More Graduation Speeches from San Marin High Commencement

Evan McFadden's speech at San Marin High graduation had a number of people wiping away tears. Here's the text of his speech.

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Welcome Family, Friends, Administration, and School board members to San Marin High School’s 2011 Graduation.

Who would have thought, one year ago that I would be standing up here talking to you. See, I wasn’t the average high school student. When the majority of students were stressing out about not having straight A’s ... well, that was the least of my worries. I was content passing with a C.

Most of us thought this day would never come. We spent the past four years waking up just before sunrise to sit in an old uncomfortable desk for 6 hours a day. Some of us went right back to sleep, some paid attention and took notes, and others like myself walked in just before class was dismissed. We have sat back and watched three other classes live out their senior year, and at the time we could only talk about how much we couldn’t wait and all the awesome things we were going to do. I’m sure a handful of you can agree with me when I say these past four years have been the best of my life thus far. The things we have been looking forward to are coming and going so fast that it’s quite scary to be honest. These days of high school are long, but unfortunately the years are short.

The beginning of my senior year was not what I had always imagined. On the second day of school I was told that I probably was not going to be here tonight. To be able walk across this stage with the people I have grown up with. I started my senior year 80 units deficient. To understand that a little better, I was a year and two classes behind the rest of our seniors.

For me that was terrifying, but motivating at the same time. I then realized that it was all on me, it always has been. It was time to decide what I truly wanted for my future. I was then enrolled in a new program that Dr. Vieth instituted, called the PLUS program, a program for credit deficient students to get back on track in order to graduate. After months of working relentlessly to earn our credits back, 20 of us proudly stand up here after turning our negative into a plus.

I want to thank all my family, friends, and teachers who have supported me through my four years at San Marin, I couldn’t have done it without you guys. I want to thank Mike Sousa for being such a positive part of my life, and being there to step on my toes when he thought I was growing up too fast.

But most of all, I’d like to thank my mother. She has been that one person who believed in me when no one else did. She has fully supported me through everything I have wanted to do. My mom was not dealt the best hand, but even then she never gave up. She has always done whatever it takes to make sure her children are safe and happy, and for me that is the greatest thing anybody can possibly do. She played her cards and weathered the storms. My mother gave me the freedom and the choices to make my own decisions as long as I was happy. From this I have grown and experienced more than I could ever imagine. These struggles define me, and if I could go back …  I wouldn’t change a single thing.

I believe that everything happens for a reason. There is a reason why all of us are here tonight. The PLUS students started this year not getting along with one another. It was a room full of angry teenagers, upset because we didn’t belong with the rest of our class. Now we stand with you as a family. One unit bonded together. We realized we really aren’t so different after all. We got the opportunity to experience something that we all will remember for the rest of our lives.

All of us are chasing the same dreams that we always imagined while daydreaming in class.  Anybody who knows any of us has seen the dramatic change that we have all gone through over the past eight months. From barely showing up to class, to arriving before Mr. Whitburn at times. Some not caring about anything but what we were going to do after school, to planning our futures and taking the necessary steps to make sure we succeed in everything we do. For some this is just one step in life, graduating high school and moving onto college. But when twenty-one seniors are told that they aren’t going to graduate unless they straighten up their acts, that small step becomes a huge milestone in our lives.

All of us wouldn’t be wearing these ridiculous outfits if it weren’t for the support given by our teachers. For those of us in the PLUS Mr. Whitburn and Mrs. Doolin have been the inspiration and leading drive for each and every one of us. These great people have some how taken the Motley Crue and changed us into the Brady Bunch.

When I think back on high school, I’m not going to remember the drama or watching the second hand ticking until the bell rings. I’m going to remember the struggles I overcame and all the great people I met along the way. One man in particular looked me in my eyes and said “graduation for you is impossible.” Something broke inside of me and from that moment on I knew I was going to do whatever it takes to be standing up here tonight. Another person told me that it was definitely possible; Mr. Whitburn believed that all of us could do anything we set our mind to.

He also told me it’s always best to go out with a quote, if nothing comes to mind, use someone else’s who already said it best. So I picked Muhammad Ali, who said “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact….. It’s an opinion….. Impossible is not a declaration…. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential…. Impossible is temporary…. Class of 2011… WE MADE IT! Impossible is nothing.”

Craig Pitti

Good evening everyone, my name is Craig Pitti.  I had the honor and privilege of teaching almost half of the seniors this year in the subjects of economics and government.  I thought when I first got into teaching government would be a great subject to teach.  We could do actual simulations of what our Congress does on a daily basis.  Needless to say I will be working on changing my curriculum this summer for fear of being fired or going to jail.  Who knew 15 years ago all the things you would be able to do with your cell phone?

I must commend the Class of 2011 on their choice of speaker.  They chose someone who is charming, intelligent, a real man of the people who despite a receding hairline is still a heartthrob to women all over. Unfortunately, Prince William had to decline being here, guess he was too busy with the wedding this year, so the kids were stuck with me cause I definitely fit the receding hairline category. 

Today before us, 220 adults (yes, that is what we technically have to call them now, right?) take their final steps through a defined chapter in their lives.  And unlike the Miami Heat, who celebrated that ability to start a challenge, you guys actually accomplished something.  Tonight, you have completed a 12-year course of study to prepare you for your entry into adulthood.  Translation: the fun is over!

While you make your first steps into adulthood, another graduate here tonight takes his first steps to retirement.  I would like to congratulate our principal Dr. Bob Vieth as tonight he concludes 37 years of dedication to the education of our youth.   Our thanks and best wishes to from the entire San Marin community.  

