Senior Kathir Sundarraj gave the first of this year’s senior speeches to the student body today during school meeting.

Kathir began his speech with two points: the “malignant side-effects of the disease known as competition” and the impact that each person can make on a community.

As Congressional debate captain, Kathir drew on several examples from his debate career, emphasizing that competition “makes you think inwards instead of outward.”

Kathir argued that his desire for bringing home shiny trophies made him lose sight of why he first started debate. At the same time, he encouraged students to think about how they could make an impact at school that they will be proud of when they come back a year or maybe even a decade later.

Junior Elizabeth Teng agreed with Kathir’s beliefs.

“Ambition and wanting to succeed are not bad, […] but one should always remember that we are still part of a bigger group,” Elizabeth Teng (11) said.

Other students thought that Kathir delivered his message in a straightforward yet meaningful way.

“[I liked] how he sent out a simple message that probably most of us could learn from,” Matthew Huang (10) said.

Senior speeches to the student body are not something new to school meetings around this time of year.

“The concept of having these speeches is something that I admire,” Sachin Pedadda (10) said. “It’s kind of a way for seniors to convey their appreciation for Harker and think back on all of their experiences.”

Ending his speech with a humorously altered quote from President John F. Kennedy, Kathir declared “Ask not what Harker can do for you, but what you can do for Harker.”