Graduation Speech : My Life

I have been going to school since I was four years old and, that means that I have been attending school twenty to twenty two years, including kindergarten, middle school, high school and now college. As every student, I had my ups and downs in school; I had some failures and some successes. One of the failures that affected me the most and that I will always remember was the time that I was in high school during my junior year. I failed almost all my classes and, I only passed two classes and with a C. In the other hand I had some really good success. The most recent one and the one that I am still happy about is getting my Family Development Credential. We learn from our mistakes and also from our successes, these two times in my life

Congratulations on graduating from Cathedral High School! You have been put in so much effort, determination, and hard work into school these past four years. You are graduating with an excellent GPA while at the same time participating in many activities, church, and working your job at Target. Your demonstration of priorities has been very impressive to me and you certainly have found a good balance!

once in college, Rose explained “all in all there was a dreary impotence to the years, and isolation, and a deep sadness about my father” (44).

When growing up, I loved going to school and dreamed of one day attending college. Attending school every day and receiving good grades had become my top priority from K-12. I excelled from K-8th grade, but entering into high school was completely different than primary school. The atmosphere and environment was new to me, I was free to roam the halls or walk back out the door without any repercussions. This began my downward spiral in high school. My freshman year was by far the best school year for me because that would be the only passing year. The remainder of the three years would be met with skipping, failing, and repeating courses. I learned that it was easy to fail, but hard to catch up! With this motto, I had practically given up on going to school or graduating at this point. My only choice was to obtain a GED, but this was met with dismay too! I would have to wait for my graduating school year to take the test and that would be another year. After speaking with my counselor, she informed me that my school credits were only at ninety and two hundred were needed to graduate. I should have been in the eleventh grade, but my credits were equivalent to a tenth grader and this when a decision was made that graduating from high school with a diploma had become important for me.

In the spring of 2014, I graduated as valedictorian from Klukwan High School located in the Panhandle of Alaska. During my high school career, I maintained status on the high honor roll and received the title of Student of the Month the first month of every school year for four years. In 2011 and 2012, I was selected to attend the Youth Leadership Institute in Anchorage as a student delegate for the Chatham School District. There, I met other high school students from all over Alaska. We spent our time at the conference exercising our newfound leadership skills in fun icebreaker games and group activities. We also learned about our own unique leadership styles, and how we can apply them to various situations back home or anywhere.

Going back to school when you are in your late thirty’s is a huge step. So much has

In the spring of 2014, I graduated from a small high school as valedictorian. During my high school career, I maintained status on the high honor roll and received the title of Student of the Month the first month of every school year for four years. In 2011 and 2012, my sophomore and junior years of high school, I was selected both years to attend the Youth Leadership Institute as a delegate for the Chatham School District. There, I met many other high school students from all over Alaska where we exercised our leadership skills in fun icebreaker games and group activities. We also learned about our own unique leadership styles, and how we can apply them in various situations back home or anywhere.

Many students enter high school with a pessimistic mindset that is on the verge of rupturing in a total disaster. Fortunately, I was not one of those students. Ironically, I was just the opposite. I entered the walls of high school with much more than a faint feeling of trepidation. I entered, rather, with an indefinable desire to seek opportunities beyond the basics of what I was already capable of doing. The huge new school was both frightening and exciting for a 13 year old girl who was ready to make an impact on the world. That same 13 year old girl is now beyond the fears, beyond the anxiety, and beyond the anticipation. She has now surpassed 3 years of high school and is one step closer to achieving her dreams.

Four years is such a small portion of many people’s lives, but the four years of high school can greatly impact one’s life. High school ,for many people, is a time to mature physically and mentally. Many find out who they are as a person and maybe who they want to become. High school teaches life lessons that can not be taught anywhere else and that people would not want to be taught later in life. I started high school as an anxious freshman and transformed into a confident senior in four short years.

I came into this high school believing I knew who I was, but little did I know there was a lot to discover about myself and over these 4 years I blossomed. My freshmen year was a plane white wall as I was beginning my journey in high school. My older sister who was a senior at the time and a friend from middle school helped me explore the school my first days. I began adapting to my schedule and the environment within classrooms getting along with my classmates and teachers. As days passed I began feeling comfortable not only in my academics, but socially as well. I grew distant from others, I grew closer to others, but throughout the process I began realizing that people will come and go and I needed to focus on my interests. I began joining clubs my sophomore year such as an art club and lacrosse. I felt welcomed and challenged at the same time because I had to balance academics and clubs. I learned time management and responsibility and several other important characteristics from my experiences motivating me to become more involved. My junior year was an eye opener as I realized the previous years were just a smooth ride through high school and now I have to face the challenges. It was my first year taking AP courses and I took U.S History and Calculus. History was no problem even though it’s my least favorite subject, it was an easy to understand course and I felt comfortable in the classroom. In the other hand, Calculus was the slap in the face of reality, a course

