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Student
Speakers Give Voice to Fellow Graduates in
2011
Posted on Friday, November 5, 2011 |
Following are excerpts from speeches given by the
student class speakers at the seven Clovis Unified 2011
graduation ceremonies which were held between June 4 and
June 9, 2011.
Alternative Education
Lety
Martinez
Before you sits an Eagle Scout who plans
a future in the military; a student who after only three
years of high school is graduating and moving onto
college with almost straight A’s; recipients of a
variety of scholarships; and a couple of young students
who are parents, and despite the challenges of teen
parenting are graduating with their class and going on
to college. And all of these students coming up from the
worst childhoods with the biggest smiles upon their
faces because they know that their ambitions have far
exceeded their talent. You are looking at the very
students who proved to everyone that everything really
does happen for a reason.
We did it, and it’s all thanks to the
people who cared about us and our own ability to believe
in who we are. Congratulations Class of 2011, our
thousand mile journey begins with our step off this
stage.
Katlynn Smith
This class is full of the
most wonderful people. All of us are from different
backgrounds, but in this instance our stories coincide.
As of right now, all of
our worries are gone. In this moment, the only thing
that matters is that every one of us is here, in cap and
gown, surrounded by our friends and family. All of the
scrambling to complete our credits and get our grades up
to par has ended. For our parents, tonight is
meant to recognize us for the years of schooling and
hard work that we have officially accomplished. At the
moment, all of us are smiling because, for the moment,
we are done, there is no weight on our shoulders…
tonight is just for us.
Adult School
Jose Cabello
Congratulations to my
fellow graduates. Truly, this is a job well done and we
can pat ourselves on our backs. Always remember that it
is never too late to achieve a goal. As long as we set
our minds to accomplish something, it is possible. It is
all up to us. A dream becomes reality when we act on it
positively and we have the unconditional support of
family, friends and educators who have confidence in us.
Buchanan High
Natalie Meier
British actor, Anthony
Quayle once said, “To understand a man, you must
understand his memories. The same is true of a nation.”
Class of 2011, we sit here and reflect on the poignant
memories of our high school years. Hey, we may not have
won a single rally, but we did create a legend that has
lived on from our freshman year: Bear Nation, taking
over your world since 2007. Among us, the creators of
Bear Nation, sit future artists, attorneys, CEOs,
professional athletes, writers, fashion designers,
farmers and teachers. But no matter what your future job
title, the rise and fall of our nation – Bear Nation –
begins with each and every one of us.
Seize the day, graduates: live out
every one of your dreams as though you’ll wake up any
minute, believe in yourselves and remember that
opportunity is endless. Howard Thurman once said: “Don’t
ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive,
and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who
have come alive.” We are
those people. From this day forward, we always will be:
one class, forever, leading one nation – Bear Nation.
Clovis High
Blair Rotert
English poet John
Heywood once said, “If you will call your troubles
experiences, and remember that every experience develops
some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and
happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to
be.”
We live in a world
that is currently facing challenges and turmoil that no
previous generation could have ever imagined. As young
people, we have, in addition to many worldly challenges,
faced the typical problems of being a teenager, but so
long as we remain positive and refuse to let the trials
in life define us, our possibilities are infinite. And
so, being influenced by such an ever-changing world,
tomorrow we will set out and begin to deliver our own
message to the world, a message imprinted with Cougar
Connection, White Out games, rallies, Sadie Hawkins
dances, homecoming, prom, powder puff and football
games, a couple of bad grades, our first driving
lessons, crazy teachers, our parents, our friends, and
Clovis High School. As we enter college and the working
world, we will use these high school experiences to
begin the development of our legacy. The creation of
this legacy will no doubt start with a Tweet or status
update on Facebook that announces our graduation, but
who knows what lies ahead for us.
What we do know is that
Clovis High has provided us with confidence, optimism
and integrity and it is with these characteristics that
we will leave our footprint. So, fellow graduates, enjoy
tonight and have fun, but don’t forget that society now
needs us to play our parts and some of us will have to
become the parents, the teachers, the scientists, the
environmentalists, the engineers, the doctors and the
world leaders who will hopefully solve problems rather
than creating new ones. In 30 years, we don’t want to
attend our own children’s graduation and be hearing
about how they must solve the problems we’ve created for
them. Knowing this class, however, I’m certain that we
will succeed and make everyone proud; after all, we are
the Class of 2011.
Clovis East High
Lindsey Huffman
Here we are, taking the next step to
bettering ourselves; dressed in the garb of graduation,
the ever-stylish tent-like gowns and silly strings. As
cliché as it may look, this day is truly symbolic of the
beginning of the rest of their lives. And once we’re
permitted to get out of these costumes of success, we
will hit the ground running toward new goals and new
aspirations.
In fact, supporting that very idea is
Ralph Waldo Emerson, who once said, “What
lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters
compared to what lies within us.”
So here’s to dreams, to the experiences,
to the careers, the road trips, seeing new places,
meeting new people … to the chance to really live.
Always remembering that we will not let our “glory days”
be contained in the past four years of our lives,
instead we look to our future and to the ability to
create memories each and every day we are given. So,
congratulations class of 2011. Together you have made it
this far and your lives await you. It is now your
responsibility to individually live a life worth
mentioning. Make it a glorious one.
Clovis North High
Alex Katich
Contemporary American social
commentator Sarah Ban Breathnach wisely observed,
“Always remember that striving and
struggle precede success, even in the dictionary.”
Success is never achieved without struggle. It’s never
given on a silver platter. Much like our majestic Sierra
Nevada Mountains, our success has come from the
consistent friction and stress of two tectonic plates.
Out of that friction comes not only a school from a
valley, but a valley champion school. It has been forged
by astronomical pressure and can now withstand anything.
Geologists describe
tectonic plates as jagged and uneven rocks forged by hot
molten lava. They say that plates are always grinding,
locking up, and pushing back and forth. It is because of
this constant pressure that plates form mountains,
valleys and even volcanoes. I’m telling you that the
pressure we have been under for the past four years
could create a volcano. In fact, we created our own
continent. That’s how we have handled our struggles thus
far, by creating something that will last forever. Class
of 2011, keep grinding, keep pushing, keep opposing
those forces that seek to hold you down. With your
perseverance of spirit you can move mountains.
Clovis West High
Chukwunonso Olwelogu,
Ndidiamaka Okwelogu
Each and every
student who leaves this stadium tonight has the
potential to impact the world. It’s hard to spend four
years on the Clovis West campus and not learn something.
Teachers and administrators have pounded into our heads
the values of responsibility, reliability, promptness
and, of course, proper dress. Supposedly, these things
come in handy in the professional world. We’ll see…Each
and every student who leaves this stadium tonight leaves
with at least one thing that can never be confiscated
and sent to SRC (student responsibility center) – an
education; a foundation for the rest of our lives.
Each and every
student who leaves this stadium tonight will make a
difference. Because when we change the world, we will do
it together.
This article was originally
published in CUSD Today, August 2011, and is
published on
ExperienceClovis.com Online Independent Community
Magazine with permission. Photos
courtesy of CUSD
All rights reserved.
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