A Valedictory Victory : Millions Hear Star Student’s Address Despite Campus Policy

It was the speech no one was supposed to hear. Now millions have. Brad Bjelke, 18, graduated at the top of his Saugus High School class with a grade-point average of 4.44 (he got extra points for taking honors classes).

But Brad never got to deliver a valedictorian speech.

School officials eliminated the honor this school year because, according to the principal, “it was a tradition that we didn’t think had enough positives.”

Not enough positives? Achieving the top grades in your class?

Even Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps--who as hosts of the hugely popular “Mark and Brian” show on KLOS radio are paid handsomely to goof off--disagreed.

The comedic duo invited Brad to read his valedictorian speech Thursday morning on their show, ensuring that it was heard not only throughout greater Los Angeles, but also in other cities where the program is broadcast, including San Diego, Tucson and Portland, Ore.

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“We must follow our dreams and never surrender to frustrations or obstacles which stand in the way,” the tall, athletic Bjelke read as he sat before the microphone, flanked by Mark and Brian.

“Our life,” Bjelke said, “is what we make it.”

You could almost hear “Pomp and Circumstance” in the background. Actually, Mark and Brian played a grossly out-of-tune version of the graduation dirge just before he read the speech. They also serenaded him with other tunes during his time on the air.

But Bjelke--who was finally getting his revenge against the school administration--was having a great time.

“This is definitely the best time I could have had,” Bjelke said when it was all over. “This is a blast.”

Bjelke’s excellent adventure began at 6:30 a.m. with the arrival of a chauffeured Lincoln Town Car sent by KLOS to whisk him and his mom from their Santa Clarita home to the Culver City radio station.

Brad hadn’t had much sleep, anyway. The night before was the graduation ceremony, during which he received a standing ovation leading the procession of graduating seniors.

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Saugus High School officials had decided to eliminate valedictorian, salutatorian and top-10 honors for students beginning this year, instead designating anyone with a 3.75 or higher grade-point average as an honors student. School officials said the pressure to finish first had become so intense in recent years that one student became suicidal.

But the decision struck a nerve with the public, and not just in Santa Clarita. After The Times reported that Bjelke’s mother had spoken out at a school district meeting in June expressing her disappointment over the new policy, word of the situation spread nationally.

Phone calls poured into the school and the Bjelke household. Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh blasted the school’s decision for two days on his radio show.

“I’m a little surprised there has been so much media attention,” the easygoing Bjelke said during the ride to the station.

His classmates gave him a somewhat more irreverent but good-natured tribute late on graduation night.

They TP’d his house.

Throughout the night, Bjelke said he kept hearing the thump of toilet paper about every hour.

“I got a couple of hours of sleep at the most,” he said with a grin as the Town Car rolled down the freeway.

Bjelke took a call on one of two cellular phones. It was the station checking on his progress. At the end of the call, he could not figure out how to hang up the phone.

“You sure you’re a valedictorian?” asked the English-accented chauffeur.

Bjelke was ushered through the iron gates outside the KLOS building and into a waiting room minutes before his scheduled 8 a.m. appearance. He said he felt surprisingly calm.

He agreed to a request from station officials to wear his graduation outfit while reading his speech but removed it shortly before going on the air because he felt uncomfortable.

“No one’s going to see me,” he said.

His mother pressed his speech into his hands and suddenly, after a quick introduction and the “serenade” from Mark and Brian, the brainy student was on the air.

He delivered his speech in a clear tone with no hitches or interruptions. It was full of proud memories of Saugus High, but it also contained a note of defiance for the school’s decision to no longer honor valedictorians.

“For reasons not thoroughly explained, our administration has decided that academic competition is not healthy,” he said. “However, I am privileged to represent the Class of 1994, and regardless of this year’s new policy, I still am the valedictorian.”

Bjelke left the studio to applause from the radio duo, but he wasn’t done yet.

KLOS personnel guided him into an adjacent booth and handed him several typewritten sheets containing the news and weather, which he was asked to read at 8:40 a.m.

Bjelke looked a little startled, especially when Mark and Brian burst into the studio playing horns while he read the weather. But Bjelke read the newscast in the same clear tones in which he delivered his speech.

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Station officials were impressed. “I’m surprised you were so calm,” Rosemary Jimenez, affiliate relations director for KLOS, told him when he finished the newscast and was off the air.

“You seem to have a natural talent.”

The young man took it to heart. He might end up being the brainiest morning radio host of all time.

“That was neat,” he said. “That’s what I want to do for a living.”

Laden with plastic cups, bumper stickers, Mark and Brian chef’s hats and other KLOS memorabilia, Bjelke and Mrs. Bjelke finally left at about 9 a.m. and headed home to catch up on sleep.

Back in the Town Car, his mother expressed regret that because her son had to be up early for the show, he missed the post-graduation celebrations.

Brad didn’t seem to mind.

“This,” he said, “was better than any party I could have gone to.”

Speech Excerpt

We never know where life will take us. However, each member of this graduating class was blessed with the privilege of attending a school where it is possible to reach one’s goals and explore one’s ambitions. . . .

For me, this graduation is extremely important. I am proud to represent the class of 1994, and I feel that we have come a long way together. I would like to thank my friends and my parents for all their love and support. In conclusion, whether or not our paths will cross in the future is doubtful, but I feel honored to have shared four years with you and to represent you as valedictorian on this extremely very special morning.