Graduation Speech : Education And General Experience

Why are schools not preparing students for college, for the real world, or how be successful in the work force? Many Americans ask this question and do not understand that Career and Technical Education (CTE), once called Vocational Education, do exactly that (Estacion, Deluca, Plank 346). They believe that all that schools teach are how to write, solve math problems, use the scientific method, and absorb the information discussed in history courses. Career and Technical Education uses experimental learning that gives students skills and motivation to graduate high school and be successful afterwards. Experimental learning is a concept that uses practical thinking and activities to grasp contexts and make learning information and skills easier (Fletcher and Hernadez-Gantes par. 3). Career and Technical Education give students opportunities to better themselves, and stay in school to create success in all aspects of their lives.

Since my presentation was only in front of three people I was not nervous, which was an amazing feeling. Not once did I lose my train of thought and I felt so much more confident than I usually do during presentations. It was a great experience for me, I hope that I can learn to feel as confident in large groups as I do in small groups. My group was very warm and welcoming. I did not feel rushed or as though I was boring them to death. I found that they were actually very interested in the article I selected to review and began asking questions before I got to my discussion questions.

Students in today’s society are not adequately prepared in high school to enter and take on the challenges of college. Yet, millions of high school graduates dive right in because that is what they are expected to do. We are setting them up for failure by having this unrealistic expectation that students can succeed unprepared. According to The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, nearly 60% of all first-time college students in the United States discover that despite being fully eligible to attend college, they are not ready for postsecondary studies.

Literacy has always been a huge part of my educational journey. Starting in Pre K, I was required to write and illustrate a book each year up until the 6th grade. We could write and draw any and everything we wanted. These books were not graded nor did they have any affect as to if you were to be promoted to the next grade or held back, but rather for teachers to review and see our improvements over that year. The books were always returned to us during the last week of school for us to take home as a keepsake. These books gave me something to be proud of and I looked forward to the day we would start another one.

Throughout my entire life, I had always been taught to stay quiet and listen to everyone around me. Now, it is my turn to tell everyone what it is that I have learned during that time. Since I grew up with a Mexican family it was hard to attend school and transition from knowing my native Spanish tongue to English. I spent most of my time in an English school environment until I got to high school. In high school, I realized how important it was to embrace my native tongue. Not everyone does that, especially during high school, thus influencing my decision to go to college and major in Spanish. My plan is to graduate college, receive a teaching credential to teach high school students not only how to learn the language or improve on it but

Career countdown taught me many things about how I’m going to prepare for college and the future after it. From filling out an application to learning what is offered at the colleges I’m interested in. Career countdown also gave me good ideas on what I would be interested in majoring in after college. In this paper I will tell you want knowledge I have gained throughout the last six weeks of this career countdown class.

At the very beginning, of when hearing about First Year Experience I was indifferent about going. I knew that if I attended FYE then I would not get my summer after my high school career. Instead, I would graduate high school and then enter school again, but sooner than others. I do wish I had a long summer before entering school again, yet living in the experience now changes my whole outlook of entering college early. There are the good times, bad times, stressful times, and the sad times. One just has to take it all in and try their best to process what happens. I, myself, has done that, and still am doing, since starting the summer program. And with every decision I make, they’re either a benefit or a toll on my body both physically and mentally.

Happy Graduation!!!!!!!!!! So, let me just say I am so proud of you for to making it to this point in life. Believe me I understand high school isn’t easy so congrats to finishing. Look at you. You're committed to college, you have a great set of friends, you got all your classes planned and things are looking bright — that is, until you realize the life that you've known for the past 17 or 18 years or so is about to change forever. Now you are in the real world and this is when shit gets real. college is like a weird bridge between childhood and adulthood. It's that next step to becoming independent adult. First apartment, first job, first paycheck, and even insignificant things like the first meal you cook for yourself, first real-world date, etc. Suddenly, you're not a kid anymore. you'll go from your simple part-time job to a real career in a matter of four or five years (and pay taxes, too). At some point, you'll look at the adults around you and think, "I might be closer to them than to being a teenager”. But Sooner than all that, you'll be living independently without the constant guidance of your parents or guardians. Even in college, you'll have to fend for yourself, do your own laundry and all the while somehow adjust to keeping yourself alive all on your own. Not Only are your responsibilities going to change but you also don't have the advice and opinions of your lifelong friends the same way you have had all your life (texting and calling don't always have the

2. Should I say goodbye then and there with a hug, see how that goes, and then maybe a kiss if I don’t get red-lighted

Good evening. We’ve done it graduates, thinking about this day since september 2016, tonight, we gather together as one graduating class and a community to celebrate a journey, an adventure. Staff, parents, guardians, siblings and friends we are glad you get to experience the graduation of the class of 2017 with us. Each one of us has come so far since our first day in kindergarten no matter what school we went to. As I look around at each and every graduate in this room, my mind is flooded with memories. 10 years ago, when we all started elementary, a lot of us were most likely scared of the grade 8’s who were older and more knowledgeable than us. But now, just short years later, here we are, wondering if the little ones are frightened by us. Another year at Orchard park has gone by quick, but this one, being our last. Many memories have created this time In elementary school to be one of a kind, and it is an honour to be speaking on behalf of each and everyone of us.

Throughout my childhood and up to my adolescence, I promised myself not to get involved in drugs or alcohol. Of course, this thought process changed more and more with age, but I managed to avoid drinking alcohol up until I was sixteen years old. It was then that, along with alcohol and college parties, I experimented with marijuana as well. Luckily, I seldom felt addicted to either drug and only did them occasionally in high school, maybe monthly. My education and reputation was far more important than achieving a high, and I was able to graduate with a 4.0 grade point average and over 30 college course credits from Kirkwood Community College, also with a 4.0 GPA.

I earned both my Bachelor’s of Arts in Liberal Education and my Master’s in Education-Urban Education at Langston University in Tulsa, OK; Langston is a Historically Black College with a commitment to educational focus on diversity and underrepresented populations. While pursuing both degree programs I worked full time as a teaching assistant and, later, as a teacher in a high poverty school whilst taking my courses in the evenings, weekends and summers. During my Master’s program I was able to use my course work on topics like Jonathan Kozol’s The Shame of the Nation or Savage Inequalities directly from the college classroom to my own class of students.

their high school diploma. When P-TECH initially started, it included on grade 9 and added a grade every year until it became a complete high school. The focus of P-TECH is to provide students with college level work in high school so they can earn their Associate degree at City Tech in what are called the grade 13 and 14. In personal interview with Mr. Brian Donnelly, the Deputy Director of Early College Initiative at CUNY, he described that in students who are part of P-TECH experience grades 13 and 14, which entails that they are still a high school student because they have some high school requirements left and also have not completed the CUNY proficiencies. However, students are still taking college courses and therefore can complete up to an Associate’s degree in CUNY. Currently, the grade 14 has not been added to the P-TECH schools, but this will added within the next upcoming year.

Having lived, and grown up in a small Oregon town, my educational background was similar to most with a public high school education during the early 1980’s. The school did not offer advanced placement courses, but the experience was positive, and many of my classmates would go on to college, graduate with advanced degrees, and become successful in their chosen fields. There was not one singular event that prevented me from on time graduation at a university, rather, it was a series of decisions that I made overtime that altered my course.

Knowledge/Experience: 
- 7+ yrs. experience in a financial services
- 5+ years recruiting sales professionals
- Experience in the 403(b) retirement plans marketplace is preferred