Graduation Speech: State Bound Dreams

Senior year rapidly is coming to an end, I’ve had the opportunity to see many of my friends come to the exciting moment in their life when they sign that dotted line and I was still waiting on my chance. My entire life I had dreamt of the day to finally committed to a college basketball team, this was my goal and it had to be my purpose in life. January 18, 2015 at 4:41 PM I got an exciting text from Truett-Mcconnell’s head coach, Matt Sanders, stating,” Good afternoon Claudia this is Coach Sanders from Truett-Mcconnell College, and I really feel like we need to begin the recruiting process with you! Sorry to bother you on a Sunday, but I just didn’t want to let time slip away! I look forward to hearing back from you!” Here was my chance!

My running has been a big part of my life ever since I was younger and saw my dad lace up his running shoes to go out for his daily run. I ran cross country and track for La Crescent every year since seventh-grade and have been fortunate enough, through dedicating myself to thousands of miles of training, to see great success during my time here. Last fall, I ran my final season of high school cross country. Ending the season, I was able to achieve my first state championship which brought me a sense of accomplishment no words could ever describe. I was overjoyed to see all my hard work pay off. The most interesting aspect of that whole experience was how the La Crescent community received the news. The night of the state meet, and the days that followed, allowed me to talk with friends, teachers, and community members alike. Through these interactions I noticed that winning state brought a great sense of pride not only to me but to the La Crescent community as a whole. Everyone felt a part of the accomplishment and it seemed that we accomplished something together. I’ve often heard criticism about La Crescent athletics, but I’ve come to understand, and others have to, that we aren’t as bad off as it might seem. In three years, we’ve had three people win state: myself, Zack Emery, and Clair Shepardson. A vast majority of schools can’t say that. I’ve noticed

During the fall of senior year, I joined the cross country team to help prepare and condition me for the track season, in the spring. Skeptical at first, I knew that I didn't have any endurance since I only sprint over hurdles during the track season, but little did I know that the weeks were passing and the end of the cross country season arrived. Though I was one of the inexperienced long distance runners, I knew that I ran the fastest I could because when I crossed the finish line I had an overwhelming nauseous feeling. As someone who runs a short distance, I was proud of myself for making it to the end of the season without quitting, especially since cross country is running for a long distance, which other sports make their athletes do

We were fighting the pain to make it to the last two races of the season, Regionals and States. Regionals was a very emotional race for us. The previous year we were defeated by Parkersburg and was unable to attend states. We had ruined the streak for the girls varsity of PHS to make it to states. We were devastated. This race was different than the others. This race determined who ran in states. We knew we had to give it our all. At the start line, Coach wrote a “1” on our leg to keep in mind the one year we didn’t make it to states. We knew that staying home this year was not an option. We raced hard with everything we had. As everyone finished we had this feeling of defeat. We cried and just put ourselves down. We were not confident in our performances. Coach Martin and P. Sines knew it was a close race. However they had more information than we did. They knew the results. They watched us cry as a team and continue to believe we didn’t make top three. This was the moment I will never forget. “Coming in third place is…..PRESTON HIGH SCOOOOOOL” announced the official. No longer were we crying sad tears. We were crying tears of

June 14th, 2014, was a memorable day filled with joyous smiles, caps and gowns, and the reaching of a major milestone. Occurring over a year ago, my high school graduation took place on that day, and because of my family, it is a very special day in my life.

Hello everyone! My name's Ally Ward and I'm a senior at South Stanly High School. Currently I'm taking CCP courses with SCC, so that I'll have two years under my belt when I start college. I plan to attend Gardner-Webb University this Fall and major in English with a teaching license. After I receive my major I plan to get my doctorate in English and then get a job as an English professor. I also love to read, shoot archery, ride horses, and spend time with my family.

Hey Lisa, My name is Eric Jefferson. This is my first semester at UMD and I'm enjoying every minute of it. I'm a transfer student from Prince Georges Community College and I would love to take your class next semester, but unfortunately I didn't have time to audition this week. Is it possible If I can audition for your class next tuesday

It was the first dual meet of the 2016 cross country season and our team seemed to have limitless potential. Despite only having 3 returning varsity runners We had a returning all-state runner in Dan Perales. One of the best sophomores in the state in Gianni Fanelli. A freshmen that had beaten many of Gianni’s records when he was in 8th grade, in Mike Parzych. A senior swimmer, in just his first year of cross country in Steven Miano. A track star that was the best two-miler on the track team last year in Alex Curtin. And me, a returning varsity runner that caught fire at the end of last season and primed for a breakout season.

As a member of Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Leaders Engaging in Advance Discoveries (LEAD), were are expected to complete eighty hours of service over the course of two academic school years. Each semester VCU LEAD students are required to complete twenty hours of service, ten-community engagement hours and ten leadership hours. I believe that having a requirement of participation hours pushes students to get involved on VCU’s campus and the greater Richmond area, introduces time management, as well as influences them to reflect on their new found experiences.

I would first like to thank everyone who makes Keizer University Orlando Campus, represented by Dr. David Hubbard. If Keizer has an excellent team work this is due to the management led by you for so many years. My first contact was with my dear Consul Loyal Ray who welcomed me with great enthusiasm and encouraged me and made me believe that I could get my age back to study after 27 years of training in my country of origin Brazil. Then my second contact was with Mr. Dr Hubbard in my Orientation. I heard through your speech that Keizer treats the students as a person, not as a number. And that you have fulfilled in all the 3 years that I have lived here. I learned a lot here at Keizer and I have grown up as an American citizen

Where are you from: I'm from Iowa it can be very bland but I've learned to accept my home town. The weather is nice its not too cold during Winter nor too hot.

This past school year has had many barriers, and many challenges, but none of them have been had difficult to pass as cross country this year. I could run a 5k in about 30 minutes, but training was an entire different story. At first, I thought I would do great, but everyone surpassed me, I was miserable. I face my internal demons with determination and knew knowledge, but that didn’t make it any easier. Being bad at sports has always been a part of me, but when I was admired and completely bested by the same person, it hurt.

Hi Kayla! While I am not from Washington, I have lived here for the past five years, in addition to the two years I lived here from 2007 through 2009, so Washington feels more like home than where I am actually from. I too, hope to teach one day, though I know I do not have the patience to teach Elementary! Good luck to you in this class and in finishing your

By two weeks into the season, I had already begun to count down the days until cross country would be over. I was usually the fourth or fifth runner for our team, and five people score. Therefore, my team relied on me to run fast. Sections came along and our girls’ team missed state by one place. The Martin County West boys’

In the state of Virginia, any parent who elects to provide home instruction in lieu of