First off, congratulations to the Class of 2015.
We are graduating today and I feel very proud to be part of The Given High team.
We are undeniably from a less privileged area than many others. In fact Social Economic studies tell us that we are in the bottom 20%.
I know there are some challenges in our school funding and we have to make do without some materials.
I know we all face some issues in our neighborhood with safety.
However, I know more than anything we are proud to be from Givens and are very proud to be graduating from our High School.
There are lessons for everyone in how Givens has brought us up, treated us, educated us and given us respect for ourselves, and each other. Thank you to the excellent teachers and caring staff.
For example, I expected to attend math class, perhaps not everyday, and just put my time in till I could leave.
Was I wrong!
There I ran into the most polite little lady, Mrs Carr. I thought she would be soft and not keep discipline.
Was I wrong!
If ever there is a teacher who showed leadership, grit, determination, all done in a polite way, it is Mrs Carr.
She has pulled every imaginable trick to get us at first interested in Math, then good at it and now excellent graduates. Why would she care -- well she just does.
She proved we had a gift at Math, showed we could pass the tests and when we were going off track she came to our homes and brought us right back on track. All on a teachers pay - staggering!
Everyone in the class has a similar story that shows how a gifted teacher can bring out the best in them in their best area of study. We believe in the teaching team.
From the teachers we have learned :-
There is good in all of us
Believe you can do most anything
Persist and you will break through the mental barriers that you yourself erect. Those barriers stop you learning
Once you achieve, build on that success time and again. Success is an adrenaline fueled ride to the top!
If you had to ask me what I would aspire to when I left High School before Mrs Carr I would have said I don’t think I will amount to much.
Now many graduates have the belief, skills, persistence, and desire to go for further education. Education has been our salvation and will set us up for the future.
I will be learning to be a Math professor, that is my dream!
Also big thanks to our Principal and the fearless fund raising team.
Thank you to all the teaching staff.
Thank you to everyone here for your support on our journey together.
We will always be a child of our neighborhood. So, as we go through our own journey in life I hope we keep in touch. I really hope we find ways of giving to our community in the same determined and fearless way as the teachers have given to us.
For the future I would say get out there, keep learning and believe you can achieve.
Your journey has just begun.
Best of Luck