One of your schoolmates asked me, earlier this year, if I had ever dreamed that we would havecreated a school that would have inspired so many students to become passionate about technology.
I told her that I could never have imagined a school like this. When we started ChiTech, we thought of education as something that us adults did to you kids. What can we teach you? What opportunities can we provide for you?
What you’ve taught us is that education is a partnership. ChiTech is the school that we are building together. I could never have imagined a school like this, because I never could have imagined students as talented, smart and driven as you.
As a class, you have never waited around for things to happen to you. You’ve always created opportunities for yourselves. You’ve built mobile apps, designed video games, consulted with clients, went to the White House Science Fair, created wonderful art that has been shown in galleries, and have been accepted to great colleges. Even this year’s keynote speaker, Harper Reed, is an example of your ability to make things happen. You told him that you wanted him at your graduation. You didn’t wait for one of us to tell you what to do, and you didn’t ask for permission. You took the initiative.
That’s a quality that will serve you well, and will distinguish you from your peers as you take your next, exciting steps in life.
It’s tempting for people to think back on their best days: graduation, prom. When people talk about the best days of their lives, they usually talk about the past.
I’d like to challenge you--and I know you’re up for the challenge--to think about how you can make sure that your best days are always the days ahead. That each step will be a step forward, or a step up. That, while you can look back on your past with pride, tomorrow will always be better than today.
If you can make your tomorrow better, than we can all be confident knowing that, together, our future will always be better.
With that, please join me in welcoming ChiTech’s amazing class of 2014, and please put your hands together for your Salutatorian, Nick Diaz.
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