Head of US Greg Hicks '68 Speaks in Chapel

On Nov. 13, 2017, new Head of Upper School Greg Hicks ’68 gave a particularly enthusiastic and uplifting talk to students in morning Chapel. Please enjoy!
 
Good morning, students. I want to talk this morning about you and the ways that you inspire us, the adults in your lives. You are beloved here at St. Stephen’s for so many reasons, but my hope this morning is to give you a sense of how much we value a very special quality. That quality is your creativity and your determination to find your own roads, ones that fit your hopes and that belong to you.
 
I am thinking now of so many of you who are finding their voices and inspiring us all:

  • There are our student artists who have shown their work as part of the East Austin Studio Tour. By showing, our artists have become part of the world of making art and of taking chances and putting themselves in the mix with other creatives, expressing and sharing their talents. 
  • And there was an amazing moment last Wednesday night. It was a wet, cold night, one where our football team showed the best of brotherhood and leadership, joining their former rivals from St. Andrews as teammates for the first time. That was so wonderful. But there was something else, too. During the warm-ups for the game, I saw one of our cross-country athletes doing speed work alone on the dark cold track, getting ready for SPC and for the championship our runners brought home. His solitary work had such concentration, such intensity.
  • And earlier this month, there was the beautiful and inspiring Dia de Los Muertos celebration right here in our Chapel: the music, the costumes, the masks, the dances. It was all beautifully made and beautifully chosen by you, our students. And it was magical. 
  • Our filmmakers and musicians — pianists and singers — are doing beautiful work, finding their voices, and being celebrated for their work.
  • Our rowers and hockey players are finding and showing their strength and grace.
  • Every dancer who brings together a sequence of moves — free, exact, controlled and strong — is finding and making something true.  
  • And so is every athlete who fakes an opponent out of their shoes.

I hope these do not seem like trivial things. I think these moments of beauty, focus and concentration matter a lot, whether at the keyboard, at practice or facing a blank piece of paper to create something of your own. I think there is no more important work for you now than discovering these strengths, sharing them, building on them, rejoicing in them. The Upper School is where you do this work. And it is important work for everything that you will become. It is something that you make. It expresses who you are.

There is a great story of fearless youth that I think fits here. It is found in the first book of Samuel, in the Old Testament. It is the story of David and Goliath.
 
Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
 
“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
 
We, your grown-ups, are a bit like Saul, attempting to arm David. We want to lend you our armor — the things that we know; the things that we think will protect you. But sometimes, it all weighs too much. Or it doesn’t fit. You must find your own strength and the things that work for you. You are, boys and girls, Davids, every one of you. It will be out of your bravery and your creativity that you will find your way. Choose your five smooth stones. We will be there for you when you go face those Philistines. You inspire us. And we are so delighted with you. Thank you.
 
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Address: 6500 St. Stephen's Dr., Austin, TX 78746
Phone: (512) 327-1213