VALEDICTORIAN

MYLEA TSUCHIDA VERASTEGUI:

'Good evening families, friends, faculty, and fellow graduates. It is with great pride that I stand before you all today. I feel as though I've spent the last four years of my life counting the days, the hours, the minutes until I'd walk across this stage, but now that we're all here, I can't believe we're graduating. It feels like just yesterday that I was sitting in those stands, watching my brother give his salutatorian speech to the graduating class of 2019.

I knew then that I wanted to be in the top ten like him, mostly because clapping gets less and less enthusiastic as we make our way down the alphabet. But also, because I looked up to him. I wanted to be just like my brother. At the time, and even now, he's a great inspiration to me. He's taught me so much. How to do physics. How to succeed in school. How to laugh. How to make the most of my time. And boy am I grateful for that last one, because time really did fly.

When we look back at these last four years, what have all of us learned? Looking at the surface, hopefully, most of us know that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. Some might remember that the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. A handful of you might even remember the quadratic equation.

Now, I know a lot of you might be thinking that's all useless infformation that you'll never need to know again the second you walk across this stage, and maybe, for some of us, that's true; but what if we look a bit deeper into these last four years? The last 12 years, even?

There's a Benjamin Franklin quote that reads: 'Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.' We've learned countless lessons throughout high school that go beyond what's simply being told or taught. From our teachers, we've learned how to meet deadlines, how to collaborate with others, how to succeed.

We've learned to pick ourselves up after failure and stand taller and stronger in the face of greater challenges. From the friends we've made, we've learned how to laugh and have fun, how to communicate with empathy and compassion. We've learned who we are and who we want to be. From our family members, who have stayed by our side during our most trying times, we've learned the value of compromise, unconditional love, respect and gratitude.

As we walk across this stage, we are not just leaving Boerne High School but entering the next phases of our lives. For some of us, this is the end of our academic journey, but for others it's just the beginning. Regardless of what path you take, I hope you all continue to learn and grow.

As Nelson Mandela said, 'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.' I have no doubt that eve1y single one of us is capable of leaving a great impact on this world. It is my hope that we will never forget all that we have learned within the walls of our beloved high school, be it about math and science and hist01y or lessons of life and success and failure. Whether you're jumping straight into your career or continuing your education, I hope we all continue to build upon what our teachers, family, and friends have taught us. High school may be over, but we are never done learning.

To conclude this speech, I previously mentioned that the clapping becomes less and less lively with each graduate. Each and every one of these students deserves to be celebrated for the hard work and perseverance it took to get here, so please, let's give them all our most enthusiastic round of applause as they walk across the stage. Thank you all for being here tonight, and congrats again to the class of 2023.'