Congratulations everyone, congratulations. If you're participating in this graduation ceremony, you've taken the next step toward your future goals and dreams. For those of you that just finished your transfer degrees, congratulations. To those of you that came back to school after a few years off to get a better education, congratulations. To those of you that came to get a certificate or learn IT or computer programming so you can get a better job, congratulations. Now that you're moving on toward whatever your next step is in life - a university, the job market, whatever - you are more prepared and ready for that next step now. Little do you know, you now hold a distinct advantage because you graduated from Bulls Community College. You can "think critically," "interact in a diverse and complex environment," "learn actively" and "communicate with clarity and originality." Bulls knew how important these would be to you, so in every class they incorporated these learning outcomes into the syllabus...and every paper, every speech, every report, every blue book exam and every time ...
As our time together draws to a close, I leave LHS with no further anecdotes of wisdom or quotes dealing with success; only the sincere hope that you immersed yourself in the essence of commencement. Everybody, we’ll all be graduates by the time we leave tonight. Let’s enjoy it. Congratulations to the Lee High School Class of 2006.
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote, "You are a very special person - become what you are." These words encourage us, the graduating class of 2012, to recognize the goodness and potential in each and every one of us and to go out and excel in the world. We are a diverse group of different aspirations and backgrounds, bound for different corners of the earth to carve out our won individual niches. Before we leave behind Lee Falls High School and each other, we must ask ourselves how we have become who we are.
When I was in elementary school, I loved to read. I was a total nerd back then ... okay maybe I still am, but one thing has changed. Now I don't so much like reading. My favorite poet was Shel Silverstein, who wrote "Where the Sidewalk Ends." He seemed like he was a total hippie, but that's cool because I like hippies. My grandma is a recovering hippie. I like her too. Anyway, Shel Silverstein wrote about the coolest things. He wrote about magical erasers, eating whales and a boy with long hair flying away from people who were taunting him. He captured all of the things that I loved without knowing that I actually loved them. Now you may ask, how does this hippie relate to our graduation? Well, he wrote a poem entitled "Traffic Light" and this is how it goes:
Good evening. Some of you out there may not realize this but those of you who attended Suntime Middle School have been with this guy for the last seven years. I would like to ask you all, not just Suntime Middle School grads and who all else, to join me in thanking Mr. Weather for his patience and dedication to the success of our education over the years. We are the Class of 2000. The first graduating class of the new millennium. The past four years have been pretty wild. We started out as a bunch of rats in a small cage, but as time went by we learned and matured and became big rats in a new small cage, but in any case, the cage door is now opening; the handlers turning us wild things loose. As we leave "Where the Wild Things Are," home to some of the best cat fights, fist fights and food fights this side of the Cascades, I have a little surprise for all of you sitting in front of me here tonight in your caps and gowns … we ain’t seen nothing yet!
Guys, I thank you. It has been an honor to serve as your class president. Good luck. Now, I am going to make like America Online Instant Messenger and sign off with an L-O-L. Good bye.
Betty Lou is right -- Our achievements of the past four years have been an honor. And so I offer my congratulations to each of you for achieving the honor that comes with high school graduation. Up to this point, high school may be the most exciting and difficult experience of our lives. We've enjoyed the carefree and happy times with WWF-style pep assemblies, dances, Junior T-P nights, and classes with friends. We've had our bad days too, though. The days when we forgot our semester project for C.I. at home, or when we couldn't stop falling asleep and Mr. Gnome made us get up to "open a window." But far worse were the times when we felt alone. We've all had days of personal crisis when we've felt rejected by those around us or alienated from them. Hopefully, we were fortunate enough to have had a friend come rescue us from isolation, but perhaps not.
Are we there yet? Have we reached our destination? We've been traveling for 13 long years. We've only had a few brief rests along the way. We're tired and we're cranky and we just want to know, are we there yet?
As you inhale the aggregate odor of your senior class for the last time, I’m sure there are many burning questions racing through your minds: “Will I find my place in the world?” If you’re lucky. “Am I really going to graduate a virgin?” Yeah, probably. “Who is that incredibly handsome young man addressing us, and how long do we have the privilege of listening to him?” Howdy, Andrew Gonzales here, and hopefully not long; I realize that your robes are making you sweat, your thongs are making you uncomfortable, and my use of the words “virgin” and “thongs” is making your parents sweaty and uncomfortable.
Graduates congratulate yourselves on a job well done. Sitting here tonight shows a great deal of work and dedication. Seriously, look back on what you have done in just that last four years, let alone what you have accomplished in all your years of school. It is astounding what we have done. Congratulations, your perseverance has finally paid off. But also, we must remember to thank our parents, for it has been with their help and support that we have achieved our goal.
Ladies and Gentlemen we are assembled here this evening to celebrate the graduation of the Community College Class of 2012. With this celebration comes many distinctions, honors and legacies.
Hello everybody, thank you for being here today. Let me just tell you how happy I am to see all of you graduating and moving on to high school.
Well, this is it, the day all of us have been waiting for has finally arrived. It seems like only yesterday we were picking our noses and flicking them at innocent bystanders or yelling childish phrases like, "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" or, wait, that was yesterday. Never mind. Anyways.
It is probably a mistake that I am standing here giving a speech for graduation. In fact it is probably a mistake that I am even graduating from this school at all -- believe me, just as most people in this class I have tested the limits of attendance, of sleeplessness, and of procrastination. At the beginning of my high schooling, I was even testing dropping out ... and if that wasn't a mistake, I don't know what was. After four years of Starr altering our minds, it seemed most fitting for me to spend my four minutes talking about mistakes. Thank goodness for them, by the way -- it is only when we truly screw up big time that we are ever stopped in our tracks -- stopped, briefly, to learn lessons of worth.
I am extremely proud to be given the opportunity to address you all during this wonderful and momentous celebration. Each and every one of you deserves the greatest congratulations. You have paid a price to be here; put sweat, frustration, anger, effort, tears, blood and now triumph into your years at Napier High School. You all should be incredibly proud of yourselves. You know that you make your life whatever you want. And what you put in, you get out. Like the cross country girls' motto: "Where you find success you find sacrifice," if you give, you shall receive. But don't expect results right away. Some things take time. And don't expect your goals to come easily. Life is filled with adversity; expect obstacles at every corner. Why? Because chances are they're going to be there. But it's not what happens when you are faced with adversity, it's how you react to it. Be classy through triumph and failure and if you get knocked down or stepped on. Get up, brush yourself off and start running again - no wait, that's another story. Nevertheless, you will face obstacles; the key to movi...
Good evening graduates, family and faculty. We made it! This moment is everyone’s and tonight I hope that all of us can feel as victorious as I do, for our success is your success too. Graduates, I want you to think back to your happiest moment in your journey at Montclair State University. Hold that thought close to your heart. For many of us, it will be successfully completing our first semester or securing that internship that you really wanted. For others like myself, my happiest moment happened even before I drove up Valley Road to MSU. You see, I had dreamed of that moment for the past two years. The moment where I would hold the acceptance letter in my hand.