Members of the Staff, Honored Guests, Parents, Friends, and Fellow Graduates.
It is my great honor to present the Valedictory address on behalf of the Graduating class of 1963.
Tonight we mark our high school graduation through means of these commencement exercises. These two terms, Graduation and Commencement, form a seeming paradox. Graduation gives a note of finality to the ceremonies while commencement, with its promise of future learning, troubles, and successes, provides us with a great challenge and incentive. Our education, rather than ending, is just beginning. We possess some new facts and information, but what do we know of how to live? Life is a voyage, and not a harbor, and during this voyage we must be our own captain, navigator, and ship's crew. We must plot our own course so as to have a useful as well as an enjoyable voyage.
As we look back over our years in this high school, there are numerous high points which we remember. Some of these occasions are recalled with a swell of pride, while others are recalled with a regretful sigh. All of these memories are made more enjoyable because they were and are shared with our friends. Friendship with others has formed a great part of our lives and will continue to do so in the years to come. Learning to live with our fellow man is perhaps the most important part of our education. Many of us here tonight will become widely separated from our friends by time and fortune, but they will always remain close to us in our memories of high school, and this night in particular.
We must not forget, no matter how far we may advance, that the basis of all our success was laid in this high school. Through the efforts and guidance of our parents and teachers we have developed the framework of a member of society. It is up to us to decide whether this framework will be built upon wisely or foolishly.
As the great German poet Goethe once said:
"Life is a quarry out of which we are to mold and chisel and complete a character."
