Farmington High School
Graduation June 20 2008-REMARKS
Robert M.Villanova,Superintendent of Schools
Thank you and good evening.
Mrs. Reed and members of the Board of Education, Principal Breslin,
administrators and faculty members, parents and family members, and
distinguished guests:
I am honored to welcome you here this evening and , with you, to extend
our enthusiastic congratulations to the members of the Class of 2008 at
this 128th Farmington High School commencement.
Tonight is, first and foremost , a celebration of your accomplishments —as
described and celebrated by Dr. Breslin
and your successful achievement of the Farmington Public School’s
standards for high school graduation.
Tonight also provides us the opportunity to express our appreciation to
those who have made such a difference in YOUR lives throughout all of
these years in our school system.
We are genuinely grateful for the support and involvement of
YOUR parents and family members.
I know that all of you in this audience are feeling great pride for your sons
and daughters, your grandchildren, your brothers and sisters and your
friends who are graduating this evening.
Our faculty and administration are also very proud of you this evening and
hope that, along with your parents and family, we have helped shape and
stretch both your minds and your character.
In our surveys of Farmington High School graduates,
graduates consistently rate the special caring and connections that they
have experienced with the faculty as one of the most influential aspects of
their Farmington High School education.
I am deeply appreciative of our faculty’s high expectations for all students,
their sense of caring and efficacy
and their dedication to the core beliefs and mission that define our work
in this school system.
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(I know that Mr. Johnson, the faculty graduation speaker selected by the
class of 2008, will affirm this sentiment in his remarks to you in just a
moment.)
I also want to recognize the tireless efforts of the Farmington Board of
Education.
As stewards of this school system, the Board of Education sets the
direction that reflects this community’s exceptional support for the
education of it’s children.
I also acknowledge the school system’s strong partnership with the larger
community and express our sincere appreciation to our dedicated Town
and State officials, many of whom are with us this evening.
(Pause)
Let me also offer this message To our distinguished graduatesthe Farmington High School Class of 2008 …
This graduation is a transition ,
this commencement a beginning
and, as such, let me bid my farewell and best wishes to you on the next
leg of your personal journey into the future by asking you to reflect on two
themes that have had and continue to have a great influence on my life :
In one way or another, I have advised the last 14 FHS graduating classes to
embrace these themes—the power and promise of EFFORT and OPTIMISM.
First, the power of EFFORT, PERSISTANCE and A CAN-DO SPIRIT:
One of the guiding belief that provides a foundation for our work as
teachers in this district is the belief that effort creates new levels and
dimensions of your abilities which then builds confidence within you so
you can go on and reach new levels of achievement and accomplishment.
I was struck by Eric Santoro’s and Chris Lau’s comments on this theme in
last weeks FHS student newspaper, The Voice. Given all that these two
academic all stars have accomplished,
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both emphasized the importance of hard work and effort as THE key
ingredient in whatever successes they have achieved to date.
At YOUR Senior Convocation in September of this year, you will recall that
the keynote speaker Tyson Belanger from the FHS Class of 1994, a
graduate of Yale University, a Captain in the United States Marine Corp who
served three tours of duty in Iraq and is now studying for his doctorate in
International Relations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard
University……..
Tyson asked you to consider the power of what he called LIFE COURAGE.
Tyson talked to you about how life courage has guided his life.
He defined life courage as both the effort and strength that it takes to face
and adapt to change AND
the effort that it takes to find and then be guided by your own “true north”
so you will live a life that keeps you doing what is good for yourself and
what is good for others based on your own values and beliefs…..
Powerful messages from someone who sat in the same seat you are in just
14 years ago.
Tonight is a night to remember that no matter what you have accomplished
or failed to accomplish in high school -- effort, persistence, and hard work
will make a difference in your future.
The second theme is the power of an optimistic and hopeful mindset.
Optimism and hopefulness make you feel better yourselves and often
inspire others to feel better themselves.
This mindset is contagious and cuts through the pessimism and cynicism
that so often clouds the landscape and our mindscapes.
Recently I watched a video clip the struck me as the epitome of
hopefulness.
The video was titled, The Last Lecture.
Dr. Randy Pausch, a 40 year old professor at Carnegie Mellon University—
an energetic, brilliant man with a family and a life rich in opportunity and
promise………….. who was diagnosed with a serious form of cancer and
given only a short time to live.
If you have not seen it, go to Utube and watch it.
Regardless of his current condition Pausch closes his hopeful and
inspirational lecture with this statement :
“It is not about how you achieve your dreams.
It is really about how to lead your life.”
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Optimism and hopefulness…
Be optimistic and hopeful about your future and ours….
No day will ever dawn from this day forward that does not offer you the
opportunity to do your personal best.
I’ve repeated these new twists on these same themes at graduation for
many years because
in large measure the most fulfilled, happy and successful individuals I
know are
committed, hard working, passionate optimists who enjoy lives
characterized by hope, focused effort and personal integrity.
The promise of a bright future lies before you and although you may be a
bit apprehensive about your futures at the moment,
we are excited for you and confident in you, in fact, in many ways we are
depending upon you………..
Let me conclude by saying that in your personal fulfillment lies the hope
for your future and for ours.
And in that future, I truly hope that you will make a life that you believe is
measured in its worth not by the magnitude and status of your material
possessions, but rather by the strength and nature of your contributions to
the greater good
and the joy and caring you help create with friends, family and community.
–
Go forward from this graduation ceremony with optimism, confidence and
a passion for what is important to you and for what can make a positive
difference for others.
And when you wake up tomorrow morning
( or the day after that or the day after that)
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consider George Elliot’s advice and start to consider anew where you’ve
been and where you are going……………
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
Be safe and courageous tonight and all of your tomorrows. Congratulations
and Thank you.
(pause)
At this time, I do hereby certify and confirm that the members of the
Farmington High School Class of 2008 have met the graduation
requirements of the Farmington Board of Education and the State of
Connecticut, and it is therefore my distinct privilege as Superintendent of
Schools to officially present the Farmington High School, Class of 2008, to
Mrs. Reed, Chairwoman of the Board of Education, for the awarding of
diplomas.