by Evan Gruszka
I would like to welcome all faculty, board members, parents, community members, and students to the graduation of the Class of 2020. Four years ago, I stood in front of our eighth grade class and spoke about what life would be like as we moved into our freshman year of high school. Now, I have the honor of speaking about our senior class moving into the future. We may have been the crisis class, born during 9/11, and graduating during a pandemic, but that doesn’t define our future.
First I want to ask my entire class this one question. “What does it mean to be a member of the Class of 2020?” We aren’t defined by our race. Whether you’re white, black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian, etc., you deserve the opportunities that everyone else ahead of us has had the honor of receiving. We aren’t defined by our gender. It doesn’t matter if you’re male, female, or someone else entirely, as you deserve to be treated fairly regardless. We aren’t defined by our orientation. Love is love, and you’re all allowed to be the people you want to be. Don’t run from those who tell you otherwise. Going into the future, we’re on our own. We have to think for ourselves, and redefine everything we already know. We are us. We are the Class of 2020. We cannot be described with any one characteristic, as we are more than just a simple statement. I ask this again, “what does it mean to be a member of the Class of 2020?” It means you are one of the many that get the opportunity to reshape the future, and redefine the common way of thinking.
As we come out of a global pandemic, that is still affecting us today, the world looks to us for guidance. How can we take control, and change the future for the better? It all starts with you. You, the musician, who will lead the crowd to the beat of your own drum. You, the engineer, who will innovate in ways never seen before. You, the artist, who will look at the world from a different perspective. You, the athlete, who will fight an uphill battle to come out ahead of those who seek to pull you down. You, the Class of 2020, are the future. It’s up to us to be better. We need to do what those before us were unable to do.
Despite this, you don’t have to go in alone. There’s many people who will be entering your life who you can depend on in your times of need, and many who are here today to support you in whatever way they can. Find your Mrs. Albright, who’ll eat lunch with you in the corner on a bad day and challenge your skillset. Find your Mrs. Peterman, who even in a different language, can give advice that’ll last a lifetime. Find your Mr. Barker, who’ll push you to achieve more than you thought possible, and find your inner confidence. Find your Mr. Urness, who’ll dedicate hours of his time after school to make sure you understand a concept and schedule virtual meetings for you when you need to prepare for a test. These are four of many teachers here at WHS who have had a lasting impact on me during the previous four years. Don’t let them go unnoticed.
Find your crowd, find your people. You’re not alone, and you’ll always have someone to fall back on if you need them. You have your family who’ve been there since the beginning. You have your friends, who’ve developed a connection to you because of who you chose to be. They’ll support you in all your future endeavors, as you push yourself to be the best you can be. They’ll help you find your inner voice, and you’ll be able to stand up for what you believe in. This, however, falls on you. While you’ve got an audience cheering you on, you still have to perform that solo on your own. Nobody can do that for you. In the words of Malala Yousafzai, “Do not wait for someone else to come and speak to you. It’s you who can change the world.”
As we move into an uncertain future, we’ll face numerous trials that may stand in our way. That can’t stop us though, we’re the Class of 2020. We are the face of the future, and we will never only go halfway. We’ll do amazing things, and we’ll find our voices. This is us.
-
Evan Gruszka