Valedictorian Jacob Cobb, during his commencement speech, said, “I know that to you it seems only years ago that we were in diapers running around the house driving you crazy, but to us it seems a lifetime.”
While 12 years might seem like a longtime, Cobb said he knows they still have a lot to learn.
“We are undoubtedly utterly naïve when it comes to life, but that is OK,” he said. “Archimedes once said, ‘Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.’ Well, I say to you give us a little time and a little breathing space and we shall be the world.”
Cobb reminded his fellow graduates that they must have a purpose in their life.
“We cannot spend one moment of our time here on this Earth forgetting our purpose,” he said. “Perhaps you say that you don’t have a purpose; well, let me help you. Finding your purpose is a bit like riding a bike in that once you learn your purpose, you will always know it.”
He also reminded the students to not let the hard times in life get them down.
“There will be times in your life when you have trouble. This is one of the hard facts of life,” he said. “Many of us have experienced hardships that have helped to shape us into who we are today.
“I wish that I could stand up here and tell you that you will be able to walk through life without a worry or qualm, but I would be lying.
“The secret to handling troubling times is to always allow yourself to be transformed by the trouble. Take nothing for granted and always, always look for the good in any situation.”
Cobb said that he understands that part of growing up is accepting change and learning to cope.
“As you all know, during my sophomore year of high school, I lost my father in a car wreck,” he said. “That was an extremely hard time in my life, and I tried time and time again to fight the unceasing change.
“Needless to say, I was unsuccessful. However, I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I know that he is in a better place.”
“My point here is that acceptance of change and of troubling situations can ultimately make your life more peaceful.”
Salutatorian Daniel Shay, in his speech to fellow students, shared why he spent so much time at school.
“The reason I have devoted so much of myself to helping this school is that I believe in what it is trying to accomplish,” he said. “This school is not a building where students must come to work every day; it is a place where teachers work every day to teach students what they will need to know in the real world.”
He said that as former students, they should all strive for success as a way of saying thanks to the teachers.
“Teachers have stood in the classrooms day after day hammering things into out hard heads for years just so that we would know enough to get through life.
“You will never be about to repay them for what they have done.
“The best you can do is succeed in life and make them proud of what they have done.”
His final thought posed the question of whether their struggles through school were really uphill pursuits.
“Perhaps that hill that we have been pushed to the top of really is not a hill at all,” he said. “Perhaps it is a cliff and we are now at the edge.
“There is only one question that we must answer. After today, will we fly or will we fall?”
Read the entire speech by valedictorian Jacob Cobb here
Read the entire speech by salutatorian Daniel Shay here.
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