Delbarton Experience Dinner: Kyle Higgins

Kyle Higgins ’15 shares his notes for the speech he delivered at the Delbarton Experience Dinner. 

My name is Kyle Higgins and I would like to share with you in the next few minutes my Delbarton Experience. I come from a family of five brothers, and I am right in the middle as the third of five. My older brother, Drew, was a sophomore when I applied in the eighth grade, so we were very happy to be able to go to school together for the next two years.

I was born and raised in Summit, New Jersey, and had played football there since I was in the fourth grade. Naturally, I decided to play football at Delbarton, and I can honestly say my closest friends were made during that freshman football season. We were terrible that year, and we ran a ton of sprints every practice, but I started at left tackle, so I had no complaints.

Since I wasn’t playing a sport in the winter, I decided to join the Forensics Team, which is our speech and debate team. It was a grueling amount of work, but I had the greatest opportunity to meet different kinds of kids and students in other grades. I also learned how to speak in front of people, as you can tell by my awesome speech.

Then, in order to train for freshman baseball tryouts in the spring, I went to every strength and conditioning workout ran by Delbarton Football Defensive Coordinator, Coach Beach. We’d go on runs Tuesday and Thursday before school and work out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after school. The runs before school usually consisted of me, a few other kids, and the entire varsity lacrosse team training for the spring, so the competition was very tough.

Finally spring break rolled around and I was ready to crush the tryouts. Me being so athletic, I was surprised to find out I had been cut from the team on the last day of tryouts. After a few days of complaining and moping around, I walked into Coach Linfante’s classroom and asked if I could join the Rugby team. It was an amazing experience; I got to run with the ball and I even scored by the end of the year.  The A side team won the championship game against St. Peter’s and I officially fell in love with the sport.

This is a theme of Delbarton that I want to stress: Succisa Virescit. When knocked down, one grows back stronger. Getting cut from freshman baseball was one of the best things that ever happened to me because I found a sport I absolutely loved. Sophomore year during one of our morning meetings, Brother Paul talked about the lack of kids on the swim team, and the fact that if enough kids did not swim, we’d have to cut the program.

I joined the team because we needed more kids and I knew I’d have a blast.  Most of the sophomores on the team were in the rigorous AP European History Class, so studying with them on the bus rides to practice proved to be very helpful for my AP Euro grade.

In the spring of my sophomore year, we didn’t win any rugby championship, but I was elected by my team to be the junior captain for next year’s rugby season.  That sophomore year was also the same year that my two younger brothers were both admitted to Delbarton, one as a seventh grader, and one as a freshman.

I had gone to school with my older brother Drew my freshman and sophomore years, but it wasn’t until my two younger brothers were accepted that Delbarton became a home to me. That’s probably why as a junior, my Delbarton experience changed dramatically. I was an upperclassmen, going to school with my two little brothers, acting as a junior service coordinator and a retreat leader, and I didn’t feel as uncomfortable asking seniors for rides home.

At the end of the year, I decided to run for student body president. It seemed like an obvious choice for me because of my charm, good looks, and constant need for attention. I ran against a really good friend of mine, Brian Monaghan, and I gave an amazing speech in front of the entire school advocating why I should be the next school president.

Despite my awesome speech, I did not win, which came as a huge disappointment to me.  But–although I was knocked down, I grew back much stronger.  I was elected into the council of seniors, a group of seniors handpicked by the president who act as a student council. Additionally, I was picked along with five other students to be campus ministers my senior year. As a campus minister, I led retreats, organized community service projects, and served as Eucharistic minister at school masses.  The theme of Succisa Virescit has been very prevalent in my Delbarton experience; even though I didn’t get what I thought I wanted, God offered me an even better opportunity to succeed as a Delbarton student.

The reason why Delbarton has meant so much to me is that I have been able to treat the students here as if they are my brothers at home. The sense of community and understanding at Delbarton is something I will cherish forever. I’ll never ever forget scoring five hole against Andrew Christie in a handball tournament freshman year to put my deanery up one-nothing. Andrew Christie, the governor’s son, a kid that plays baseball for Princeton–I scored on him!  I always remembered how much it meant to me when the Varsity Football players watched our home games freshman year.  And as a senior, I know how much the Middle School Lacrosse Team notices me when I go to their home games.

We get knocked down, but we can get back up just as easily. We form relationships with our teachers that last beyond graduation.  It is here where we learn, laugh, and love.  It is here where we belong.

Thank you.