ALMA
There are two lies told around graduation says Northumberland Regional High School Principal Matt O’Toole. One is that everyone graduates nowadays and the other is that you can’t do anything with a high school diploma.
“I hate hearing these things,” O’Toole said. “In reality, you can do everything with a high school diploma and, no, we don’t just give them away.”
“Every one of you has earned the right to be here today,” he told the students. “For some of you it was easy. Others found it a struggle, but you all earned it and it’s a very important accomplishment. What you have in your hand is a ticket to do whatever you want to do. The first step in creating your own lives. It’ll open the door for you to enter the workforce, go to college or university, join the military or whatever it is you want to do next.”
He encouraged the students to take some time to celebrate their accomplishments and offered some advice. He told them to always be respectful of others even if you don’t agree with them and not to be afraid in a world that has bombarded them with messages of fear and terrorism.
“I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world and I’ve met many different kinds of people,” he said. “I can tell you with absolute certainty that there is more good out there than bad.”
Tyler Lewis was the NRHS valedictorian this year and remarked how fast the four years have gone.
“You know, they say when you leave high school you drift apart and I know this may sound cliché, but I truly believe that this group will not drift apart,” he said. “We are all great friends and we all get along. I can honestly say (and maybe I'm just being biased), but I believe from the four great years at NRHS we are one of the tightest and most easygoing groups that NRHS has ever seen.”
Before students arrive in high school they often have a stereotypical view of what it will be like – with visions of jocks and bullies and a division of popular vs. unpopular. But that wasn’t the high school experience of students at NRHS, he said.
“I am very proud to say I have never experienced or witnessed any form of bullying in this grad class. No one in this grad class thinks they are better than anyone else. This is evident in the way that everyone is included in all activities and also because the people with the most are the best at including everyone in all these activities.”
He encouraged his classmates to think back to Grade 9 and the fear they felt on their first days.
“Well now look at you, Grade 12, just minutes before you become the graduate you have always wanted to be. It's scary, I know, but if you managed to grow from that Grade 9 to who you are now, there is no one on earth that can stop you from achieving your life’s goals.”