On November 19^th in the John F. Sears Auditorium at Holyoke High School there was a guest speaker opportunity. Every month Holyoke High School will invite a new speaker to motivate the students to do their best and try hard every day to achieve their goals. Holyoke High School’s vision is to ensure that all students are provided the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to graduate prepared to pursue higher education without remediation and/or a rewarding career and to function as responsible citizens in a diverse society.

For the month of November the guest speaker was Harry Melendez, founder of the “I’m running for Holyoke “campaign. Melendez graduated in 2006 from Holyoke. Melendez, like many other kids in Holyoke had a tough childhood, he grew up without a father and was raised only by his mother. They just barely made it month to month, forcing Melendez to pick up a part time job after school.Melendez never liked when people would say negative things about Holyoke. He would always try to let people know that Holyoke was not a bad place and that no matter where you go there will always be crime. Today, Melendez is now twenty-five years old and the Director of Alumni Relations at Suffield Academy; he is a homeowner and is working on his Master’s degree. Melendez really stressed the importance of getting a good education throughout his presentation.

Melendez spoke about social media. Melendez stated, “Social Media is a fun tool, use it the right way and present yourself on social media the way you want to be viewed, don’t do it for the attention, being positive and successful is actually a really cool thing. Internet popularity doesn’t translate into real life significance.”

Many of the teachers at Holyoke High School now were Melendez’s teachers when he was a student here in 2006. Mrs. Carmen the Science Dept. Chair says, “He was a hard working student who took advantage of all the opportunities that HHS had to offer him. Harry did not forget where he came from and he has come back to give back to the school and community.”

Mr. Dunn, a substitute teacher at HHS, grew up with Melendez a.k.a. “Goober.” Mr. Dunn says, “Goober has always been a motivated guy and I think he is doing a great job trying to help motivate the kids in the community.”

Melendez wanted to stress these 5 things for us to remember,

1. Work hard at school, and then work hard some more, it’s our ticket to success!!
2. Be confident in all you do. Be proud of where you are from!! With preparation comes confidence, when you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask for or take advantage of help and be curious, ask questions, because of this Melendez is doing great things today.
4. Leave your mark wherever you go, you have one opportunity to make a first impression.
5. Most importantly as you go on your journey, “Start Small, Dream BIG!!”

Melendez believes his experience in life thus far can resonate with students from all different walks of life in some capacity. By sharing his story to more and more of the students at HHS and in Holyoke in general, he believes it will give them a sense of hope that they CAN be successful, despite some of the negativity in our environment and what is often portrayed in the media. “The motive behind sharing my story is to hopefully inspire and motivate the students who now walk the same halls that I once occupied at HHS,” Melendez told The Herald. “To inspire and motivate them to ask more of themselves on a daily basis and make the most of each day, utilizing the resources that are available to them.”

The Herald would like to thank Harry Melendez for coming in to speak to the students of Holyoke High, and we hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving Break!! #holyokeisrising