Graduation Speech : The Land Of Opportunity

The final seconds of a cross country meet when you are sprinting down the straight away, looking at the finish line, trying to beat just one more person, is one of the most mentally and physically exhausting moments I’ve ever encountered. In the Fall of 2014 things just clicked with our girls cross country team. Winning Bi-county, Conference, Sectional, and advancing to Regional and Semi-state, was unexpected to everyone around us. Losing five of our seven varsity runners the year before got us moved from our small school rank of 3rd to 13th. Getting moved ten spots on that list motivated us even more to prove to everyone what we could do without those graduated seniors.

The two and a half months of summer ended and I was ready to start 8th grade. I was excited and I found out I was in the same pod with my best friend. I felt confident as I walked into room B5 and greeted Mr. Gill. The year started great and I knew my way to all my classes. I studied a lot more in 8th grade. Nearly every test I studied. And by the end of the marking period I had all A’s and B’s. I brought my lunch from home more often and I participate more in class.

Hi Ms.Barks, I am not sure if you remember me ( EAP 121,Winter 2015),just want to tell you I am done with ENG 101 and to thank you for the permit!!! It was very interesting expirience ( Bixby was my teacher),however I passed and moving on.This is my last quarter in Edcc , I am taking summer off and will be attending Shoreline community college this fall.Again,I just wanted to thank you for being supportive of me and allowing me to get closer to my goal!!!. I was very fortunate to have you as my teacher!!! Have a great summer!!!

The end of eighth grade was coming faster than any year before. It was about to be summer and most of the eighth graders were eager to be a freshman in high school next year. I was not so excited about this. School used to be hard for me, waking up, discussing with new people, being in classes that I struggled with eight hours each day. Speaking in front class petrified me to the point that I did not want to ask for help. There never used to be a time that I felt confident volunteering, raising my hand, or presenting in front of a class. I soundlessly coped with anxiety through eighth grade, causing me to be unsuccessful in a few classes, and wanting to not go to school most days. High school is incomparable to middle school, I knew this change

How are you doing? This is Will, the tall black guy you would sometimes see in service. I'm writing to say goodbye. My project in Carson City came to an end and I've moved back to Texas. Thank you so much for making me feel at home at Hope. Your messages kept me going while I was in Reno. God used your words to truly bless me and also show me where I need to improve. Sorry I didn't get a chance to say goodbye in person, but everything happened so fast.

America has often been referred to as the land of opportunities. The United States has mostly always been a place for growth and development. From the day that the land was discovered till now, America has had many enlightening periods and dark times that has shaped the nation. Economics, politics, and social aspects have contributed to what the nation is made out of. Without the important events, people, and change the United States of America would not be where it is today.

Eighty-seven years ago our founding fathers made a new country with liberty and the idea that everyone is equal.

America's gift to our generation is that we have so many opportunities. We have the freedom and safety to pick what we want to do in life. We don't have to go to sleep worrying about if someone is going to come invade our house. We also get great education. Even tho people don't like going to school they should be thankful because a lot of kids don't have schools or can't afford to go to them. The stuff you learn at school will help you a lot with your future like if you want to work at a store than math will help you with the money or if you want to be a teacher than you can go to college and learn to be a teacher. Safety is something we should all be thankful for because a lot of countries have to worry about being safe. We don't have

I don’t even know where to start with this State of the Union Speech. I thought it was incredible. It was well written and wasn’t full of bogus. As a kid who is confused, and sometimes even scared of politics, I could understand it. One major thing that stood out to me was the talk about America’s strength. My fellow students at school have no faith in our country, and always go around saying, “Obama sucks!” I always knew that they were wrong, but sometimes watching the news, I worried. It seems nothing good is ever happening. Reading the President's speech, I now know some of the truth, and it has calmed my worries. Another thing that stood out to me was the climate change stuff, that is a big worry of mine. Yes, it has been proven true

The American dream can be defined as “a life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by individuals in the U.S.” or “the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American,” (dictionary.com). Achieving the American dream is why many students pursue higher education and attend college. They believe that earning a degree is a stepping stone to ultimately achieving the American Dream. Unfortunately, college tuition has been on the rise and threatens to take away from the dreams of many Americans. Because of these rising prices of college tuition, higher education is no longer available to every American; a college education has become a luxury that only some can afford.

When there is a lack of professors at a college or institution, many classes become over-capacitated. Some students find it very hard to completely understand what the professor is teaching because there are so many students in the class. For example, students could be disturbed by that one student always chomping on crunchy chips during the lesson, excessive gossiping from a group of students in the back of class, or maybe even by the way the teacher speaks or pronounces their words. Although an over capacitated class could be very disturbing, it is the student’s responsibility to find a way to intake all information needed to prepare for exams. There are many ways to prepare for an exam depending on how much time is spent studying, what area is used to study, and whether or not the student received the correct amount of sleep prior to the exam. The type of exam preparation that the college student uses depends on whether the student is over achieving, average, or carefree. There are also many benefits and disadvantages that come along with being an over achieving, average, or carefree student.

As the summer of 2014 came to an end, I was looking forward to the quiet, still days ahead. For the first time in twenty years I had a planned break, my calendar was intentionally cleared for the rest of the year. For as long as I could remember my life was similar to a roller coaster, traveling full speed in constant motion through ups and downs, and a break was imperative. A couple years earlier, I unexpectedly quit my job of fifteen years to home school my youngest son who was struggling to survive amongst many learning challenges after a disheartened school meeting. Learning how to endure day to day was met with a set of new challenges, from trying to teach a difficult child to read, to figuring out how to budget a family on a single income. As time went on, life began to slow down, my son worked hard to close his educational gaps and was eager to return to school and I, for the first time in my life, was looking forward to taking a step back before contemplating the future. At this point I was unaware of the direction my life would soon take and how it would bring me to question what I knew about myself. In life we are often conditioned to stay connected to what is known, fearful to take risks, however life is filled with endless opportunities if we are willing to face our fears, take risks and be open to learning something new.

As a group we decided to include a “College Success” course for freshman within out First Year Experience. Instead of making the course required, we would prefer to make the class optional and offered for 2 credits. The class would be for 50 minutes per day and either Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday and available both spring and fall semesters for first-year students at High Point University. The course would be recommended to all freshman for the fall semester in order to assist in the transition to college life, but would be offered spring semester as well for students who struggled first semester with becoming acclimated to the university.

As the summer of 2014 came to an end I was looking forward to the quiet, still days ahead. For the first time in twenty years I had a planned break, my calendar was intentionally cleared for the rest of the year. For as long as I could remember my life was like a roller coaster traveling full speed in constant motion through ups and downs, a break was imperative. A couple years earlier without preparation I took a life altering risk, I quit my job of fifteen years to home school my youngest son who was struggling to survive amongst many learning challenges after a disheartened school meeting. Learning how to endure day to day was met with a set of new challenges, from trying to teach a difficult child to read, to figuring out how to budget

My Freshmen year did not begin like most college students’ because I am an “Opportunity kid”, or as some of us in the program often joke, SVC’s finest. My peers and I undertook a grueling academic boot camp that laid my foundation here at Saint Vincent. This foundation allowed me to successfully transition to college life, and I hope to help other students just as individuals in the Opportunity Program have helped to mentor and inspire me.