Liberty Charter High School Commencement Address by Maryam Atty

On Saturday, June 15, 2003, Liberty Charter High School graduated its second class of seniors. Maryam Atty, the 2013 Liberty Scholar, our equivalent to a valedictorian, gave the following address.

A 10 year old boy once summed up the life of a famous philosopher by saying, "Socrates was a man who walked around giving people advice, and they poisoned him." Needless to say, I will not be giving much advice today. As soon to be graduates of Liberty Charter, we have already seen what it means to dream, work, and achieve. We know that character and how we treat each other makes all the difference, and that the only place where "success" comes before "work" is in the dictionary even if we have to sing our ABC's out loud to get there.

Instead, I want to ask, "What makes us different from any other class?" Across four years, three campuses, two graduating classes, and now one final gathering, we have remained a family. It didn't matter how long we'd been here or who we knew; we all found a place. What's more, we knew that people were investing in us. From parents, to teachers, to peers, we all have someone in mind when we think of who has supported us up to this point.

For me, it has been my Mom. Through the mountains and valleys of these past four years, she has been the steady rock that I have leaned on time and time again, always reminding me that beautiful things will come despite difficult circumstances. So, thank you Mom for sacrificing so much in order to invest in me.

When it comes down to it, we are who we are because of who has invested in us. A look around this room is the best proof of that. These people are here today because they believe in us.

I hope you won't mind if I do impart one piece of advice that I found to be profound. And if you do mind, I would appreciate if if the rest of you could please hide the poison.

"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value," Albert Einstein.

An although the majority of you will probably have the dictionary.com app up in a matter of seconds, I looked up the word "value" for you. To be "valued" is to be considered with respect to worth, excellence, usefulness, or importance. I think that sums us up pretty well. As a family, we have cared for each other, and as students, we have known that excellence is something worth striving for in everything that we do.

Class of 2013, you are of value. As this year's Liberty Scholar, and furthermore, you fellow classmate and friend, I want to remind you that we have everything we need to succeed after today. We are an investment to those who love us, and now it's our turn to impact the world around us. We made it this far, guys! Let's not stop now. Thank you.

Maryam Atty will be attending UCSD in the fall of 2013.