A Graduation Speech to Remember: Liam Flaherty

Being able to share your story with hundreds of people is an experience not many get to have. For Liam Flaherty, a recent graduate from Oswego High School, this opportunity came in an incredible way when he was chosen to deliver the commencement speech at his graduation. 

Liam is deaf and on the autism spectrum, he has limited speech but uses a cochlear implant that allows him to hear some things. After entering a competition for the school to find two students to give the commencement speech, he was chosen as one of them. In his speech, Liam described the school and programs he was a part of, as well as where he is heading next. He thanks his friends, family, and mentors for helping him along the way and wishes the class of 2021 a good luck in their future endeavors. This was a huge moment for Liam and all of his loved ones.

His older sister, Norah Flaherty, posted a video of his speech on Twitter on May 23, 2021 with the caption, “Be inspired by my hero today.” With dozens of retweets and hundreds of likes, people wished Liam a congratulations and a fantastic job on his speech.  

When asked to describe her brother, Norah replied,

“Liam is the most fun loving, kind person you will ever meet. Even at 18 years old, he loves to give hugs to everyone around him, and say ‘I love you’. During the pandemic, I would get daily FaceTime calls from him where he would show me a puzzle he was working on and a book he was reading, and just want to talk about it. He loves keeping track of time and weather, and planning for future events. Although his speech is limited, everyone can see just how smart of a young man he is.”

For the Flaherty’s, speech has always been a significant part of their lives. Norah was 3rd in the nation in persuasive speaking and was a speaker for the National Forensics Association, so public speaking is very important to her. Her family feared Liam would never be given an opportunity to share his story, but when he was chosen to deliver the commencement speech, they were all ecstatic. “When [the video] played at graduation, all of us were just tearing up and filled with emotion. But it was also so cool to see how other families around us were impacted by his speech, and so many people witnessed his speech as such an incredible accomplishment.”

 Giving a speech can be nerve-racking, especially if it is your first time and in front of a large audience. In response to being asked how he felt delivering the speech, Liam replied, “I felt happy to give my speech at graduation because I liked my school and all the schools I have been to. I was excited because I practiced a lot and I got to use a microphone and see myself on the big screen. I worked really hard on my speech and was excited for people to hear it.” 

Liam shared with us that he loves cooking, riding his bike, walking his dog named Kelley, facetiming his siblings, and he even swims and runs with the Special Olympics. He hopes to travel in his future and spend more time with his family and his dog, as well as sign to more people with sign language. He will be starting at Pathways Transitions Program soon and currently works at a waterpark. 

Something Liam wanted everyone to know is that he persevered. “I want people to know I worked very hard, and school was not always easy for me, but I was so excited to graduate. Also, anyone can use their voice, and tell their story.”

Congratulations to Liam, and we can’t wait to see what you’re going to accomplish!

Watch Liam’s moving speech here.