As a lifer at Berkeley, David Fink has grown up surrounded by the school’s community and its many opportunities. In the Upper Division, Fink was involved in varsity soccer and lacrosse and served in the Student Forum for his junior and senior years. In his interview with The Fanfare, Fink said he has been thinking about and preparing for his Oration Speech since he was elected as Class President last year.
FROM KINDERGARTENER TO SENIOR: The Senior Class looks on as David Fink recalls memories from his time at Berkeley. (Photo Credit: Lily Shirmohammad ’26)
Fink began his speech with an homage to his family. Five of his siblings attended Berkeley, and he is the youngest of all of them and the last to graduate from Berkeley. Fink gave special thanks to his mom, who he explained had been waking up her kids for school for the past 15 years.
Fink then went on to thank his classmates for accompanying him on the journey to graduation. He mentioned activities that allowed the class to bond, such as senior sunset and water wars. Many of these were put on by the Student Forum, and Fink was happy he could listen and make his peers’ requests come to life.
He said, “Those senior events have truly made this class special because everyone was able to participate, and we all just got to enjoy the company of one another.”
Much of Fink’s speech followed a metaphor of waking up from a dream into a new world. He compared Berkeley to a dream: “Berkeley is a comfortable routine that I was used to for 14 years of my life. Throughout my speech, I talk about and weave in how we will no longer be in an environment that is as comfortable as Berkeley.”
Although Berkeley is a place of familiarity for the Class of ’24, it helped challenge and prepare them for the future. Fink said, “We must be willing to have the courage to wake up in the fall and embrace whatever comes at us.”
Fink ends his speech by reminding his classmates of all the opportunities that Berkeley has given them over the years. He urges them not only to remember these opportunities but also to put them to good use in the future, wherever the Class of ’24 might go.
To read David’s speech, click here.
