(March 2, 2005) — As the sun shone through the gray clouds, students shuffled to find a seat in the amphitheater and begin the long awaited assembly with author Mark Mathabane. In the crowd, faint whispers could be heard from students like freshman Haik Gasparyan. “That’s him, I can’t wait to hear what he’s going to talk about,” Gasparyan said.

With the help of principal Doug Dall, ASB, and humanities teachers Chris and Jennifer Davis, Mathabane was able to fly out from the East Coast and talk to students. He spoke about the laws of apartheid set by the South African government in the 1940’s. Although he was forced to endure harsh conditions as a child, during the 1960’s, he gained the courage to work around the obstacles he faced.

During his speech students listened attentively, waiting to hear the next story or word of advice. Many said they were astonished at the stories he told about having no food, catching diseases, and being beaten by the police. Sophomore Mari Nikogosyan said, “I could really relate to his struggles because my parents went through similar things after the 1988 earthquake in Armenia.”

Freshman Laura Grigoryan said she gained a feeling of appreciation. “I realized how much I had in life and how much Mr. Mathabane didn’t have when he was my age. I just felt more blessed.” Mathabane’s speech focused on the idea of appreciating what we are given and using what we have to better ourselves. He emphasized that we take too much of what we have in life for granted.

There were times during his speech when students stared at him with deep emotion in their eyes because his stories were so touching. Junior Alena Khanlarian said she felt very emotional after the speech. “Mathabane is my inspiration to become a writer,” she said.

Mathabane pointed out that we are so wrapped up in the materialistic world that we forget who we are. Although some students felt a sense of appreciation for their lives, some said they liked that Mathabane spoke about how materialistic teens have become. “I am pleased to see an important figure reach out to an entire population to help students realize that we are living in a world of materialistic value that needs to change,” said sophomore Narek Khachatryan.

Mathabane also stressed the importance of education. He summed up the reason for his success in one sentence: “Education saved me from my hatred.” As a young child, he was filled with the anger caused by the pain his family had to endure and therefore the only way he survived was by obtaining an education. When Mathabane finished his speech, the snack bell led students to a table set up with his books, which they were able to purchase.

The lines filled with excited students who wanted a book with Mathabane’s autograph. He autographed the books upside down, assuring students of some more of his talents. After the whole-school assembly, humanities students from the Davis’ classes who read Kaffir Boy in the fall met in the auditeria to asked Mathabane more questions.

During this session Mathabane continued his speech on how all people need to “be comfortable to struggle because we will find ourselves in the struggle.” Mathabane gave some proof of this by telling a story of how his own son has struggled with track and field and was now one of the fastest runners, thus showing the students that anything is possible. Both teachers and students alike were impacted by the speech.

Tech Lit teacher William Reyna said, “Mathabane gave us a different perspective because most of us didn’t go through the things he went through.” In the past, students from humanities classes had written to Mathabane telling him how his book Kaffir Boy , a national best seller, had touched them.

Mr. Davis said he received information from Mathabane’s wife and sister about how schools can have Mathabane speak. Mathabane said after viewing the school Web site he realized that half the students at Clark are children of immigrants, making him want to speak here even more.