Actor, director Zach Braff inducted into CHS Hall of Fame
MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — After being inducted into the Columbia High School Hall of Fame on May 29, Zach Braff told the CHS students, “You can’t fail if you don’t give up.”
Braff, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actor who graduated from CHS in 1993, urged the students of his alma mater that they should always persevere in following their dreams. No matter how much rejection they may face, he said, they will eventually succeed if they refuse to quit.
“No is just a comma on the way to yes,” Braff said. “The only person who can stop you is yourself.”
That is a lesson he has learned from experience. Braff, who starred in the television hit “Scrubs” and wrote, directed and starred in the film “Garden State,” explained that it took him a long time to find success within the entertainment industry, pointing out that he started auditioning at 13 but did not get his big break until he was 25.
In that time, Braff said he faced years of traveling into Manhattan in all kinds of weather to stand in line waiting to try out for a part he ultimately would not get. There was also plenty of hard work, including one production assistant job he had carrying equipment all the way to the roof of a Brooklyn building for Mariah Carey’s “The Roof” music video — “I remember turning to my fellow PA and saying ‘I hope her next song is “In the Lobby”’” — and the time he waited tables at a restaurant near the theater playing a film he appeared in — “Only in Hollywood can you go see a movie and then have one of the stars of the movie wait on you for dessert.”
Even his path to “Scrubs” did not run smoothly. Braff said his first audition went horribly, which he said might have been due to the fact that he partied in New York the night before “extensively.” Still, he said he read for the pilot again and eventually got his signature role of JD, just as he directed and starred in the hit “Garden State” after he initially could not find anyone willing to finance it. He even won a Grammy Award for putting together that movie’s soundtrack, though he said everyone told him he would never get the musicians he wanted to include.
His persistence brought him success, but Braff said what also helped was his willingness to take responsibility for his actions. The star told the student audience that their choices determine their achievements in life, so it is vital that they make the right decisions for themselves without blaming anyone else.
“Only you can control you,” Braff said. “We all have our obstacles that we want to overcome. But your success out there in the real world is all about the choices you made.
“Throughout your life you will make good and bad choices — that is part of being human,” he continued. “Every choice that you make is your choice. Take responsibility for the good ones and the bad ones, and you’ll be in complete control of your life.”
That advice has taken Braff a long way from South Orange, where he grew up. But even as a famous actor and director, he still has never lost touch with his home. “Garden State” was filmed largely in South Orange and Maplewood, including one scene featuring CHS. And it was his former health teacher, Johanna Wright, who pushed him to return again for the Hall of Fame.
Being inducted was a unique experience for Braff, who told the News-Record prior to the ceremony that he actually served on the Hall of Fame Committee as a student. In fact, though he said CHS feels smaller to him since he went there, Braff still has fond memories of working with teacher Frank Mullin in the television production department, which he called his favorite part of school.
The chance to return to CHS was an opportunity Braff appreciated.
“I remember how exciting it was to be a student and thinking about all the successful alums and trying to get them back,” Braff told the News-Record. “Now, being on the other side of it, it is a great honor.”
And Braff is in good company. Since launching in 1985, the CHS Hall of Fame has inducted a wide range of talented graduates including legendary actor Roy Scheider, E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg and Fugees singer Lauryn Hill, who Braff said would often audition with him in New York. “Melrose Place” star Andrew Shue, who was inducted along with his actress sister Elisabeth in 1994, actually initiated the institution when he served as Student Council president.
Since then, the Hall of Fame tradition has been proudly carried on by the Student Council, whose bylaws state that inductees must have been role models as students, distinguished leaders in their current professions and people dedicated to the betterment of society. Executive President Caroline Van Zeijts and Executive Vice President Claire Connolly, seniors at CHS, agreed that Braff not only met that criteria, but his popularity made him a tremendous “get” for the Hall of Fame. In fact, they said it was the goal of their class to have the famous alum inducted by senior year.
Now that it has happened, Van Zeijts said she felt Braff sent an amazing message of perseverance to the students. And since he is such a well-known star, she said his positive attitude will likely resonate with them.
“Students are going to listen to him,” Van Zeijts told the News-Record after the ceremony. “Coming from someone like him, I think it’s really important that the students hear it.”
Knowing that CHS has such a famous graduate among its ranks also instills pride among the student community, Connolly pointed out. She told the News-Record she herself feels happy to be part of a school that has spawned so many success stories.
Therein lies a key reason for holding the Hall of Fame ceremony every year, according to Beth Dalzell, an advisor to the Student Council. In a May 28 email, Dalzell told the News-Record that the institution continually produces students of which one can be proud. But honoring alumni of note provides role models for current students.
“The Hall of Fame demonstrates to the current students all the possibilities there are in life,” Dalzell said. “Everyone has a chance to succeed, and many opportunities are available to you when you are in high school. You never know how one opportunity might lead to another and make a difference years ahead.”
Principal Elizabeth Aaron also feels the actions one takes in high school can go a long way in preparing students for their futures, pointing out that CHS offers an eclectic mix of courses to help teens find their way. Because, just as Braff became a successful actor and director after participating in the school’s television production program, Aaron said today’s students can build toward their own achievements based on the decisions they make now.
“Any inductee in the Hall of Fame can be any one of us here at Columbia High School,” Aaron told the News-Record after the ceremony. “Those are real people who accomplished real things, and they started here at Columbia.”