Good afternoon. First, I would like to give a big congratulations to all of my fellow graduates. High school is never easy, and this past year especially we all faced a lot of challenges. But we did it and are now standing here today, about to become graduates of Valley Regional High School (VRHS). Our senior year is definitely one for the history books.

There are definitely some thanks in order today. I would like to thank the administration and Board of Education for their commitment to VRHS students. Thank you to the teachers of VRHS. I would especially like to thank my IB teachers. This program was the best experience of my academic career so far, and it would not have been nearly as amazing without you. On that same note, I would like to thank the Class of 2021 for being resilient during these crazy times. We should all thank our families today for their support of both us and our education. Thank you mom, for always making me do homework in the summer. I was not thanking you at the time, but I am surely thanking you now. Thank you to both of my parents for always giving me a push when I needed it and ensuring that I am the best version of myself. To my Aunt Debby, thank you for always believing in me, even when I did not always believe in myself.

Today I am going to talk to you about fear, which may sound a bit out of place on graduation day. As you know, the first IB cohort is graduating today. When I first signed up for the IB program, I did a little web search on some IB social media pages. What I found terrified me to my core. “IB is like riding a bike—but the bike is on fire, the ground is on fire, and everything is on fire because it’s hell” proclaimed every page I visited. At that point, my primal instinct screamed at me to run far away from the hellish nightmare the Internet claimed that this program was. I debated if I even wanted to do the program at all, even though it seemed perfect for my learning style. In the end, I entered the program and overcame my fear. Standing here today, I am so glad I did. IB allowed me to become a better student, learner, global citizen, and person. I truly cannot imagine what my life would be like if I had never overcome my fear and taken a leap into the unknown.

We cannot allow fear to hold us back. In college, our careers, and other aspects of our lives, we will be afraid at times. We will debate following our dreams because we are scared. Fear is normal. However, we have to overcome our fear. We must push forward and succeed. I have learned that the things which scare us are the things that we should probably be pursuing. You never want to wonder “what if?” or have regrets because fear limited you.

Class of 2021, we have great opportunities ahead. Whether we are going on to college, the military, or pursuing another post graduate plan, we are facing the unknown. But we can do this. We can, and we will, triumph in the face of fear. Nothing can hold us back from achieving our goals.

Thank you.