In many ways, the Senior Speech has become the quintessential measure of a Greenie.
Sharing life lessons at such a young age takes a certain degree of perspective. There’s also the poise needed to talk in front of roughly 400 other people with the full student body and faculty assembled.
Former two-time conference champion swimmer John Barton ’25 dove right in Monday as the first speaker from the Class of 2025, tackling the topic of leadership.
“There’s no one right way to lead, there is not one blueprint to lead well,” John said.
“Leadership is not an exact science. It cannot be perfect. It is an art. It is an accumulated experience. You learn how to lead from what you see of it, the good and the bad. You learn by what you want to emulate and what you don’t.”
Leadership manifests itself in teachers, senior leaders, and fellow students at Christ School, John continued. He singled out Frank Howden ’22 as one of the best student leaders he has known.
John’s hometown is Asheville.
He is an AP Scholar, National Honor Society member, and President’s Volunteer Service Award winner who has maintained the highest grade-point average in his class for the last four years and the highest GPA in the school for the past two years. John won the 100-yard butterfly (52.87) and 500-yard freestyle (4:57.33) at last winter’s Carolinas Athletic Association swim meet. He has also run cross country and been a member of the editorial board for the Struan creative writing journal.
“John leads by doing. He leads by showing what’s possible from maximum effort,” said Dr. Brent Harris, who is John’s adviser and swim coach.