Graduation is an important time in many Senior’s lives; at Nashoba, one of the greatest honors is to deliver the Chieftain Speech. This year, Senior Shayne DelFavero brought the audience to tears in his reminiscence of his time at Nashoba.

The speech highlighted Shayne’s experience at Nashoba and how his time here made him who he is today. It embodied the idea that at Nashoba he found a home that he had been searching so long to find, and found it in the most unexpected place.

“I felt for sure everyone was judging me because I was staying at RFK,” he said. “I was the outsider.”

Shayne traveled for most of his life up and down the East Coast; never settling and never feeling like he fit in. At Nashoba, he finally feels that, “now after two years of going to Nashoba, I have finally been able to feel what it’s like to have place to have a home.”

He highlights that his success was solely due to the support he had at NRHS and the people who surrounded him.

“If you are around people who are doing well, you’ll want to do well.”

Mrs. Dodd, a guidance counselor who was a major supporter of Shayne, said that, “For people who personally knew him, it was a big moment. For those who didn’t know him…his story meant a lot to them [and brought] a different perspective to the RFK program.”

She continued by saying, “It was very emotional [for me]…Shayne’s life and what he’s gone through…It’s why you go into education to hear stuff like that.”

Through hard work, Shayne now plans to attend the National Aviation Academy to become an aviation mechanic.

Although the 2015 graduation is a thing of the past, the relevance of the Chieftain Speech and its message greatly influenced the audience; success is not measured by where you come from, it’s by how you choose to achieve it.