By Chris Wright
Dayton High School
As the Assistant Principal at Dayton High School, I have the opportunity to end each of our school days by delivering our afternoon announcements. Essentially, I can deliver any message I want to end our day and I go with “believe in who you are and where you come from.”
Chris Wright and his son
Truth be told, I have borrowed and combined two different phrases that have stuck with me over the years. The portion of the phrase “believe” comes from the popular Apple TV show “Ted Lasso,” where the titular character urges his scrappy, underdog soccer team to believe in hope, to believe in belief.
The second portion of my statement comes from my Principal from my days as a student at Ludlow High School, Mr. Glen Wise, who would end pep rallies and assemblies by reminding the student body to “remember who you are and where you come from”.
And as I remind our Greendevils to do on a daily basis, I want to remind all of our class of 2022 students to heed that advice.
Believe in who you are!
You are a class that has gone through three years of school that would be considered anything but normal. You overcame distance learning, hybrid classes, canceled sporting events and dances, potentially the illness of yourself or those you care about. You overcame because of who you are.
Carry this belief in who you are with you into the future. If you could overcome what were once unimaginable circumstances, why can’t you overcome any of the challenges that you will face as you step into your career or higher education? You’ve got this, believe in who you are.
Dayton High School administrators Scott Meyers and Chris Wright with Dayton Senior Brian Raleigh.
Believe in where you come from.
Where you come from is the community that rallies behind you and your school whenever they have the opportunity. At Dayton High School, I’m often inspired by how many community partners want to step up and provide support for our students. I have no doubt that all of our Northern Kentucky schools have similar community support. Students – you have so very many in your corner cheering for you and more than happy to help in any way possible to ensure your success.
Class of 2022, good luck in everything you do. We are your biggest cheerleaders and are here for you in everything you do. All you have to do is believe in who you are and where you come from!
Chris Wright is the Assistant Principal at Dayton High School. He is in his fourteenth year of education overall and third year of inspiring, engaging, and growing the students of DHS. In 2021, he earned his Doctorate of Education in Leadership Studies from Xavier University.
