Graduation 2009 Speech

Dear Graduates, Faculty, Families, Board of Education Members and Mr. Mayor,

I would like to welcome you all on this warm June evening as we celebrate the 2009 Commencement.

In Ukraine, where I grew up, on graduation night the school bell would ring one last time during the commencement ceremony. Although students heard this bell daily warning them to go to class, go to lunch, move to the next class, or go home, this final time the bell would wail a somber farewell. So when I walked through the hallways of BHS on the last day of finals, as the remaining few students jolted out of the building, and the loose leaf notes, old textbooks, forgotten sweatshirts littered the floor, I couldn’t help but wonder what these halls have seen?


They have seen you as shy and timid freshmen enter the building with massive book-bags shuffling quickly from class to class. They have seen you come back as sophomores with a few mistakes made, a few lessons learned. As juniors these hallways witnessed you peaking into the world that awaited, filled with due dates, responsibilities, hurt, love, awareness, compassion, forgiveness, and of course tests, on paper and in life. Finally, your last year as you confidently strolled the halls of your school, they looked back on you with a familiar admiration. Everyday they heard of your future destinations: Berkley, MIT, Delaware, Rutgers, Montclair, Marines, and many others. They have watched you grow, mature, and now leave the comfort of their watch to carve your own path. We will all remember you, what will you take away from BHS?


Perhaps you will not remember that quadratic equation, or the 21 comma rules, or the atomic number for plutonium. What you will remember are the friends, teachers, teammates, coaches, guidance counselors, and anyone who has shaped you in any way through these four years. Take with you the academic knowledge you have acquired, the ability to think, solve problems, and communicate, ability to be kind, compassionate, and accepting of others.


All this you will need to enter the ever-changing 21st century world, where LOL replaces real laughter, where you can break up on a text message and where you are likely to never physically write and send a letter in the mail. While some of you will be businessmen, doctors, lawyers, engineers, artists, scientists, teachers, there are graduates in this crowd who will become search engine optimizers, green architects, or anti-hacking security specialists. You are the generation that will lead our world. As president Obama put it, “If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress.”


Whatever path you chose, remember the hallways of BHS and the last bell sending you off on an endless adventure we call life.

Congratulations and best of luck in your bright future!

My Avatar!

Although it looks like I have one eye, I guess this is pretty close. I am also missing a waste and elbow joints! That was fun!