Graduation Remarks

Here are my remarks from Graduation on Friday.

Dr. Marshall, Chairman Brophy, Members of the School Committee, QRSD teachers and Staff, Representative Gobi, Senator Brewer, Parents, Families, Friends, and the Quabbin Regional High School Class of 2014. Welcome.

Thank you to all the staff who have made tonight possible. Clare Barnes and the entire Buildings and Grounds Staff. Cathy Graham, Patty Stolz, Nita Bates and Jesslyn Lapati from the High School offices, Jess Bennett from the Superintendent’s Office, Donna Berlo, Rick Prouty and Sean Dubois. And Candy Ericson for the sound system at all these events.

Dr. Marshall, the Class of 2014 is a class that has learned to adapt and to persevere. They have lost a classmate. They have lost an assistant coach and they have lost a friend. They have faced the implementation of a trimester schedule, more courses per day, International Baccalaureate, Capstone requirements, Community Service requirements, changes to credit requirement, and multiple changes in staffing. Yet, they are here today, ready to move on and face the uncertainty of the future with the knowledge and skills necessary to handle almost anything. They have met the requirements for graduation.

The graduating class of 2014 is made up of 168 total students, including those who have met our standards for graduation in alternative settings. 79% of the Class of 2014 will continue their educations. 5% will join our military. 17% will be entering the work force. In all of these endeavors, the members of the Class of 2014 are prepared for what comes next. Colleges include most of our state colleges, universities and community colleges, as well as schools like Merrimack, Norwich, Quinnipiac, Northeastern, Rensselaer Polytechnic, Berklee College of Music, Lincoln Technical Institute, UNH, URI, Mount Holyoke, and Tufts to name a few. No matter their endeavor, we wish them well.

Class of 2014, please stand. Join hands, and bow your heads. Remember Jeremy, David and Patrick.

Heads up. Hands in clapping position. Please congratulate your classmates.

Thank your teachers.

Thank your parents.

Now, raise your right arms over your heads. Palms back. Pat yourselves on the back once for a job well done.

Be seated.

Class of 2014, last night the speakers mentioned time a lot, from when you finished 8^th grade up to today and graduation, you have had about  2 million minutes of high school. How have you spent all that time? Over one million of those minutes were off days or vacation. You have spent about 700,000 of those total minutes sleeping if you average 8 hours per day.  On school days, if you sleep 8 hours per night, you have had 420,000 waking minutes outside of classes. Therefore, what might seem like a lot of time has meant that you have spent about 238,000 of those minutes in classes. Not really that much for such a central part of your lives for the past 2 million minutes.

In that time, you have learned so much. Depending on who you are, you have learned to read, write and calculate at an adult and college level. You have learned the Periodic Table, and Music by incredible composers. You have learned the causes and effects of most of the major events in US History. You have learned what makes someone normal or abnormal in a psychiatric sense. You have learned to draw, paint and sculpt. You have a sense of the human anatomy and its marvels. You have learned how to drill, march and treat others with respect. You have learned World Language, Study Skills and Statistics. You have read many of the great works of literature. You know how to separate fact from opinion, how to analyze and how to synthesize your learning. Collectively, you have a staggering amount of knowledge. And that is just from in class. Think of all you have gained from outside of class in activities, trips, athletics, plays and performances. Congratulations on that.

My hope is that your next 2 Million Minutes are even more rewarding to you. As you leave us tonight, think of the possibilities at your disposal and the freedom you have to choose from those possibilities. Make your time count. Make each set of 2 million minutes you spend better that what came before them. I hope your high school years here at Quabbin have been rewarding. However, I hope they pale in comparison with what comes next.

Good luck as you move forward.  Expect more of the world, our society and yourselves, and you will do very well. You will be missed, and you are loved by Quabbin Regional High School.

Thank you.