BLA student Moriah Smith introduces Mayor Menino at "State of the City" speech

Moriah Smith, a senior at Boston Latin Academy and the student representative on the Boston School Committee, last night introduced Mayor Thomas M. Menino before he took the stage at Faneuil Hall to deliver his State of the City address.

Moriah, who entered the Boston Public Schools in 1997 as a first grader, is a resident of Dorchester and a member of the Boston Student Advisory Council.

In his remarks, Mayor Menino commended Moriah for her introduction.

"Through the Boston Public Schools, Moriah has had the opportunity to discuss the Constitution with Supreme Court Justices," said Mayor Menino. "And she’s received a great education. She's learned how to think critically, independently and creatively. Moriah reminds us that all children dream. And that the Boston Public Schools are a place where young people learn the skills to realize their dreams. "

"I look at students like Moriah in classrooms throughout our city, and I see Boston’s future doctors, teachers and even a mayor or two," he said. "All of Boston’s students energize me to keep pushing for progress every day of every month of every year."

The following is the text of Moriah's introduction delivered at Faneuil Hall.

***

Good evening, everyone. My name is Moriah Smith, and I am honored to stand here today at historical Faneuil Hall to welcome you to the State of the City message.

I have been a proud Boston Public Schools student since the first grade and currently am a senior at Boston Latin Academy, a member of the Boston Student Advisory Council, and the student representative on the Boston School Committee.

Through all of these experiences I have believed in our ability as citizens of this country to overcome every challenge that we face. I have seen and helped other students reshape policies and spread awareness about issues like drop out and have seen students and adults in all circumstances work together to create the change that they need. We have proven to ourselves through past examples that we can come together in every difficult situation to share the weight of burdens to make the load much lighter.

Currently this load includes the tough economic challenges. But even in the midst of what seems to be so negative, we can grow as stronger individuals from this opportunity to create better outcomes. It can be hard to always look at the cup half full and see that every problem actually has a solution if we don't allow ourselves to believe in that possibility. We shouldn't focus too much on the issue but rather on the ways in which we can resolve it. We can resolve it. "Yes we can."

If a moment is taken, we could stop and see that a resolution can be made by a simple unification of people whose hearts currently share the same passions. For example, it is evident that the students of the Boston Public Schools feel a great deal of concern. Many students often ask, "What can I do?" They have strongly expressed their desire of nothing more than spreading awareness of their cares and of being welcomed into the efforts of change.

Recently, a few of my classmates in health class asked if they could tell the Mayor that they want to help with this tough financial situation. The reality is, yes they can. If students can believe in themselves enough to advocate awareness of these issues and say that they care, so can we all. If we could all realize that the motivation is out there, we would all be able to see that nobody has to stand in this alone. We can all stand together. We are all affected by this shared challenge and can all join hands in a time when unity is all it takes to unite the states and peoples of America.

The wonderful thing about us Bostonians, other than the proof that we can overcome anything, is that we have stood strong for 16 years under a "wicked awesome" mayor. He knows that you and I have the amazing ability of spreading hope for the future and trusting in the possibility of seeing the light at the end of a dark tunnel. He knows that when the economy turns around we can say that we stuck together.

So without further ado, I would like to introduce the one man who has stuck by us since I was 2 and who continually believes in hope, our wonderful Mayor, Thomas M. Menino.