I am truly honored that the class of 2011 has selected me to represent them tonight.  After hearing of the news and preparing this speech, I had to ask the question “Why Me?”  At first I thought, it must be my incredible singing voice, they want me to sing.  But then I remembered, “No they already know I’m tone deaf so it can’t be that.”  I thought, “Maybe it is my good looks?”, NOOOOO! Finally it hit.  I wanted to share three pieces of advice with you as you head off to college and beyond.  In my class, every lecture point has a story.  So…

My first advice to you comes from something I learned when I was 8 years old, although it seems I still haven’t learned this one thoroughly enough yet.  I know you will all be shocked, but I wasn’t very smart back then. We were on vacation in Hawaii, my mom, dad and sister.  We were running late to dinner one night and were walking through a nice hotel that had a cool pond in the middle of it with all sorts of exotic fish.  I walked over to see the fish.  My mom knowing we were late and foreseeing her foolish son doing something stupid yelled at me “Craig, let’s go. Get away from the pond before you fall in, we have to get to dinner.”

I also was a little stubborn back then, another shocking revelation huh?  Needless to say, I ignored my mom and leaned over a bit too far to see the fish, and plunge into the water I went.  Even though I was only 8, I can always remember the sight and sounds of some 100 people hysterically laughing including my family, at the swamp creature that came out of the pond covered with duck droppings, moss and pond scum.

The lesson is one I’m sure you are aware of but needs to be reinforced as you head off into the world.  If you attempt to do stupid things, beware the consequences. The fact is, for the past couple years I’m sure all of you have been clamoring for the freedom to make your own decisions.  Well that time has arrived, and let me be the first to tell you that privilege is overrated. Be wise, contemplate and research your choices thoroughly, because once you’re an adult you have nobody to blame for poor decisions but yourself.  Your choices will always have consequences for more people than just you, so choose wisely.

My second advice comes from something I learned when I was just a little older then you guys.  I used to work at park and rec here in town, and each month we would host the middle school dances.  Before the dances, we would go to sell dance tickets at lunchtime over at Sinaloa.  Every time I showed up the kids would always try to get a free ticket from us, which we were not allowed to do.  However just once I relented intentionally.  This one kid, we’ll call him Mark cause I know of another Mark who I heard was a pain in school back in the day, anyway Mark asked for a free ticket, I said “OK, you can pay me tonight at the dance”.  All his friends laughed saying I used, that he would never pay me, even he bragged that he got a free ticket to everyone.  When the bell I said “See you tonight, don’t forget your $5.” He laughed in front of his friends and said, “Yeah OK?”  Needless to say the dance started and Mark didn’t show up.

With 10 minutes left, a kid I had never met came across the floor and asked me “Are you Pitti?”  I said “Yes”.  He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a $5 saying “Mark told me to give this to you, he said he was sorry he couldn’t make it but said thanks.”

You could dissect many different angles from this story, but to me there has always been one true fact from it. Don’t pretend to be something you’re not.  Don’t hide and not reveal who you really are.  You have to be happy with who you are and what you do. Eight years I made what I thought was a difficult choice when I finally decided to become a teacher.  I can honestly say that not once have I ever woken up yet and not wanted to go to school.  I knew what I wanted to do, but pretended that wasn’t me and grew increasingly unhappy with my career.  I hope all of you truly pursue what makes you happy and thrive in your field. 

Finally, it took me 34 years to learn my last point.  Throughout my life, I have always been a realist.  To me that just means that I weigh the potential results or outcomes of things, and predetermine the most realistic result. Some say that is being pessimistic or seeing the glass as half empty. To me, I just like to be prepared and know what I am getting into. No surprise that I have to close with one sports analogy, I only used about a 100 or so this year in class but this isn’t advice about sports it’s about life.

On Wednesday, March 2, after two days of preparation our basketball team took on the number 1 ranked team in the state of California for our division Bishop O’Dowd.  The realist in me after doing hours of research, film study and game planning told me we couldn’t win.  While I never said this to my team, privately I knew it could be ugly and hoped we could at least put up a fight that our community would be proud of. Again, this is what realists do.

After falling down 26-12 early, I figured I was right.  Then something started to happen, something many of you witnessed.  Months of hard work and preparation began to payoff.  Shot after shot, rebound after rebound, slowly we came all the way back.  Almost 1 hour after falling behind by 14, one of the biggest upsets in our county’s history was had.  It was a moment and feeling I will never forget, but in reflection something greater came to me.

In life, being a realist will get you to a particular, predetermined point.  You set a goal and work to get there, but make no mistake you may not reach the top of the mountain.  A dreamer doesn’t even know where the top of the mountain might be, so they keep climbing, a realist will determine where their best chance of getting to is.  Now, is your time to dream, I won’t lie to you dreams can only be attained through hard work and sacrifice, but you never know you may just reach the peak.  I’m proud my team kept dreaming, cause they left my realism back on that mountain where I never realized how much better the view was up top.  So please, go for it, every single one of you, now is your time to begin your climb. 

Finally, Class of 2011: Thank you from all of us. You brought back a spirit and enthusiasm to the entire San Marin community not seen is sometime.  You leave us with one of the most memorable years in school history.  I have loved my time with all of you and on behalf of the entire San Marin community we wish you the very best in your future journeys.  I can see only one fitting way to end your time here but I need someone to help me with that.  Ryan Federoff was a four-year student at San Marin and a seven-year teacher. She, like you guys ,will be heading off onto a new challenge, but her heart will always remain with San Marin.

If I could have everyone join in with me for one final time.  Put your hands in the air every one of you and let me hear it as loud as can be…MUSTANGS ON THREE, 1, 2, 3 …MUSTANGS!!!!!