WMHS Class of 2011 Graduation Speech | Alyssa Chankhour: Presentation of Class Banner

[The following is the text of the speech given by Class of 2011 Secretary Alyssa Chankhour for the Presentation of the Class Banner at Wakefield Memorial High School's Class of 2011 Graduation ceremony held on June 4, 2011.]

Presentation of the Class Banner
It is now my distinct honor to present the class banner, designed and created by Nate Marshall. If you look over to the right, you will see banners from the past eleven classes. Each banner represents one year, leading up to our senior year, that we have been in school, each banner a step along our journey. In September of 1998, we attended our first day of kindergarten. We walked up the steps of the Dolbeare, Walton, Greenwood, and Franklin schools, holding our parents’ hands, ready to embark on a new chapter in our lives. All too soon, in June of 2007, we sat in the sweltering heat of the Galvin Middle School auditorium during our moving on ceremony. We walked across that stage knowing that we were no longer children and that high school was the next stop for the Class of 2011. Today, we all are here together to celebrate the end of our thirteen-year journey. Today, we add our banner to the collection, and it too will serve as a step in the journey of many classes to come. Long after we graduate, our banner will remain at Wakefield High school as a representation of our four years together, and its words and art will serve as a source of inspiration for future classes.

Our banner features our class quotation by actor James Dean: “Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.” This quotation was selected by the Class of 2011 as a symbol of how we want to live our lives after we leave the halls of Wakefield High School and as a guiding principle for those who will continue to walk Wakefield High’s halls.  While searching for inspiration for my speech, I revisited my old elementary school yearbook.  I believe that there is no better place to look for inspiration than in the hopes of children. As children, we all had such imaginative and creative dreams and hopes. As I explored the pages of my Franklin School Yearbook, I read what my classmates wanted to do “when they grew up.” From professional athletes to astronauts and firefighters, the range of dreams and aspirations made me stop and think. All too often, when we grow up, our dreams become less and less imaginative. Rarely today do we say that our goal in life is to be the starting pitcher for the Red Sox or to land on the moon. Somewhere over these past thirteen years, we scaled back our sense of creativity and imagination. Perhaps we see the odds stacked against us and perceive obstacles that we may have to face in order to achieve our goals. Today, as we celebrate the first day of the rest of our lives, I challenge all of you who sit before me to remember those dreams that we had as children and to try to live your life as you imagined all those years ago.

Orrin Hatch once said, “There is a good reason they call these ceremonies commencement exercises. Graduation is not the end. It is the beginning.” So, Class of 2011, use this new beginning to dream as if you’ll live forever, and live as if you’ll die today. Congratulations, and may all your dreams come true.