Cwgordon7's blog

As I graduated second in my class at CGPS, I got to give a speech at graduation. Below is the transcript of the speech (video coming soon, hopefully!).

Friends, teachers, family members, and classmates, thank you for being here today. Congratulations to my fellow classmates on our graduation.

I'd like to take a moment to thank the people who helped me make it here today. Thank you to my friends and classmates, for supporting me over the years, and helping me when I struggled with homework. Thank you to my teachers, all of whom were truly amazing and dedicated. Thank you to Ms. Markovits, for being a great dean to our class, and in particular, for allowing me to miss a week of school in 10th grade to go to a technology conference – my life may have gone down an entirely different path if it were not for that. Thank you to my mom, my dad, and my sister, for supporting me in everything I did – without you, none of it would have been possible. Thank you to Columbia as a whole, for being my school for the past 13 years.

What really stands out about my experience at Columbia was the vibrant sense of community. It's certainly not easy to create an open, friendly, and supportive environment, but Columbia has done a fantastic job.

It's all the little things that make the difference. The classmate who waves and smiles to me on the stairwell. The teacher who takes the time to talk to students individually after class. The shared laughter at a joke that isn't really even all that funny. For the years I've been here, Columbia has felt like a second home to me.

William Butler Yates once said, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” This has certainly been my experience at Columbia. From the physics problem that makes me think, to the spirited debate in government, my teachers and classmates have kindled my intellectual curiousity. What were only the faintest embers a few years ago have burst into a hundred fires, and the desire for knowledge will burn on within each of us.

The Ancient Greeks conceived of us as walking backwards into the future, looking back on the past while moving into the unknown. I don't know what the future has in store for us, but I do know that having memories of Columbia to reflect upon will guide us well as we venture into the future.

One of my teachers once asked me why I wanted to go to college. I've thought a lot about this question since then – why on earth do I want to do homework for another 4 years? - and here's what I've come up with.

First of all, the figurative fires within us need to be stoked – in fact, we have a responsibility to stoke them. Our desire to learn about how the world works burns within each of us. No matter what field we intend to pursue in college, we're all trying to learn more about the world around us. Scientists may observe the forces of nature, but those studying the humanities observe the human experience, which is just as important in our quest for understanding. I urge my classmates to take courses in college for the right reasons – because you have an interest in the course material, because the professor is amazing, or because you feel that the class can teach you something important.

My grandfather often says that all of his friends from college now hold professions that didn't even exist back then. Since we are walking backwards, we have no way of knowing whether an occupation we prepare for will even be around in a few years. Why, then, should we go to college? My answer is that, even though we don't know what the future holds for us, continuing our education will keep our minds flexible enough to handle whatever the future throws our way. With that in mind, study what you love, and keep your fire burning.

So to my classmates: good luck! To our teachers: farewell! To our friends and families: thank you!