I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone for their amazing support in seeking a second term on the Medford School Committee. Especially to my hardworking family, who pulled twelve hour shifts yesterday to stand out at the polls in the windy cold, and kept me on track at every turn. Another thank you to my new family, those who I met along the campaign trail who I will forever be grateful for, and continue to love and support. I love you all.

    I sincerely congratulate my colleagues who have advanced to another term, and to Jessica and Michael for their wins as well. You put in such hard work to get where you are. I'll miss working alongside you all. Dr. Kingsley, I sincerely hope you give it another shot. This city would benefit immensely from your expertise. I wish you the best of luck on your future endeavors, it's been amazing getting to know you.

    To Nicole, thank you for being such a guiding person for me as I joined The Committee so abruptly and late. I enjoyed attending so many events with you, supporting our community at their proudest moments. I'll miss the laughs in chambers as you nearly fall out of your chair, or whatever else is happening. I wish you the best of luck on your future endeavors. A deep gratitude to Mayor Lungo-Koehn, who has been so amazing in helping guide me as well. You were such an amazing support back when I had this dream at 18, and you kept your word and spirit when I joined. You were so helpful in navigating the intricacies of my onboarding, and I am so thankful for all the work you have done for me to help make me a confident member of this Committee. You always made time for any of my silly questions, you don't know how much that means to me.

   These past few years have been absolutely amazing. I will miss supporting our amazing community in this way, a way I've wanted to do since I was in elementary school. I will miss the conversations, the work, the community events, and supporting our amazing students, faculty, and staff through their own journeys through academia. 

   Let us be careful to not stray away from integrity. To always be examples for the developing minds of Medford at every corner. To make sure we always have the best interest of all students in mind, and their individualized cognitive development. To make sure faculty and staff feel that sense of belonging as well.

   I'll be continuing the work of supporting students at every turn. Working with the students of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and to continue uplifting them in ways I would've hoped to continue doing for the students of our city. I am also committing to still supporting our students in any way I can, through my work in arts & allergies advocacy. 

   Come January, this chapter of my life will close. The best part of chapters is that they are only a small part of a book. I'm proud to have kept my promise that I made at 18 - to continue to stay a proud unaffiliated progressive candidate and to always stay true to my values. At 24, I'm excited to see where life takes me further, and I'm proud to have done all of this by now as well.

- John L. Intoppa, CTE John Intoppa