At the beginning of this year I never would have imagined that I would be graduating with my class, let alone giving this speech. I was nearly two years behind on credits and expecting to graduate at least a semester late. However, because of the dedicated staff at Haysville High School, I am graduating today. I have so many people I need to thank. First, I want to thank my parents and my brother, Ethan for always encouraging me to do my best. I also want to thank Mr. Foster and Mrs. Rummery for giving me a second and third chance, and for giving me every opportunity to be successful. If it wasn't for them, I would not be graduating today. I would also like all of my amazing teachers for what they have done for me, but there are three that I would like to thank specifically. I want to thank Mrs. Craft for always motivating me and for recognizing the potential in not only myself, but in all of her students, and I want to wish her a happy retirement. Thank you for all you have done for me and all you have done for education. I also want to thank Mrs. White for always encouraging me to work hard and adopt a growth mindset that motivated me to be successful in College English. I also want to thank her for always encouraging me to express my thoughts and opinions, whether it be through an essay or through discussion, and being interested in what I …show more content…
Lastly, I want to thank Mr. Ferry for encouraging me to pursue my ambition of entering the wonderful world of politics, which I have found is an uncommon response to my answer when I am
So thank you judge Ball, Vanessa, Sharon, Susan, Dan, the rest of the panel, my peers, and whoever else I’ve missed. You guys gave me the opportunity to live. And though the sun sets on this chapter of my journey and the dawn rises on the next one I will always be eternally grateful and indebted to you all.
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.
Four stressful years, 28 credits, and innumerable hours of no sleep. I will walk across stage and receive my diploma with a grin of accomplishment. I am proud to share that I will be the first high school graduate in my families generation, but I do not want to settle for a high school diploma I want to honor my family and complete
Do you think its fair that players are credited for what they do, when cheating the game? Mark McGwire excelled at the game of baseball and got credit for all of his accomplishments, yet he cheated the game and used steroids. Babe Ruth, considered one of the greatest baseball players to play the game of baseball, who never cheated and set a great example for all who play baseball. Baseball has drastically changed over the years, especially in the cheating scandals of steroids; Babe Ruth set a great example by excelling in the sport and doing it clean, contrasting with Mark McGwire. Their existence shows how society accepted honesty and doing it the clean way in Babe’s era and how society accepts the scandals and dishonesty of Mark’s era.
Mary Wollstonecraft, a women’s rights advocate in the year 1792 summed it up perfectly when she said, “I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves.” She is describing the fight within every woman in the Feminist Movement that began in the 1700’s and extended throughout the late 20th century. This powerful motion was a drive to address the debated issues of reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women’s suffrage, sexual harassment, and sexual violence. As time has passed, feminists have pushed extremely hard to gain equal rights and respect from their male counterparts. Unfortunately in today’s world, society still puts an emphasis on a women’s exterior beauty. They emphasize it in magazines, television commercials, and even the infamous beauty pageant. The industry of beauty pageants is growing rapidly, jeopardizing the continuous work of many women’s rights advocates, throwing away the continuing efforts for equal rights (Miss America, 2011).
How would you feel if your devoted dog was discriminated against based only on what he looked like? Canine breed discrimination is a real problem in today’s society in the United States. There is always an enormous amount of hype when one hears about a dog attack. The first thing people want to know is what kind of dog was involved in the attack. That breed of dog then gets labeled as “dangerous”, quietly forcing people to change their opinion on a certain breed based on an action of only a couple of dogs.
Hi, it’s me again. I have struggled with depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts for the past two years. I have had so many bad times but a good time to go with all of them. I have had three rules that I have always looked to when I am feeling down or hopeless. The first one is that no one expects you to be perfect and that everyone makes mistakes. The second rule I look to is that don’t say you’re fine when you’re really not. My last rule I always look to is that one day, everything will be alright.
Thanks Miss Smith for making Science, History, Art, Drama, and Tech amazing classes. You are a wonderful teacher who makes learning fun, and I appreciate that. Furthermore, thank you Mr. Rague. Without your help, this speech would not have been written. You push every single one of your students to do their best since you know what all of us are capable of. Also, thank you Mr. Hall. I look forward to gym every Wednesday and Monday since you make it extremely amusing. Thank you to Mr. Block as well for helping me understand math better and for leading the 7/8th grade girls to winning the championship. Lastly, thank you Mrs. Rague. Before health class started, I did not know much about the heart, the food groups, the lungs, etc., but with your help I am basically a pro on all of the subjects. Thank
I wanted to thank Ms. Geary for reminding me how much writing can do for me. It helped me realize that writing isn’t so horrible but it is just hard work. My writing skills have improved due to this class and all Ms. Geary had taught me. She made class fun with her inflections and just the way she says everything, her personality definitely showed through. I looked forward to class but never the homework. Finally after reading over my final drafts of: My Past as a Writer, Problematic Essay and my Exploratory Research Paper I realize that I have dramatically improved my writing skills in every draft thanks to revisions and some positive criticism for Ms. Geary. I think I am now ready to take on the next step in the English world.
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.
First of all, I'd like to welcome all the parents, relatives and friends, on behalf of the senior class. It has been a long, hard road to graduation and I know your presence here is greatly appreciated. My job as salutatorian is to reminisce on our past here at County High, a past that reads like a script of a soap opera.
Good evening parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and friends. I would like to thank you all for coming to this very special day. I know how proud you must be. As we have grown over the years, there are many stages we all have gone through. From learning our shapes and colors, to getting our first kiss in middle school, or how about explaining to our parents why we skipped school because the principal called home. As we remember these days, things that we've done will be with us forever. But this is only the start of our journey. The day has come where we say goodbye to the big yellow buses, assemblies, assigned seating, and attendance policies. Are you really gonna miss it? For some of us maybe not right away. But eventually we will so for us to be here it is not necessarily an achievement, but a privilege. All of us have been in school over half our lives. To graduate is one more step we've taken in our lives.
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.
Valedictorian Speech Good evening fellow graduates, teachers, family members, friends, and distinguished guests. It is a tremendous honor to be the valedictorian of our graduating class. My job is to somehow be the voice of the entire graduating class, and take five minutes to say a few words on behalf of all 539 of us. Like most valedictorians, writing this speech was not an easy task for me. Not because I did not have anything to say, but because I was overwhelmed by how much I wanted to share with you all on this day. Tonight, we have one common purpose, to celebrate. We are here to congratulate, to look towards what the future holds for us, to wish each other well, and to, most importantly look back on our time spent here. So, I would like to start by saying 'well done' to my fellow graduates, who have all worked hard during the past several years to reach this milestone. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the graduating class for selecting me to speak here tonight. Ever since the news broke, many people, some who've I've never really met before, have come up to me and have wished me well. Perhaps this speech would be incomplete if I don’t say something to the teachers. On the behalf of my entire class, I would like to thank all my teachers: thank you. Thank you for teaching us, for leading us, for building us up as adults. I know that we have not given back to you the respect you deserve. I know that we have not told you how much we appreciate you taking time out of your schedules to help us. And I know that we have not said thank you for giving us a wonderful education. So, I hope that as I say thanks, you can forget our shortcomings and remember us for who we are and not from the mistakes we have made. ...
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.