Graduation is a ceremony steeped in tradition. From the opening notes of the processional, “Pomp and Circumstance” by Sir Edward Elgar, to the closing notes of the recessional, “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” commencement exercises evoke a sense of both stability and anxious anticipation.
For the parents of the graduates, commencement can be a bittersweet moment as their children go forth to meet the challenges presented by the larger world outside the walls of Montevideo Senior High School, be it in the workplace or the realm of higher education.
For the graduates, commencement marks the end of one phase of their lives and the beginning of another. They, too, may feel mixed emotions about leaving the security of home and family and friends as they embark on their journey into the future.
The graduates in the Class of 2010 have been well prepared during the past 13 years to meet the challenges they will face beyond the halls of Montevideo Senior High School and the Minnesota River Valley Alternative Learning Center. They have been the recipients of a good education, taught by teachers who genuinely care about their students, and have been supported by the community in innumerable ways.
The Class of 2010 is a talented group of young men and women who have excelled academically, athletically and artistically. The community has been blessed to have these young adults during their formative years, and we trust the students have been blessed in return.
The world these graduates are venturing forth into is a different one from that their parents faced when they graduated. The pace of change continues to accelerate, and the world continues to grow ever smaller.
There will be challenges to be met that their parents and grandparents cannot imagine.
We are confident that the members of the Class of 2010 will meet these challenges, and that they will continue to make their families, teachers, administrators, school board members, and their community proud of them.
The world awaits, Class of 2010.
Congratulations and best wishes.
