Graduation Speaker Jamie Ryan Says Class of 2011 'Shall Overcome'

, the teacher-chosen speaker, gave the following speech at Friday's commencement ceremony. Posted below is the full speech in its entirety, verbatim:

Good evening. I'd like to welcome the family, friends, faculty, staff and administrators who have come to support and celebrate the graduating Portsmouth High School Class of 2011. When I started writing this speech, I wanted to write a speech that was profound, a speech that was stirring, a speech that could change the lives of everyone here today. Regrettably, this is not that speech.

To deliver a speech like that, I would need to draw on incredible life experiences or great obstacles I've had to overcome. In this department, however, I believe Portsmouth has failed me (by which I mean gave me a B+), because although a few of my classmates have faced such challenges, for most of us, the obstacles have been things like college applications and finding a summer job.

And, so, my speech is slightly less ambitious, a bit more limited. It's about how growing up in Portsmouth has prepared the Class of 2011 to take on the world.

Yes, I know. A has not just wrecked our island and caused nuclear power plants to melt down. Instead, our wind turbine spins peacefully and we see only what LOOKS like a nuclear plant over there in Somerset.

In my lifetime, there have been no violent protests in Portsmouth—although that last Tent Meeting was pretty rough. Let's face it. We've grown up in a peaceful environment, punctuated not by missiles or roadside bombs, but by Fourth of July fireworks at , and soon by the bazillions of other fireworks being sold all over the state—which apparently has zero moms in its legislature.

So, are we the "soft" generation? Raised to believe that we can work "smarter" not "harder"—and that we are all "special" and can always come home and live in our parents' basements? Did growing up in peaceful Portsmouth, RI, limit our ability to be better than Generation X, the Baby Boomers or even the Greatest Generation? No.

Like all generations before us, we face what appear to be insurmountable challenges. The world today presents the challenges of terrorism, climate change, virulent diseases, and even the end of the world, now predicted to be as early as Oct. 21. Don't worry Aunt Sue, I'll still get you a birthday present!

However, in the 1890s, it was also predicted that by 1930, horse manure would reach the level of New York City's third-story windows. And while many Red Sox fans think this came true, in actual fact, it did not. What the forecaster did not foresee was the replacement of the horse by the internal combustion engine. Human ingenuity overcame a seemingly insoluble problem.

If there is one thing I want you to remember about the Class of 2011, it is this. Faced with the possibility of being buried under all manner of "horse manure" our class shall overcome.

Why am I so confident? Because in Portsmouth, we are not raised to face disasters by just running out to buy bread, milk and eggs. We know that gathering the ingredients for French toast is not enough. Unless, of course, the disaster happens to be a hurricane or blizzard—then, by all means, carry on.

No, I am confident that we can overcome the challenges we'll face because first, we have been taught in Portsmouth that anything is possible. In Portsmouth, we can leave cash boxes unattended by roadside stands without fearing they will be stolen. We preserve the things that matter to us, such as small farms and old growth forest. doesn't just employ PHS students and donate a ton of money to local schools; they embrace what is truly Rhode Island even when it means prominently displaying a giant statue. All these things, the everyday miracles of life in Portsmouth, teach us that if we are generous, tolerant and have a real sense of community, anything is possible.

Second, I am confident, we shall overcome because we are growing up in the era of amazing technological advances. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube—the social network that launched Justin Bieber—also helped create the Arab Spring pro-democracy movements across the Middle East.

Locally, we've seen Portsmouth.Patch.com invite us to debate the important issues of the day. Well, maybe the was more Justin Bieber and less Arab Spring, but hey, the potential is there.

Finally, I am confident we shall overcome because, judging by how my classmates have fared in sports, academics and extracurriculars, ranging from musical composition to building a wolf, we have the talent, interest, ambition and capacity for hard work to become if not the "Greatest Generation," at least a "great generation."

I will end with a quotation because Oscar Wilde once said, "Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit."

This is something an actual member of the Greatest Generation, my grandmother, told my mom when my mother was a small child. I believe it will help you face the challenges that lie ahead. What my grandmother said was this:

If those other dummies can do it, so can you.

So Class of 2011, we are now fully prepared. Finally cross those bridges we've mainly just looked at and take the world by storm. Thank-you.