Burlington High's Valedictorian Kishan Ughreja's Commencement Speech

Burlington High School celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2011 with a wonderful commencement ceremony last Sunday, June 5. As is traditional, the students at the top of the class addressed their classmates on their time together, what they accomplished in high school and their plans and hopes for the future. This year BHS had two valedictorians, Kishan Ughreja and Jay Capua, Jr.

Burlington Patch is pleased to present the valedictorians' speeches. You can find Ughreja's speech below and Capua's speech by clicking . You can also find a story on the two top students .

Kishan Ughreja's speech:

Hello, good afternoon everybody. First and foremost, I would like to thank School Committee Chairman Mr. Nelson, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Conti, Principal Mr. Larkin, Associate Principals Mr. Sheehan and Mr. Sullivan, Support Services Coordinator Mr. Attubato, faculty, families, and friends. Welcome and thank you all for coming to this momentous occasion on this fine summer afternoon.

So Class of 2011, how you all doing today? Today is a very exciting day for all of us as graduation symbolizes the end of an era. We are closing one chapter of our lives and moving on to the next. But before we move on with our lives and go to all those grad parties, a few of us have to give speeches. But to be honest, I was not entirely sure what a valedictorian speech should be comprised of, so I did what our generation does best – turn to the internet for help (I’m sure Mr. Larkin would be proud of my use of technology). After I stumbled through several forums, it was pretty clear that I would end up delivering some clichéd speech that thousands of students would be giving nationwide at graduations, so please, bear with me here. But as a special bonus you all have the privilege of listening to two valedictorian speeches today, which is a first for BHS, courtesy of Jay Capua. Mr. Whitten did suggest that Jay do an interpretive dance of my speech, but I don’t think that that is going to happen. Sorry to disappoint.

Okay so first comes the bit about high school memories; I’m sure we all have plenty, for those of us who have not completely forgotten about BHS yet. Some of the memories that come to my mind: gorging myself at Holiday Traditions; jumpstarting Jay’s car after midyear exams; getting annoyed by underclassmen who don’t use that second door when exiting the math hall – I mean, come on, there are two doors for a reason; surviving through the dreaded college applications; and my personal favorite, discovering that Mr. Wood’s ringtone was Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance. Man, we had so many good times. Oh, and that mosh pit at lunch on the last day of school. That was pretty intense too.

So looking back on these past four years, there have been a lot of good times as well as bad, but I for one, am not going to complain, because if I did, I’d be up here for a very long time. I’m just kidding, and besides I’m pretty sure there are a bunch of you who have zoned out already. But seriously, I am grateful for the education we all received at BHS, and I believe that the rest of you should take a moment to appreciate it too. Sure, every school has its weaknesses, but thanks to the hard work of our administration and faculty, Burlington High School has done its job and prepared us for our future. And for the majority of us, that future entails further education. Aren’t you guys so pumped we’re all going back to school in three months? I know our parents are since they have the great honor of paying for college.

So as all of us wait for the next chapter of our lives to unfold, I shall take a moment to share some words of wisdom (or something of that nature). It is hard to comprehend that soon we all will be taking our first step on our own into the real world, away from home. Whether you pursue a college education, enlist in the armed forces, or enter the workforce, you are now leaving the security of your home and school and entering a whole new territory. Every single one of us has to be responsible and careful, and make the right decisions that will get us one step closer to our life goals in the global environment that we live in. BHS has already provided us a foundation, so now it is up to us to take control of our lives and destinies to pursue our own passions, whatever they may be.

But before we bid our final farewell to BHS and start rushing into the real world, let’s not forget to thank everyone who has helped us arrive at this point: our parents, teachers, and friends. They have been a key to your success in the past and will be in the future. I know that I would not be standing up here on this stage without their encouragement and support, especially my dad. I also want to thank Mr. Wood, Mr. McNeill, Mr. Whitten, Ms. Netishen, Mr. Lally, and all my teachers for having awesome classes and helping me during my time here at BHS. In addition, I would like to thank the administration for providing us with such a great environment for our education and growth. And last but not least, I want to thank the guidance department for all of their – well, guidance really. I don’t think I would be able to handle another college application process, so I don’t know how they all do it for so many students every year. So thank you so much!

Well it looks like I have reached the time limit for my speech. So Class of 2011, I urge you all to look forward to the future and be prepared to make the most out of it. As U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch once said, “There is a good reason they call these ceremonies ‘commencement exercises.’ Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning.”  So congratulations Class of 2011 and good luck! And congratulations and thanks to everyone in the audience for sitting through yet another speech on this hot day. Thank you!