Medina Valley High School Commencement
Hello everyone and congratulations to all you graduates out there and to your families and friends as well. It's a day of celebration for everyone.
I want to thank Superintendent Stansberry for asking me to be a part of this great milestone in your lives. I believe he did so with the knowledge… it's a good thing you're sitting down for this… that I'm a graduate of McCollum High School.
Don't worry. I'm not going to say "Go Cowboys" or anything like that… especially after the 25-to-nothing drubbing you gave us last year. Yeah… you just wait.
I really am thankful that your quarterback is among the graduates tonight. Troy Stein… where are you sitting? There you are. Congratulations, Troy, for leading the Panthers to a perfect district record… and for being named Athlete of the Year by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
By the way, with a name like Troy, shouldn't you have played for the Cowboys? It could still happen. McCollum isn't the only team in Texas with that particular name.
Now, Troy isn't the only Panther athlete to earn some glory for his school this year. Curtis Reed, where are you sitting? There you are. Congratulations to the Class 4A state golf champ. Let's hear it for Curtis....
Alright! Thank you. That was a lot better than those little golf claps he's used to.
And how about that Panthers Marching Band! UIL sweepstakes winners four years in a row. That means you band members graduating this evening have been at the top of your game for your entire academic career. You have known nothing but success. Stand up, you also deserve a hand.
My, you are coordinated.
Its seems that Panthers are finding success everywhere you look. The ROTC unit is one of the best, you're "business kids" are heading to national competition… and each and every one of you… through your hard work and sacrifice… helped make Medina Valley a recognized school. So, to use a term you might hear in the lunchroom or the hallway, I'd say this place is stacked!
Hey, you can be a senator and still be cool.
All of you should be proud today. Your accomplishment is great… though it really just marks the beginning of a new chapter in your lives.
And let's be honest. You didn't get here all by yourselves. You've succeeded because of the love and support of your parents and the guidance and commitment of your teachers. So stand up, graduates, and give them a big hand.
Now, this is where some commencement speakers tell you to spread your wings and fly, that the world is all yours. In "Scarface" Al Pacino said, "All I want is what's coming to me — the world." Well, it's not yours… at least not yet.. but it is waiting for you.
So I would suggest that you look at your graduation this way. You are not graduating from something… you are graduating to something. There should be many milestones in life. This is just the first, but it is a big one.
As we celebrate your academic success today, I think it's appropriate to reflect on how you got here and what comes next. This is, after all, just one milestone in what should be a life of accomplishment. Each and every one of you has what it takes to do something special with your life.
You should already know this by now… but it bears repeating: Anything is possible. I'll say it again. Anything is possible now… because you've shown what you can do.
All of you had to overcome obstacles… some great, some small… to get where you are now. It may have been the part-time job you had to take to help your family… or just walking to class each day.
Maybe it was a broken family you needed to tend or the loss of a close relative or friend. A few of you may have lived with your grandparents, or an uncle and aunt.
Perhaps it was trigonometry that almost did you in!
I say anything is possible because I know something about obstacles, too, and getting over them.
My twin brother, Larry, and I were the youngest of eight children. Believe me, there were some challenges. If you have a brother or a sister, or maybe several… imagine living with seven!
(Tell them the story about traveling downtown on the bus when you were a kid.)
Later, when I attended McCollum, I walked to school every day… down Commercial Avenue and up Formosa Street in South San Antonio. I live in the same house today, and no matter how old I get, I still think of myself as a neighborhood kid.
And I will always remember the route I walked to McCollum… because literally and figuratively… it became my path to success.
Next for me came the Marines. I may not look like one now… and that old uniform tends to pinch a bit… but being a Marine is one of the proudest things I've done. It almost ranks with being a father and grandfather… and it was almost as hard!
Going straight into the military worked for me, and no doubt a few of you will do that as well. Some will go directly into the workforce, while many others, I hope, will continue your education. Some of you will be the first in your family to go to college, so you'll be blazing a trail for others.
To get where you are today… many of you learned the same lesson I did: Don't let obstacles stand in your way. The solutions you find to overcome them make you a better person. Down the road, you will draw on those experiences, and they will help make you stronger.
Think about the obstacles your parents overcame to get where they are… and how that has made your road a little smoother. And their parents, too, had obstacles to overcome. Now, it's your turn, to smooth the road for those who will follow you.
So what's next for you? There are many paths to success and many ways to gage success.
Tonight, let's celebrate. You should… you deserve it.
Tomorrow, dream big… dream as if you have no limitations, no ties, no fear.
But remember this. Don't ever forget. Too many people dream but never wake up and turn those dreams into reality.
So for a moment close your eyes. No peeking.
Visualize yourself flying around the world to places you've only read about.
Visualize yourself meeting people from countries you have always wanted to visit.
Visualize yourself starting your own successful business.
Visualize yourself graduating from college, med school or law school.
Visualize yourself as governor, congressman or senator.
Visualize yourself healthy, happy and loved.
Now, I want you to open your eyes and go make these visions your reality.
In closing, I again congratulate each and every one of you and your families.
Remember this. The world is yours; go out and take it. Thank you and God bless you.