriousness.
During this time, I’ve continued to talk to and be a part of the TKS community. I remember telling Jim Gaul before I left that I wouldn’t miss the rules, but I’d certainly miss the people. I didn’t realize at the time how true this would be. While I do miss certain activities like fishing, wood shop, and riding horses, what I really miss is the people here that made my experience worthwhile. This exposes a certain important truth: the secret to TKS’s success as a school has never been and will never be the rules or protocols that make it run on a daily basis, but rather the inspiring personal dedication of its faculty to our success and improvement. Without staff that genuinely cared, all of that would amount to nothing. To that end, I try to stay in contact as much as possible with faculty, and of course my fellow alumni, of which I am thankful to have several here watching today. I haven’t forgotten what everyone here did to help me, and I encourage you to do the same. I have always known that when I struggle, all I need to do is call.
My gratitude for this has led me to believe that there need to be more places like TKS for kids that struggle like we have. I’ve spoken in Mexico for Autism Awareness Month on the issue, and I am currently in the process of writing an autobiography, which I hope to use to share my entire story with the world.
I would consider myself a success story in progress, with “progress” being the key word in that phrase. I’ve made a lot of improvement, but I also continue to have my challenges. I struggle to control my weight and am working hard to live a healthier life. I still face anxiety about work and expectations laid on me. I can have trouble using the proper tone with my voice and come across the wrong way to people. And yes, I still occasionally say things once in a while that I regret. But these challenges are part of a lifelong journey, and I know that with hard work I can conquer them.
Before I finish, I’d like to give a few pieces of advice to the transitioning class that I learned from my time at TKS, and indeed to all the students in attendance.
First off, be open about your story. We’ve all gone through a great deal of hardship, and I found that being honest about my time here to other people was therapeutic to me, and that I shouldn’t be embarrassed or ashamed that I needed to go to boarding school. To the contrary, I should be proud that I overcame those obstacles and emerged a better person. I think there’s a lot of myths that need debunking in that department, and it’s my hope that you will help to do that, and hopefully inspire many people along the way.
Second, I’ll point out the obvious: once you’re off and into the world, you won’t have a point sheet or a level anymore. It will be up to you to evaluate yourself as you go through your day, and to identify learning experiences as they come. You will find academic, social, and perhaps physical challenges, but behind each of those lies an opportunity to achieve greater success.
Third, to quote former TKS woodshop instructor Joe Morse, “take the time it takes so it takes less time”. I learned this firsthand when I almost bisected my finger on the bandsaw, but it came to take on new meaning after I left. It’s important to look around you and enjoy each moment, because the older you get, the faster life moves. It might seem like a cliché, but if you blink you’ll miss it. Each moment is significant. Also, never rush good work for the sake of time.
Fourth, each rejection or disappointment you encounter (there will be many) is an opportunity for new growth. Your resilience will be tested, but never give up, and never forget the work you did to get here. If you do, you’re bound to achieve.
Finally, and above all, treat everyone you meet with dignity and respect. Make as many encounters as possible a chance to inspire or invigorate someone around you. Use what you’ve learned here to make people’s days and make the world around you a better place.
I want to give my heartfelt congratulations to the transitioning class. I hope your journeys take you to great heights. I believe in your potential, and I hope you do too.
