High School Valedictorian Graduation Speech
By Jeremy Brinkerhoff
First, pursue the rewards of higher education. Herman Spertus, founder of the Institute of Jewish Studies, wrote ?Of all the virtues we bestow upon ourselves and others, one of the greatest is education. The educated person has learned to be empathetic to the origins, needs, and feelings of others. Education fosters tolerance and the capacity for love---the love for one?s family, and for the greater human family that includes us all.? I am going to plea with all of you, further your education. The academic excellence which has been so unjustly downplayed must be pursued to foster basic tolerance and love.
Second, don?t chase pots of gold rather take strolls in the park. How shallow it must be to run after money and jewels and what a disappointment it must be when one finds the superficial value of these. Take interest in non-materialistic rewards of life. It is proven that people who are married and have children live significenty longer than those who have neglected to do so.
Third, find something that you love and stick with it. For me, this is the wilderness. I am utterly infatuated with the smell of leaves in the fall, the shades of green in the summer and the feel of a warm spring shower. I have camped on the shores of the Pacific ocean, hiked to the tallest peaks in both Montana and Utah, and have discovered and documented Native American pictographs in the Wellsville Mountains. For everyone this love is different, but it's what keeps us sane and functioning. To close, there is nothing more beautiful than the future and it's ability to be molded.
Today we hold it in our hands; too proud to let others forge our fate, too reasonable to forget the good times we've had together, and too hopeful to hesitate. For we are the future of America and no one can steal our regard and affection for the right of life that we so richly deserve. we have worked too haard to let the adversity and misfortune of this world disappoint or deter us. As Jack Feldman distorted to the yuouth in the motion picture, Newsies, "Open the gates and seize the day. Don't be afraid and don't delay. Nothing can break us. No one can make us give our rights away. Arise and seize the day." So to you, the graduating class of 2003, I say, good luck in your pursuits of happiness."
--- Jeremy Brinkerhoff
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