Student Body Speech by Grant Eastman

Good morning, everyone. On behalf of the class of 2006, Id like to welcome and thank you all for coming here as we celebrate and take another step towards adulthood. When I sat down to write this speech, I started to get a little nervous. This is a massive crowd I am in front of. I knew I had spoken in public before, but I never had to prepare for something of this significance. And as I started to get anxious, I stopped to wonder, Just what is it about our class that would make well over 1,000 people watch us graduate? Im sure there are any number of high school graduations that you could have attended around this country today, but why ours? What makes us worth celebrating? Of course, I know most of you may be related to or have some type of a relationship with us, that is obvious. But I figured, for this showing of support, there must be some other reason. The answer hit me during one of my many tries at procrastinating writing this speech, as I passed through my kitchen for a glass of water. Hanging on my refrigerator door is a picture of my classmates at a basketball game this past season. There were about 20 of us crowded around the Kennett eagle in front of the bleachers. Each person was decked out in black and white from head to toe with various amounts of the same color face paint. Everyone made sure to have Kennett in broad letters plastered across their chest as we hollered riveting chants at the camera. We were enthralled by the event, pumping our fists and showing the Number One sign. Student council had encouraged students, faculty and the community to fill up the gymnasium to see our varsity boys and girls compete in back-to-back games. The band played and the bleachers filled to capacity. The crowd made noise, but none of their spirit could compare to those seniors packed between the first few rows and the sidelines. We stood three deep and shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the bleachers. We lived and died with each play. We made so much noise the other teams head coach couldnt be heard by his own players. We led the crowd with our chants and we cheered on our players. On those sidelines that night, we brought the same exhilaration to the floor that rivals the enthusiasm of an NCAA Championship Game 7. This picture and that night capture the essence of my classmates. As I stared at my refrigerator, why you all decided to come here became obvious. We arent all all-star athletes and we arent all bound for greatness. However, united we all have the ability to make an ordinary game into the game of a lifetime. In all my classmates I can see the same enthusiasm that I saw in that picture. All of these seniors have just a little bit of spunk. This zest is the quality I admire most about my classmates. It is what I challenge them to bring from Kennett into all of their endeavors. Their passion is what makes me proud to be sharing today with them and I think it is something worth celebrating. Id like to welcome you all to Kennett High School on this fine Saturday morning. And to the Class of 2006: good luck and remember to always show your colors. Thank you.