Thank you, and welcome Fr. Al, Ms Barreda, friends and family, faculty and staff, and classmates in red. I'm honored to be the salutatorian of the class of 2016, meaning I'm the second highest ranking in the class, but the first to speak instead. And because no one remembers the first speech (so good luck Megan), I’m sure that everyone will walk out of here not remembering anything I said. And UrbanDictionary states that the Salutatorian is: “The less important of two students who have to give a speech on graduation day.” Oh sorry… In layman’s terms, 2nd place is the first loser.
But none of us are losers here. Stand up… everyone; Stand tall. We are all winners, after all, we made it to the end of our years here at Saint Columban School.
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I'm sure we were all feeling like how I am up here right now... Totally chill… We didn't know each other. And our parents and teachers have always said: "Don't talk to strangers." Well, we broke that rule of thumb and greeted each other. And so went our first first day of school. Will the nine-year students please stand up? Jeric, Ian, Megan, Hwan Hee, Brandon, Me, Justin, Lanette, and Shane. We've stuck by each other for 9 years. All right you can sit …show more content…
This was the year all of us began to really get together and bond. And we got to know each other through common complaints about learning, through daily chats online with each other, through class memes, and especially through whips and nae-naes at the social.
These 8 years of learning and bonding together has brought us to where we are now. We've had our personal problems and mutual problems, our ups and down. But we've been there for each other. Down those chutes and up those ladders. When we slid down those chutes: "Weeeeeee!" We didn't know what would come at the end of that "weeee", but we let it come to us. But that was when we were naive. We have learned so much more than sliding down chutes. We now have to work for what we want, and we've embraced that. We've learned to climb those ladders. And that will help us to get where we want to get to. The goal. Our futures.
Our growth is put best by Drake, when he rapped: “Started from the bottom now we’re here / Started from the bottom now the whole team here.” We grew together. And you know our secret? We did work work work work work--**Awkwardly chuckle**
And that song: “We are Family.” That has never been truer when you take the time to think back on how much we've done and how far we've gone
The pool of opportunity has grown smaller from what it once was, and it seems that opportunity parallels the wealth in capitalist America—a small number of individuals are successful in their endeavors, and the rest must settle for less with disappointment and disillusionment. While hard work and perseverance may push individuals to new heights, the power of optimism and positive thinking can only take a person so far. The great American dream and frontier is only available to those with certain circumstances, and those circumstances are becoming less available to the new generation coming into the
For many American students, being valedictorian is quintessential in exhibiting the success one had in high school. The knowledge that out of an entire high school, one person has “topped them all” is a goal that many overachievers diligently strive for. However, despite how ingrained the valedictorian title is in the American high school system, some high schools in the United States have decided to split the honor, or even discard it completely. In a poignant protest, senior fellow at the New America Foundation, Margaret Talbot, in her essay “Best in Class” challenges the notion that the title of valedictorian should be abandoned. By analyzing the impact of different valedictorian policies, Talbot highlights the importance of the valedictorian status in American education by advocating for its continuation. Throughout her essay, Talbot maintains a subjective tone in order to eloquently convince educators and school administration to stick with tradition.
We are more aware, than ever before, of what goes on in the country and in the world. We are not deluded into a false sense of security, by the phrase “The American Dream.” We are, as a nation, fully awake and smelling the coffee. We still choose to believe that it can work for us. We are not being lulled into a false sense of security. We can and do believe that “we can make it if we try.”
Ladies and gentlemen, it's an honour to be standing here. I suppose I should actually say it's an honour and a pleasure, but I know the pleasure won’t kick in until this speech part is over.
Now it is the time for us to become the people we always dreamed of being. Think of of a yellow path way surrounded by trees on both sides with a group of people journeying down it. The path then comes to a stop and separates in to 4 different paths, a blue path, red path, green path, and a purple path. The people each go down different paths and continue on their journeys but they all started on that yellow path.
Good ___________ everyone and a warm welcome to Owens Community College to celebrate today’s graduation ceremony. For myself, this is an extreme honor to be part of this celebration and the opportunity to stand in front of all you amazing people. This is something that I never dreamt of. To be honest, standing here is exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. This is my first graduation ceremony and I have never heard a commencement speech before.
Congratulations Class of 2006. We made it, and have made it this far together. After tonight we take separate paths to conquer what lies before us. Let's choose our battles wisely, fight a faithful fight, and win. Thank you.
Today, as we graduate, with degree nearly in hand, I challenge each of you to make a difference in whatever you do. Remember that life didn't end when we re-entered school. Life continued throughout our program. Even when stretched to the limit, life only got more challenging. And now, graduating, life only changes pace. Our degree completion is not really an ending as much as a new beginning as we re-enter our lives of work and home. We thank all of our family, friends, instructors and co-workers who helped see us through this process. Thank you for this opportunity and good luck to you all.
Hello friends and family, and welcome to the graduation of the class of 2017 I would like to thank all of you for being here not only tonight, but every other night we have needed a helping hand or a shoulder to lean on as we concur the adversities and mountains that life faces us with. As an avid hiker and a participant of the 100-mile wilderness hike, I very well know the feeling of reaching the top of a mountain and the sense of accomplishment which comes with it. Tonight, this is the top of our mountain, it is the night celebrating all of the false summits and steep inclinations which we overcame, all of the points where it would have been easier to just give up and go back the way we came. Tonight my classmates and I enjoy the bittersweet
The eighth grade formal was fast approaching, but what should have been a joyous occasion had turned sour, tainted by resentment and anger. Our other teachers tried their hardest to lighten the mood, but my friends and I spent most of the evening gathered in a small group in the corner of the dark gym, reminiscing about what used to be and wishing we could do something, anything, to make a
Throughout these last four years we have grown so tightly together that we have become one single identity -- the graduating class ...
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.
Its great to see all of you here today for my Pecha Kucha Presentation. Today, I am going to be talking about some of the lessons that a large event in my life taught me. Even though the event happened a couple of years ago, the things I learned from it still guide me today. I did not consider what I learned from this event until recently until we talked about leadership qualities in class and how different people learn them.
First of all, there are roughly only 800 students in my entire school, from kindergarten up to upperclassmen and women, and my graduating class of a mere 67 was the biggest in my school's history. So you were forever running into everyone you knew, and who you had known for your whole life. At times this was comforting, at others, slightly claustrophobic. After a while it was easy to feel that you knew practically everyone's middle name or favorite movie, and it was impossible to...
Class of 2016, congrats to everyone! We did it, and always remember you will always be a piece in the big picture of our puzzle!