Valedictorian Speech
June 1982
announcement in This Week, a local magazine in Okinawa
How to write a valedictorian speech:
1- Address everyone that's going to be there to listen to you
2- Connect with the graduating class by summarising shared experiences
3- Include personal anecdotes that serve as memory triggers
4- Give hope and expectations to the future
5- Remember to thank.
Parents, teachers, friends, the graduating class:
We are here today with one purpose in mind: to recognize the graduation of those deserving seniors. What does it mean to graduate?
To me, it is not just the completion of twelve years of schooling. It is the setting of a foundation firm enough for us to build the rest of our lives, our learning, and our future.
Like the senior hill, building it was not easy. Our initial plans did not always succeed. With every bucket of cement added to fill up the 82, a barrier was broken, a task was done. The past is etched here; we left our marks somewhere on this campus and in the hearts of those to follow. We left our names and the newly painted dragon for the future generations of Kubasaki. Senior hill was not finished when the last stroke of paint was applied. We added our own uniqueness to it not in ways that can be seen.
But now, seniors, it's time for us to part. It's time for us to go our own separate ways. What shall we add to this foundation? How will we do it?
Remember that first grade teacher who stubbornly insisted that you write your ABC's until they were perfect? Or the agony of washing your hands before you eat? Or how hurt you were when your first puppy love rejected you and went for someone else? Or the stage fright you experienced when you were asked to sing "Beauty School Dropout"?
Yes, we've all had our turns. We've had our share of winning. We've had our share of losing. We've learned from our mistakes. And these lessons are the strongest rocks of our foundation.
So, we've finished high school. What now? It's a big world out there. Although we might not be totally ready to meet society's demands, we are certainly willing to give it our best shot.
On this solid ground we stand, the proud Class of 82. Welcome World! Good Luck, Seniors!