Good Morning Fellow Graduates, teachers, and most especially, our friends and family members who helped us get to this day and to this point in our lives. I know I have been especially blessed with wonderful friends and a big, supportive family who have cheered me on, listened to me vent about group projects, congratulated me on good grades and told me over and over how much they believed in me. I am sure I am not the exception- so thank you- Friends,moms and dads, brothers & sisters, spouses, and children for standing beside us with support and allowing us to lean on you as we’ve taken this journey.
It is an honor to stand here and speak to you today, an honor I honestly considered turning down, because it meant standing here and doing this! But then I pictured my parents who taught me from my earliest moments that education is freedom and power and I wanted to show them what I had done with their words. I pictured my 5 children; Carly, Rachel, Jacob, Samantha & Mason, and my little grandaughter Addilyn and I wanted to show them that even if it takes you longer than you expect, even if it’s hard, even if it scares you sometimes, you can reach your goals- and you can do it well; one step at a time. I pictured my husband, Mark, who is my rose colored glasses when I am overwhelmed, who has been my lens of clarity, when it felt like too much, and this day felt impossible. I pictured the pride in his smile and I knew that i could and that I should.
Graduation speeches are often centered around the idea that this is a very defined point of ending and an uncharted new beginning with the rest of our lives before us. Many of you feel that thrill of excitement as you prepare to jump into your unknown, your “real life” that is out there waiting for you. As one of UVU’s “nontraditional” students, I stand here in my cap and gown at 43, not 23. I am not standing on a precipice that is the jumping off point of the rest of my life. I’m 20 years in- I’ve already jumped! I’m just finding a new way to swim in the water I’ve already stirred up!
We are a diverse group in many stages of life and while much in our lives is different we have found common ground and forged friendships as we have worked and learned together towards this day!
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the moon. While a momentous occasion, this historic day was not the beginning of the space program nor was it the end-
Yet, it was definitely a day to remember, a life-changing day for the world. It was a culminating event following several years of intense study and training. Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, said “ Nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the moon away from me.”
46 years later, my 2nd graders watch in awe, clips of the astronauts bounding across the surface of the moon & dropping a hammer and a feather to the moon’s surface to test gravity. It still inspires us to believe in big ideas and instills the idea that “if they can... maybe I can too..”
One of the most iconic images to me, from that day, is the flag the astronauts planted on the moon. When I asked my 2nd grade students to write about why the astronauts planted a flag on the moon. Cameron decided it was “to show respect”. Jayde wrote “so it can show freedom”, Addyson felt it was “to show the moon is a special place” & Adeline wrote, “I think they put the flag on the moon to show they were there.”
As I read their answers, I felt a connection to what we are doing here today. Our education began at the edge of our earliest memories and as teachers, will continue long after today. Like the astronauts, we have had an intense period of study and training to reach this life-changing event. Today is our day and As we take our traditional walk, We are planting our own flag that says;
“I was here, I did this- and no one can take it away from me.”
As our lives ripple out from this moment- Today’s flag will stand and as we look ahead, there will be others flags to plant. Our first day of school as a teacher. The first time you get through 2 nights of parent teacher conferences. The first time you get through a day as teacher and feel like you nailed it- The day you figure out how to reach a struggling student and you see the light turn on for them. Those are FLAG PLANTING DAYS! Moments to celebrate and to look back on during hard days that feel endless and discouraging- Moments that may inspire others to set their own goals and instill the idea that “if they can... maybe I can too”
As teachers, I believe we need to keep a supply of flags at the ready- A pocket full of them. We need to show our students that we believe in them, that we know they can reach the goals that they set for themselves. You passed off your multiplication facts! Plant a flag!!! You can tell me all the important parts of a story! Plant a flag! You learned how to read! Plant a Flag!
You figured out decimals, fractions, algebra! Here is your flag. Plant it-
Whatever success their hard work has brought them needs to be celebrated! As teachers, we can make an impact in the lives of our students as we help them recognize the accomplishments that no one can take away from them. Each goal achieved in a nurturing environment can further the message; “if they can- I know I can too!”
Congratulations Graduates. Enjoy the day- because now that we are teachers- there is SO much to do!
