By Steve Trenfield

Valedictory address delivered June 1, 2009 at Sams Stadium, Brownsville, Texas for the 2009 graduating class of Lopez High School

I’d like to start off by saying thank you to some of the people who have helped me get where I am today. To Ms. Ascott and Mr. Simons, for loving their jobs more than any teachers I’ve ever seen. I don’t know if Mr. Paris is here, but I don’t think this speech would be complete without saying, Mr. Paris, you are wise beyond your years.

To all of my friends. They say you can judge a man by the company he keeps. If that were completely true, then someone might mistake me for the Dalai Lama. To my older brother, for beating me up when I was little so that I learned to work harder, and for still beating me up whenever I deserve it. And, of course, to my parents. I could spend the rest of my life trying to thank you for everything you’ve done for me, and I wouldn’t even get halfway there.

I think it goes without saying that today is a momentous occasion. After so many years of school, it’s finally over. Sometimes it flew by, and, more often than not, it seemed like it would never end. For me, this day always seemed like it was years away. Even during the last weeks of school, it never occurred to me how close this day was. For some of you it probably seemed even longer. I have had it relatively easy. Some of you have probably overcome obstacles far more difficult than I could imagine. Some of you might be the first in your family to graduate, and you have nothing but my utmost respect.

So, all in all, what is this ceremony for? A cynical man might say that it is to honor all of the students who met a bunch of minimum state requirements, but it’s so much more than that. Today marks the end of a chapter in our lives, which is something that no ceremony or diploma could ever truly represent. Most of the things we’ve learned in classes will be forgotten. The articles of the Constitution you memorized, the quadratic formula and Pythagorean theorem, how to explicate a poem – unless it’s a part of your career, it will make way for more relevant information later on.

What we take from all these years of school are the experiences that make us stronger. We learned how to work hard. We learned how to make friends, and we learned to set goals. Most importantly, we learned how to become effective learners. For the rest of our lives, we will20need this skill. As we move into college or the work world, learning will never cease to be an important part of our lives.

So as this part of our lives comes to an end, we are bound to feel nostalgic for the days behind us. We all had some great times in school, but don’t look back too longingly. We’ve all heard people say that high school is the best four years of your life, but we should never, ever, think that. Looking back over the last four years, I felt that each year was better than the previous one. I don’t see any reason why that has to stop now. Let us not mourn the end of this era, but celebrate the beginning of the next. The best years of our lives are, and will always be, in front of us. To the class of 09, may every year be the best of your life.