*** Updated on 03/24/11 ***If you have searched on Google for a Valedictorian Speech go ahead and use mine as a basis. If you have any questions about a speech email me @ jordangtmichalski@gmail.com
Good luck in writing your speech!
Here was the speech that I pitched to the faculty last week, give'r a read.
Good afternoon and welcome, friends and family, teachers and administration, honoured guests, Pastor Leon, Mrs Bayne and you, the class of 2010. First off, I would like to thank God for allowing me to have the opportunity to speak to you all today.
So, here we are… Many of us have waited thirteen years for this day. From Kindergarten until grade eleven we dreamt and imagined what it would be like to finally toss a hat into the air. We dreamt of growing up and becoming more independent in our own lives. Then grade twelve dawned upon us… in the hustle and bustle of everyday life we almost forgot about graduation… We focused on high school credits and sports team accomplishments. We concentrated on building friendships and on making memories. But now, this is it. Graduation. Today is a day for celebration. Today is a day where your thirteen years of work all pay off. Today is a day focused and targeted around us, the grads.
But to celebrate us we must first look back to how we got here.
Mom and Dad, and parents of all these graduates - thank you so much. It is you, the parents, who have pushed us in making decisions as we strive for excellence. It was you who offered your advice, your love and your experience in every area of our lives. When we were stubborn, you pushed through. When we were crying, you cared. When we were needy you provided. We thank you ever-so-much for simply being our parents.
Teachers, Pastors and Mentors. Thank you as well. When we were away from home we were usually in the presence of you. You were the people who encouraged us to do the best that we could, you were the people who we ran to when we thought no one else understood and you were the people who always dropped insight into our lives from an angle we never fathomed. From the graduating class, we thank you.
And to the Graduates. Most of you I have know for a good portion of my life. You have truly been a blessing in more ways than you could imagine. It was you who set an academic bar that I strived to reach, it was you who took a vested interest into my life, and it was you who took the time to simply be my friends. Each one of you has taught me a different and important lesson in the years that I have known you and have made an impression on my life in one way or another. As my gift back to all of you, I give you these thoughts…
It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who once said: “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us”. This quote captures the idea of graduation in its entirety.
We all have a past… A journey if you will. It started from birth and morphed its way to where we find ourselves today. We attended elementary school and learnt to share the computer in Mrs. Joyal’s grade one class. We grew into children who learnt to work diligently as we longed to go to fun mountain every year from grades four to six. Then we made a leap into junior high where, on the Memphis trip, we learnt about raging hormones, as the bus was separated with girls up front and boys in the back. Our journey continued into high school and eventually grade twelve, from here we learnt what it meant to support a friend in time of crisis. We learnt of the qualities and characteristics of God and how we relate that to others through a bonding experience at camp Cedarwood. We have acquired knowledge through our years and we have come to a point where it is time to put that knowledge into action.
As an accompaniment to our past, all of us have a future. In fact, we have spent this last year fervently preparing for our future. We are aspiring Dentists, Pilots, Lawyers, Engineers, Teachers and Automotive Mechanics, just to name a few. We are people with big dreams and people who have a desire to let their lives take flight. We know that with the proper guidance we can make a difference in our world using the lives we have been given.
But all of it… Our past, our future, graduation day itself. Mean nearly nothing when compared with what dwells in both you and I. It is a overused cliché; “This generation will be the generation that will change the world.” We have heard it said time and time again, but as far as I am aware it has never been as true as it is today. As much as I would cringe when I heard someone start talking about “this generation” it finally hit me… In Mark 16:15 we are called to ‘go into all the world and make disciples of all people’. We are administered a challenge that if taken on has the capacity to change our earth in ways we could never begin to imagine. We, the class of 2010 are the people that Jesus is talking to in this passage. He is calling us out, telling us to spread the word of God in a way that people will understand. Now is the time to be bold in our faith and to take a step out of the boat as Peter did. To rely on completely our Savior who dwells within us. Jeremiah 33:3 is a promise from God, saying; “Call to me and I will answer you, tell you great and inconceivable things you did not know.” One on hand God gives us a task, yet on the other hand He give us a promise. He sends us out, but He does not send us out unequipped. Ephesians 2:10 Says that “we are His workmanship, created in Christ to do good works.” God delights in us and He has given us the opportunity to leave High School behind us and to keep on going, to strive for great things in our lives.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us”.
Our past and our future are simply tiny matters when compared with our potential, combined with the love of Christ in our lives. Now is the time to go out and to be God’s light in a world so desperately seeking Him.
Now, as I close I wish to leave you with a blessing…
May the Lord bless you as you go on your way. May He go before you to show you the way. May He go behind you to encourage you. May He go beside you to guide and befriend you. May He always be above you to watch over you. And may He be within you to give you peace.
In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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