San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Advanced Learning Academy
Good morning, everyone!
First of all, I would like to thank everybody for coming to our class of 2021’s graduation; from friends and family members, to school leaders, SAISD Board members, and faculty, you have not only supported us through our entire high school career, but through a pandemic as well!
I would also like to congratulate my classmates on graduating today! This school year has been our most memorable one yet. We have made many memories together along the way: going on field trips to HEB camp, traveling to Heifer International, and recently, attending our socially distant senior prom, just to name a few. For many of us, our time together at the HEB camp stood out as some of the most meaningful; when we kayaked through the Frio River, or competed with each other to see who could make it to the top of the mountain on our group hikes; when we would try to “out-crate” each other during the crate stacking competition, or the time we climbed to the highest spot on the ropes course. We faced and overcame our fears together, encouraged one another, and learned how to support each other through those adventurous experiences.
When we traveled 15 hours on a bus together to Heifer International in Arkansas in order to experience a simulation of the hunger and hardship that our third-world neighbors endure every day, we learned to harvest crops, set campfires for cooking, and negotiate with one another for water and firewood. We learned how to work together in each of our individual groups, how to be thankful for what we had, and how important it was to rely on one another. During the winter storm, when my family had to boil water and the nights were really cold, I recalled the skills we learned at Heifer, and I remembered how important this experience was for everyone. We need each other.
And let’s not forget the memories we just made at our outdoor, socially distanced prom, as we danced in the rain listening to Taylor Swift and other classics, as well as the amazing mariachi performance that Denisse and
Julen gave when they joined the live band up on stage! Even though we weren’t expecting rain, we didn’t care about our makeup or our hair, or even that our beautiful dresses got wet; we cared about being with our friends, and this weird and different experience was a unique and beautiful way to make an everlasting memory. We ended the night by driving to IHOP to have dinner together – in person! — and to just talk with one another about our individual lives for the first time in almost a year.
The most difficult struggle we overcame together – not just as students but as teachers, staff and families – was to spend part of our junior year and most of our senior year on Zoom for our classes. (Thank you, Sarah, for all those early morning phone calls to help me get there!) I learned a few lessons along the way from this experience. I discovered how to become more independent and how to be responsible for my own schedule. We learned from our struggles together, and we are stronger, wiser and more adaptable. We understand that tomorrow will be a better day.
When I think of the class of
2021, I am reminded of the words of Frida Kahlo: “At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” We pushed forward and we didn’t give up; we were scared sometimes – of COVID, of the violence in the world, and sometimes of our own situations at home – however, we did it. We endured, and we are here together today to celebrate that accomplishment.
As senator Orrin Hatch once said, “Graduation is not the end; it’s the beginning.” Our lives are just beginning! We will go on to become lawyers, nutritionists, cosmetologists, architects, nurses, psychologists, actors, financiers, choreographers, airmen, botanists, teachers and so much more. We have endured to become changemakers in the world.
We did it! Remember, today is just the beginning; today is when our future begins – today is for us! Thank you!