By Ashley Komperda
When Alejandro first told me about the idea of having Hannibal as a commencement speaker before the school year started, my first thought was, “Who the hell is Hannibal Buress?” I couldn’t put the name to his face, but when I looked him up on Google, I surprised to find out that I knew exactly who he was.
I had seen his specials before with my dad, and I had even seen him in his major film debut, “Neighbors.” I knew at that moment that having a Steinmetz alumnus of his stature and talent would provide a very memorable graduation indeed, so I emailed him. When he responded shortly after saying that he was interested, I knew that Ale would flip out when I told him, and that is exactly what he did.
Valedictorian Ashley Komperda invited comedian and Steinmetz graduate Hannibal Buress to speak at the Class of 2016’s graduation.
That was in late August, though, and since that time, Hannibal’s success has only grown , having done a world tour, released a new stand-up special exclusively on Netflix and having a role in half a dozen films that have been released since that time, including “Angry Birds,” “Neighbors 2,” and “Daddy’s Home.”
However, before all of that, he was just a student sitting in the very seats you are all sitting in today. Let us give a quick thank you to Mr. Buress for taking time out of his schedule to come back where it all started for him.
By Alejandro Hernandez
As Ashley just stated, several years ago, Hannibal Buress walked the same hallways as we have for the last four years. Having the same Spanish teacher, Mr. Ochoa, as he had, I asked him about the type of student Hannibal was. Mr. Ochoa said that he was a very bright kid who hung around the wrong group of friends.
By Hannibal’s own admission in an interview with Chicago Magazine in 2014, he said that his friends were real screw-ups and trouble makers and that he barely graduated with a 1.9 GPA. However, none of that defines that who he is today, and in the same interview, he said he still had a focus on going to college.
Despite this, Hannibal’s story at Steinmetz should not be one that we should ignored despite the lack of traditional academic success. Instead, his story should be honored for the fact that he has been able to achieve such global success in notoriously tough career field despite national statistics saying that he shouldn’t be. His story should be an example to all of us that anything is possible.
No matter what type of student you were at Steinmetz, if you can find something you are passionate about and you can wholeheartedly apply yourself to that one thing, then you will be able to be welcomed into your definition of the good life. So without any further ado, it is with great honor that I present to you one of the funniest men alive and Steinmetz’s very own, Hannibal Buress.
Presentation of plaque
Ashley said, “Before he speaks we came up with an award for Hannibal. It is ‘In recognition for being the funniest and most successful alum to graduate from our school.’
Hannibal Buress responded: “I think Hugh Hefner would have something to say about that.”
See Hannibal Buress’ keynote address to graduates for a transcription of his remarks.
Star co-editor-in-chief Alejandro Hernandez conceived the idea to ask Steinmetz alumnus to speak.