dad had been hired at a company nearby, and Saline was said to be one of the best school districts in the state. At Saline, I grew in my love of reading and most everything else (expect for math), and the classes offered there challenged me to work hard. In high school, I enrolled in all the honors courses I could, taking math a year above the majority of my class and studying hard. My school offered many AP classes, and because of the classes I took there, I entered IUS in my first year as a sophomore according to my credits. No matter what, I know education is important to me and that I will continue in my education for many years. I’m good at school, though sometimes I worry that it’s not so much that I am intelligent than it is that I know how to give people what they want.

Early teenagers look forward to one thing during their final year in middle school, high school. Some high school graduates may consider those four years the best years of their life because of the minimal stress and care free living. The purpose that high school serves in the twenty first century is to prepare students for college. A few minor reasons for high school are preparation for the workforce, community building, and socialization. With approximately only twenty five percent of freshmen classes graduating, the high school education is in danger. A high school diploma in the twenty first century is a necessity. According to Koenig, “high school dropouts make $200,000 less than a high school graduate in a life span” (76). As poverty increases, the high school drop out rate is increasing as well. Many high school dropouts do not fully understand the importance of a high school diploma. The outcome of not receiving a high school diploma should be made visual through a students time spent in school. The high school education is in jeopardy because of family background, students themselves, and academics.

High school teachers try to explain what college is like, but it 's hard to imagine until you actually start college classes. I 've learned that college has some similarities to high school but overall, it is a completely different atmosphere. Entering college, you will see a major change in the way that you are treated. Unlike high school, you are treated as an adult. Your professors give you the responsibility that you never had before, such as doing your homework or not, allowing you to leave class without asking, and most importantly, giving you the choice to come to class or not. However, a lot of people take advantage of not having to go to class every time but being in class is very important, especially in EN 101. You don 't miss out on the notes that the professor gives, you get time with your classmates to evaluate each others writing, you have time to talk to your professor and ask questions, you get to see examples of papers which will give you ideas and kick start your drafting process, and most of all you aren 't wasting the hundreds of dollars that you paid for the class. I encourage you to do your very best to make it to each class, because I promise it will ease a lot of stress and you will do better academically.

Hello and Welcome and Thank you for joining me in celebrating my graduation. This has been the milestone that many of us have been looking forward to, but first I would like to say congratulations to all students of the Class Of 2015! We are the last class that can be held on a hand. If you haven 't noticed, I am referring to the 5. I attended Bishop McDevitt High School. Now I remember when I was in 7th and 8th grade, I was not fond of going to high school. I pictured highschool as this big place where I’d seem to be so small. I did not think that I would fit in. That could have ruined my high school journey. If you do not have a open mind, you will never get anywhere in life. That is almost what happened. I was open to people. Now that may have backfired on some occasions. In highschool you win some and you lose some. You will not always walk out with the same person you walked in with. Luckily I have. In 6th Grade I met Brianna. We instantly clicked when she first got on my cheese bus. My first thought was, who is this little skinny girl, but it turned out that the little skinny girl would eventually become my best friend. Never had a dull moment or argument. Never could think of us having a problem. She has been there for me, even when I was wrong on things. If it wasn 't for Brianna, my high school journey would have been rough. So I’m here to say thank you. Thank You for being you and being a good friend. If you haven’t noticed,that is why I am up here for the Thank

When did you decide your major in a university? Some people find their dreams when they’re kids, and for them this question is meaningless. I chose my major when I was in a senior year of high school. To tell the truth, in Japan, this is late. In Japan, students have to state a major when they apply for a university, and majors hold their own enrollment examinations. This means that high school students have to finish deciding their major while they are in high school. In order to be ready for this, teachers ask high school students their first, second and third choices of universities and majors right after starting their freshman, and then they will study for the enrollment examinations, which is the biggest purpose. What if students cannot decide these major yet? They probably choose well-known universities and interdisciplinary majors. However, most students are careless about how much the decisions mean to their lives. If they have specific plans or views of their lives, they can begin preparing for the next steps that mean they are able to be a few steps ahead of other students. More preparing has a lot of worth. Therefore, the best way to succeed in Japan is thinking about an educational decision early because of the better quality of study, the connection among majors, universities and jobs, and the correlation between majors and our personalities.