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University graduation speech examples
Graduation speech examples
University graduation speech examples
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Today is both an end, and a beginning. After thirteen long years we have finally concluded our Kutztown education. It’s been a bumpy road, filled with defeats, victories, and surprises. We’ve learned a lot along the way, and not just science and math and English, although our teachers have made sure we picked up plenty of that too. Seeing the same people day after day has taught us what friendship is—and isn’t, and we’ve learned that life is not always fair. We’ve also developed some interesting skills, like how to dodge buckets—or freshman—in a crowded hallway on a rainy day. Or how to fight off heat stoke in the sweltering science wing and hypothermia in the over air-conditioned English classrooms. Even so, we still managed to scream the loudest of any class at every pep rally since our freshman year. We’ve survived social dramas and standardized tests and finals. And now, after all the homework and the late nights studying and the 14,580 hours of sitting in class, yes I did the math, we’re here to celebrate the fact that we’ve made it.
When we started kindergarten this moment seemed so terribly far away. We were only five years old ourselves, and thirteen years might as well have been an eternity. By the time we reached junior high we were too busy worrying about whether or not we would be able to open our lockers or remember where our classes were to give the passage of time much thought. By 9th grade there was the stigma of being freshmen, and then in the blink of an eye three years had passed and our senior year had snuck up on us. Suddenly everything we did was a milestone; our last concert, our last assembly, our last test, even our last day of classes. By this point senoritis had set in, and we were ready to leave and...
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... not to listen. Without your dedication we would not be where we are today, and I don’t think I’m alone in saying that I count many of you as friends, and not just teachers. To the band and the stage crew, thanks for helping out on our special night. And to the class of 2004: sail. Sail from this place into the vast and unchartered future, but don’t forget to look back every once and a while and remember where you came from. High school is over, but you can take the memories made here with you wherever you go. Pack them away in your heart, and when you’re feeling afraid or discouraged remember the thrill of winning that football game, or the warmth of your best friend’s smile, or the security of simpler times. But do not dwell in the past forever, for it is time to move on. Follow your heart, reach for your dreams. The world awaits us, and it’s time to make it ours.
Suddenly, I recognized the building. Just last week, I had visited the exact same campus. My eyes explored the hall in front of me for the second time. It’s Early College High School, I realized. This school is extremely academically orientated, I recalled.
People say high school is supposed to be the golden years of your life. I don’t know what else in life is to come; however, my philosophy is to live in the moment and make the life you’re living in the present worthwhile into the future, not only for you but for those who surround you. I live my life participating in our community and getting involved in our school. The activities, and the people I’ve formed relationships with, are what have formed me into the person I am today. The person I am today is not perfect, but I have learned from the mistakes I’ve made.
To the County High School Class of 2012: As you sit in front of me, I know what most of you are thinking at the moment. There are those who are already pondering about what life without high school will be like; those who are debating whether or not to tell your crush tonight about your whispers of adoration you’ve secretly held for four years; some simply want to get out of that ungodly chair, get that thing that isn’t really a diploma but only tells you when to pick up the thing, and then be the first one on the green bus to the grad party — you know who you are. And the rest, well, the rest aren’t even paying attention, you’re thinking, “Great, here comes one of the valedictorian speakers. Next up: a boring speech straight out of the pits of scholarly hell.” And it’s OK, I don’t mind — that sort of thing comes with the territory. But tonight, I ask that you give me a chance to break that stereotype so that I may address you in the full splendor that you deserve after 13 grueling years of work. I do not want to be known as your “valedictorian” as I stand here, c’mon guys, there is no time left to place labels on people anymore, instead I ask that you accept me as one of your peers — and as a man who will enjoy becoming a graduate alongside you.
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!
As many people have told me before, it is a very different ballgame than middle school’s easy going years. There is much more work, the classes are harder, and the environment is completely different. Many people’s grades may slip and they may cower in fear at the barrage of assignments they receive class after class. Unlike other people, I am confident in my ability to excel at all classes and to sustain exemplary grades. Therefore, while many are trembling in fear at the prodigious assignments and work is bombarding them from all angles, I will be at ease, knowing that whatever obstacle is thrown my way, I will conquer it and be its own
Over the past four years, we have grown from insecure, immature freshmen to successful, focused and confident young adults. This incredible transformation has been the result of our entire high school experience. Everything from that first homecoming game, to late night cramming, to the last dance at prom. These experiences have pulled us together as a class and we have learned to love and respect our fellow classmates.
