Graduation speeches are well-known for offering cliché words of wisdom. But people attending graduation at Christian Brothers Academy last week said speeches by the valedictorian and salutatorian earned a rare standing ovation and made an impression on the crowd.

It was the culmination of years of friendship between the two students honored with those titles. Valedictorian Kagame Rama-Munroe and Salutatorian Hubert Huho became fast friends when they met in 7^th grade at CBA.

“When I came here, I was very eager for knowledge, and I found teachers who were very engaging,” recounted Huho.

A shared love of math and science, running track, plus playing plenty of online chess when COVID-19 closed school, has kept the two students close.

“We both shared a passion for trying to innovate,” Huho said.

“Iron sharpens iron, and that’s definitely something in our case,” said Rama-Munroe.

Both wore uniforms decorated for their high academic achievement and through the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or JROTC, a cornerstone of the private Catholic boys’ school in Colonie that was founded in 1859.

Last week, they each earned a standing ovation from the crowd at graduation, with attendees telling NewsChannel 13 their speeches resonated with the crowd.

“When people started standing up and clapping for my speech, I was at first kind of bewildered, like, what’s going on here? I didn’t think I said anything too great or too special, but it definitely showed a sense of community. It definitely showed that they have a great respect for me and our class as a whole,” said Rama-Munroe.

“I felt very honored, and I think that kind of put me in a shock for the rest of the graduation,” said Huho.

Rama-Munroe is attending Duke University to study electrical and computer engineering. He plans to start a company that harnesses quantum technology. Huho is headed to Johns Hopkins University, majoring in biomedical engineering and planning to attend medical school.