I was going through my computer documents when I stumbled upon my high school graduation address and I thought I would post it here:
"Good evening and welcome to the 2006 graduation ceremony. It is my pleasure to welcome members of the board of Education, faculty and staff, family members, friends and of course, my fellow graduates.
The last few years have flown by leaving us with loving memories of high school. Somehow I never expected to finally be here – at my own graduation. It always seemed so far away. During the last four years, we, seated before you, have changed. We gained knowledge, built friendships and became more aware of the future that lies ahead of us. We were encouraged, trusted and unconditionally loved by our family and friends. And, we were taught by teachers who cared, who prepared us for our lives ahead and who gave us the skills necessary to successfully begin our new journeys. We, like many graduates before us, were given much and were encouraged to set goals in pursuit of our dreams. Think of the many great Americans who once, like us, stood in line to receive a high school diploma. For example, consider the story of Robert H. Goddard.
Robert Goddard was an American physicist who dreamed of one day developing a liquid fuel rocket. In 1926, his first liquid fuel rocket reached a height of one hundred eighty four feet. His dream had come to pass and yet he was not satisfied and set yet another goal …… build a rocket that would reach higher altitudes. By 1935, less than 10 years later, he fired a rocket that reached seventy five hundred feet. Until his death, Goddard set goals and dreamed of conquering the vastness of space. He began and lived his dream until his death and then it was passed to the next generation. And, the next generation did indeed carry on for on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men put into space.
Dreams, ideas and ideals are useless if they are not translated into effective action. Because of man’s dreams, the world is constantly changing. As we, the class of 2006, dream of tomorrow, we must not forget the responsibilities of today. In a few minutes when we receive our diplomas, we will be making another step toward our dream. We will be the leaders of tomorrow. Today we are seeing part of our dream turn into reality as we graduate from high school. For this is our commencement - our beginning – the beginning of new dreams, dreams of the future.
No one knows what our future holds. We can only dream of tomorrow but we can set goals for today. For what great thing has ever been accomplished that was not at first a dream? As Thomas Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Or the great Walt Disney who said, “All dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.” A dream is something that begins with one individual. One man with a dream developed a rocket. A nation with a dream landed a man on the moon. Yet for dreams to come true we need to set goals for the starting point of any achievement begins there, with a goal.
Tonight Little Wolf High School is no longer our high school but it is our alma mater……and there’s a reason why they call this commencement. Commencement is a beginning, not an ending. From this time foreword, we will go our separate ways in pursuit of our dream. Some of us will stay in touch; others may not. Regardless, each of us will have memories of the past and plans for the future. For it is our future that counts…not an ACT score or the rigor of our curriculum. We will be judged on who we’ve become as people, employees, spouses, parents, and citizens. Class of 2006, we have only just begun!"
"Good evening and welcome to the 2006 graduation ceremony. It is my pleasure to welcome members of the board of Education, faculty and staff, family members, friends and of course, my fellow graduates.
The last few years have flown by leaving us with loving memories of high school. Somehow I never expected to finally be here – at my own graduation. It always seemed so far away. During the last four years, we, seated before you, have changed. We gained knowledge, built friendships and became more aware of the future that lies ahead of us. We were encouraged, trusted and unconditionally loved by our family and friends. And, we were taught by teachers who cared, who prepared us for our lives ahead and who gave us the skills necessary to successfully begin our new journeys. We, like many graduates before us, were given much and were encouraged to set goals in pursuit of our dreams. Think of the many great Americans who once, like us, stood in line to receive a high school diploma. For example, consider the story of Robert H. Goddard.
Robert Goddard was an American physicist who dreamed of one day developing a liquid fuel rocket. In 1926, his first liquid fuel rocket reached a height of one hundred eighty four feet. His dream had come to pass and yet he was not satisfied and set yet another goal …… build a rocket that would reach higher altitudes. By 1935, less than 10 years later, he fired a rocket that reached seventy five hundred feet. Until his death, Goddard set goals and dreamed of conquering the vastness of space. He began and lived his dream until his death and then it was passed to the next generation. And, the next generation did indeed carry on for on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men put into space.
Dreams, ideas and ideals are useless if they are not translated into effective action. Because of man’s dreams, the world is constantly changing. As we, the class of 2006, dream of tomorrow, we must not forget the responsibilities of today. In a few minutes when we receive our diplomas, we will be making another step toward our dream. We will be the leaders of tomorrow. Today we are seeing part of our dream turn into reality as we graduate from high school. For this is our commencement - our beginning – the beginning of new dreams, dreams of the future.
No one knows what our future holds. We can only dream of tomorrow but we can set goals for today. For what great thing has ever been accomplished that was not at first a dream? As Thomas Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Or the great Walt Disney who said, “All dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.” A dream is something that begins with one individual. One man with a dream developed a rocket. A nation with a dream landed a man on the moon. Yet for dreams to come true we need to set goals for the starting point of any achievement begins there, with a goal.
Tonight Little Wolf High School is no longer our high school but it is our alma mater……and there’s a reason why they call this commencement. Commencement is a beginning, not an ending. From this time foreword, we will go our separate ways in pursuit of our dream. Some of us will stay in touch; others may not. Regardless, each of us will have memories of the past and plans for the future. For it is our future that counts…not an ACT score or the rigor of our curriculum. We will be judged on who we’ve become as people, employees, spouses, parents, and citizens. Class of 2006, we have only just begun!"