High school is a crucial part in many people’s life. It is a time for people to grow, develop, and transition into adulthood. I am a firm believer in the idea that situations are what a person makes of them and I believe that I have created a great experience in my three years of high school. My experiences throughout sports have shaped me to become the person I am today. Throughout high school I have learned a lot about, not only myself, but also about my friends and family. I have experienced many things that I only thought happened in high school drama movies. The best years of our lives are quickly coming to an end. I’m not good with metaphors and all that figurative language stuff but I am semi-good at one thing, that is running long distance. High school is like competing in a cross-country race, shy and timid at first, but by the end people will see my true colors as I am crossing the finish line.
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 can almost remember that day like it was yesterday, I awoke like on any other school day. It was a gorgeous May morning, the rays of sun flittered through my miniblinds blinding me as if I hadn’t seen light in days. I sluggishly dragged my limp body out of my warm bed, retiring to the bathroom to perform my normal morning rituals shower, shave, brush my teeth, get dressed, do my hair, and all the other regulars. As I looked at myself while combing my hair, it hit me like a speeding express train, I was about to graduate. I couldn’t help but smile, but at the same time I felt like a part of me was drifting away. A tear came to my eye as I realized what was about to happen to me.
Graduation is an exciting time in a person’s life, especially a high school graduation. When I think of family and friends gathering together to celebrate a joyous occasion, I feel I accomplished my strongest goal. It never occurred to me that graduation would be the end of my youth and the start of adulthood. Graduating from high school was an influential event that gave me an altered outlook on my existence. Life before graduation, preparing for graduation day, and commencement day overwhelmed me for reality.
It finally dawned on me that this was my final first day as a high school student. The years flew by so fast. As I made my way to the top step of the school bus, I was greeted with a warm smile and a simple good morning from my bus driver. Shorty after that, I walked towards my seat. The bus ride was extremely aggravating. Children were jumping up and down in their seats as if they were kangaroos, middle school boys were flicking simply green boogers everywhere, and the middle school girls were going on and on about there new boy crush. As for me, I just stared out the window and reminisced about the good ole '
Let me begin by saying that I am very honored to be addressing the County High School Class of 2012 as students of this institution for the last time. We've spent these last four years creating some serious memories: four years of chieftain power, leaking roofs, questionable Homecoming skits, and musical principals. Four years of good teachers, bad teachers, new teachers, old teachers. Four years of youth, music, growing up and breaking free. Four rubber chickens, four yearbooks, four ASB presidents and four chubby bunnies.
High school. I never realized it would bring so many changes. As I walked on to campus my freshman year, my mindset was the same as it was in eighth grade; the young are invincible. And although I was excited to come to high school I had many fears. Would the classes be too hard, would I make new friends, what could I become involved in, and most of all -- what if I get lost? All of these fears eventually subsided and I, along with all of you, found the right classes and the right teachers. We all made new friends. We all got involved in something. During my freshman year, innocence surrounded me and although eventually my shell would crack, not until this year have I broken through. This year I decided that it is time to soar on my own. Graduation is the beginning of a new flight for all of us, the class of 1997.
When I first entered high school, I never had any indication that all my expectations would be shortly dissipated. When I thought of high school it had been the whole 90’s point of view where there were the cool kids and the cliques and the bullying and the jocks and so on. To my surprise however, people were more than their supposed position in the system, they were human, they were all free and all- like me, experiencing a brand new start to their lives.
Having spent twelve years of my school life in just one small red brick building, the years tend to fade into each other. But the year I remember most clearly and significantly is my senior year of high school, where I finally began to appreciate what this institution offered to any student who stopped to look. Before, school had been a chore, many times I simply did not feel motivated toward a subject enough to do the homework well, and seeing the same familiar faces around ever since I was 5 years old grew very tiring soon enough. But I began to see things from a different angle once I became a senior.