Sleeping With My Best Friend - (Complete)

Chapter 32 - The Valedictorian Speech

*** Three Years Later - Senior Year of College ***

Berkley looked down to see the time on her phone and gasped, snatching her cap and gown off of her bed and then rushing across campus, putting it on as she went. Of all the days to be running late, her college graduation day was not a good choice. Luckily, she made it down to the auditorium and got to her seat just in time, right before the ceremony started, letting out an exhale of relief.

She heard a loud booming voice yell out, "Berkley!" and she looked around in the direction it came from, spotting her Dad, brother, his wife and their little girl up in the stands waving at her, sitting next to Dean's parents. Berkley smiled and waved back, shaking her head with a laugh.

The ceremony started with the school choir singing the national anthem and then the marching band played the school song. There were several speeches before the Dean of the University, Professor Lindquist, walked over to the podium, straightening out his tie and giving the crowd a warm smile. He was a reasonably handsome guy in his mid 50's, with dark brown hair streaked with grey at the temples.

"You know, this is the day I always look forward to every year, when the graduates finally get to relax and let loose, knowing that all their years of hard work have finally paid off. Putting that degree in their hand, it gives them such a feeling of accomplishment and I see their faces light up. There's nothing better. It's why I love what I do," he said with a smile as the crowd of graduates cheered and clapped.

He waited for them to quiet down again before saying, "But there's one person among you that will be feeling even more accomplished today than the rest, because they have risen to the top of the class and at a school like Yale, that's something to be very, very proud of."

There was more clapping before he said, "I always have a face-to-face meeting with our valedictorian to help them prepare for their graduation speech, and when I first met this young man, I thought there had to have been a mistake. There was no way this guy that looked like a young, brunette Brad Pitt was the valedictorian of Yale," he laughed, looking down and chuckling to himself at the memory.

Then he raised his head and smiled. "In my twenty one years of being the Dean here, I've seen plenty of valedictorians come and go through my door. They're usually shy and quiet, with no social skills. Most of them barely left their dorm room all four years," he laughed and the crowd started laughing too.

He shook his head, looking over at Dean that was standing a few feet away. "That's definitely not the case with Dean Bradshaw. This guy oozes confidence and charisma. He looks like the type that would be more comfortable doing keg stands at a frat party than writing a Quantum Physics paper. You might look at him and be surprised he even got into Yale," he laughed lightheartedly, with a smile, "but here he is today, graduating as our valedictorian."

The crowd started cheering and clapping and Berkley clapped too, whistling through her fingers, before yelling, "Woo hoo!" She was so proud of him.

"I learned an important lesson from him that day,  about not judging a book by it's cover," the Dean continued. "After you've spent five minutes talking to him, you find out how incredibly smart and impressive he really is. He's humble about his intelligence though. During our time together, he didn't brag about all of his accomplishments, grades, internships and test scores like all the other valedictorians I've met with. Instead, he spotted the picture of my old muscle car on my desk and that led to us talking about engines and sourcing vintage car parts. Then he saw the picture of my family and asked about my wife and kids. He told me about his beautiful girlfriend and his family's fishing boat business. From our short time together, he got to know me and I got to know him too, as a person, not just as a student. I feel like I know him better than any of the other valedictorians I've met with over the past twenty years. He's one of those people that you meet once and walk away feeling like you've known them for years. He's not just book smart. He's good with people and he has emotional intelligence too, and that's why I know he's going to be successful with whatever he chooses to do in life." He turned his head and looked over at Dean before saying, "Before you come up here and give your speech, I'd just like to say one last thing. I truly believe the sky is the limit for you son, and you've got a bright future ahead of you. I expect great things," he said with a smile. "Oh, and anytime you want to come over and work on cars or cook my family some of your famous Italian Grinders, we'll be ready."