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Editorials - 05/30/02SMHS grads heard good advice Monday |
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Smoky Mountain High's third class of the new century received good advice from their commencement speakers Monday night, though we suspect the graduates themselves may have been too nervous and excited to listen, much less remember it.
All three speakers - students Holly Henderson and Cari Heckert and retiring agriculture teacher Bill Fouts - made excellent points that are well worth repeating. Salutatorian Heckert reminded her classmates just how fortunate they are to have been born in the United States where a free high school education is available to all. Though it's something most of us take for granted, less than half the world's population enjoys that privilege, Heckert said as she urged this year's graduates to count their blessings and make the most of their opportunities. Valedictorian Henderson told her fellow seniors that too many of us "wish our lives away" by looking ahead to what we perceive as a better time and failing to take advantage of the challenges at hand. Little children dream of being eighth-graders, eighth-graders long for high school, freshman anxiously await their 16th birthday and automotive freedom, juniors long to be seniors and seniors mark time until graduation, she said. Henderson reminded her classmates to make the most of every day and not get so caught up in looking ahead to their destination that they forget to enjoy the journey. Fouts, a 27-year SMHS teacher and the seniors' choice to speak, made four key points in his address to this year's graduates. "Never stop learning," he told them. While his generation has probably seen more change and technological advances than any previous one, Fouts said, the innovations he's seen so far will pale next to the changes this year's seniors will face. "Persevere," Fouts told the graduates, reminding them that there is no substitute for hard work if a goal is to be reached. "Give something back and make a contribution to your community" was his third piece of advice to the Class of 2002. Many people, including teachers, Little League coaches, Scout leaders and Sunday school teachers, have helped the graduates along the way, and they owe a debt they can repay only through giving of themselves and their time. Last but not least, Fouts told this year's seniors to go into the world with their heads held high. "Be proud of who you are and where you come from," he told them. "Jackson County is the best place on earth to live and work," Fouts said. "Don't ever be ashamed to tell the people you meet where you're from." We salute this year's graduates, and we know they'll go far - especially if they heed the advice they were offered on Monday.
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