Editor's note: This article was amended on Aug. 15, 2024, with updated information about Brent Fellman's graduation.
Graduating high school as class valedictorian is an honour bestowed upon only a few, but for the Fellmans, it’s becoming a bit of a family tradition.
Just this past June, Moe Fellman graduated from Holy Trinity Catholic High School in Bradford as class valedictorian, a title awarded to one person in each graduating year based on a combination of academic accomplishment and a vote of their peers.
“It was great. It was amazing,” Moe said of when principal Michael Borgia gave him the good news.
That came during play week, when Moe and the rest of the cast were mid rehearsal for their performance of the musical Grease, from which the Greaser was pulled out and presented with his gold sash before the school-wide announcement.
In addition to winning the popular vote, the thespian also became an Ontario Scholar, achieving an average grade of more than 80 per cent in all classes. That was especially true of philosophy, and Moe earned the philosophy award, which was well reflected in his address to his classmates.
The main message of that valedictory was to try to find God while always striving to move ahead and make the right decisions, according to Moe, who also made reference to the red pill and blue pill from the film The Matrix.
“It’s better to step out and try to do your own thing, as opposed to just kind of living in a false reality,” he said of the importance of leaving one’s comfort zone in search of growth.
While the process of preparing to address his entire class “was a little stressful,” Moe said his teachers offered to help, and at home, he was surrounded by experts willing to give guidance.
While many may aspire to become valedictorian, Moe was filled with extra ambition to follow in the footsteps of his two older brothers before him, Brennan and Blake — both of whom graduated from Holy Trinity as valedictorians, as did their father Brent when he graduated from Queensway Christian School in Mississauga in 1989.
“I was very excited, but it was also a big relief I felt. Because Blake and Brennan were both (valedictorians), I felt there was a bit more pressure on me to be the third,” Moe said.
All agreed their mother Nicole and Brent didn’t pressure the boys to run for valedictorian, and even if they hadn’t achieved the title “it wasn’t the end of the world,” according to Brent, but he acknowledged that by Grade 12, they hoped Moe would achieve the title.
“We probably put it in his mind more than the others, because to have the three-peat is quite the thing,” he said.
Middle brother Brennan graduated in 2021, and said his average for his top six classes exceeded 90 per cent, especially in accounting and philosophy, for which he received awards.
He also portayed Prince Charming in the play Into the Woods, and played on both the volleyball and tennis teams, but no matter what he was doing, Brennan always put his focus on what was happening in the moment.
“Just be yourself and be present in every situation in high school,” he advised others thinking about running for valedictorian. “I wouldn’t totally stress and be that guy who’s always asking for votes.”
That’s shouldn’t come at the expense of ambition, though, and in his speech, Brennan reminded his classmates that anything can be difficult, even if it’s not your main goal.
“You might as well not settle and go for something that you really want,” he said.
That was reflected in his approach to the unique delivery of his speech, which was pre-recorded and broadcast on YouTube during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions that prevented large gatherings, meaning Brennan was performing in front of none of his classmates, while simultaneously speaking to them all.
“I still prepared for it like I was going to present to everyone, because you have a sense of pride,” he said. “If you get that responsibility, you want to do a good job of it, you don’t want to just fluff it off.”
Brennan said only the first take had a minor mistake and after that everything went fine.
In addition to being “really excited” upon being named valedictorian, Brennan said that similar to Moe, he felt “a bit of a relief,” to successfully meet the high bar set by the eldest brother.
Blake graduated in 2019 following a high-school career in which he described himself as initially being “more nerdy and in the books,” before transitioning to become “much more social and well-rounded,” as well as active in multiple sports, playing on the basketball, volleyball and baseball teams.
Upon being named valedictorian, Blake said it felt “awesome.”
“I felt that was a great honour,” he said. “I found that the nicest thing about it was that I had a lot of friends there who were supporting me.”
Blake’s valedictory focused on the importance of perseverance, and included participation from the audience. In one portion he asked a series of questions about how to respond to difficult situations and in response encouraged the crowd to cheer “just keep shooting!”
That was a reference to a common phrase among the Toronto Raptors that same year, when the team won the NBA championship.
“No matter how times I practised it, I always felt nervous, but as soon as I felt the energy of the people ... it just came right out. It was natural almost,” Blake said.
He added that he was “pretty grateful” to be the oldest and not following so closely in another sibling's footsteps, but after becoming valedictorian in elementary school, he wanted to accomplish the same title in high school.
“Obviously, my dad was a valedictorian, so I felt some pressure there too,” he said.
While Brent felt it was a “great honour” for him to become valedictorian in 1989, he noted that it was selected more by the teachers than by his classmates, and the school’s population has grown since then.
“Obviously I’m very proud of all of them,” he said, emphasizing that all three boys worked hard to get the marks, get involved in their school community and take on leadership roles to become well-rounded and good people.
Nicole called it “humbling” to see her sons’ accomplishments for which she’s “exceptionally proud.”
“You think maybe you did a few things right. As parents, it’s hard to know how much is enough with whatever it is you’re teaching them,” she said. “It’s nice to see when they come out as good citizens in their school.”
All three brothers also took French all the way through high school, and describe themselves as each others’ best friends.
Blake likens their relationship to the unbreakable bond of brothers on the television show Peaky Blinders — albeit, without the illegal activity.
They’ve even agreed who among them will be each others’ best man at their weddings.
“Not that they have wives lined up yet,” Nicole said with a laugh.
While uncommon, it’s not unheard of for a group of siblings to all become valedictorians in their respective graduating years, and media reports show three brothers in North Carolina attained their own trifecta in 2015, four siblings in Milwaukee completed their quartet in 2018, and just this year, four sisters in Florida fulfilled a similar accomplishment.
