Mayo graduates told to ‘make the rest of your life count’
Nearly one hundred students graduated from Mayo High School for Math, Science and Technology during a ceremony June 1 at the Southeastern Institute for Manufacturing and Technology. So many friends and family packed the ballroom that by the time the began, it was standing room only.
Graduate Emily Cooper gave a speech, wishing her classmates success in whatever is ahead for them.
“High school is over,” Cooper said. “Let that sink in for a moment. This is something we have dreamed about for many years and it is finally here. In spite of all of our anxieties I will always remember Mayo. I want to thank the best principal in the world, Ms. Wallace, for teaching us that hard work pays off. I also want to thank our teachers who have encouraged and taught us for the past four year. I would finally like to thank our parents and grandparents for putting up with us for 12 long years.”
Cooper said that regardless of how the last four years had played out, the future was a new chance to make a difference.
“High school is over but your life isn’t,” Cooper said. “As a result, I have good news and bad news for you. The bad news is all of your achievements, accolades, accomplishments and milestones you have received in high school mean nothing if you do not effectively utilize your next four to eight years. The good new, however, is that any failure, disappoint or underachievement you may have encountered in high school mean nothing if you redeem yourself in these upcoming years. My parents have always told me that college, or whatever your next step is, is where it counts.”
As Cooper closed, she left the graduates with three tips on how to be successful:
- Trust God. Trust God and everything else will follow. You can’t control everything but you can put all of your trust and faith in the God who knows it all.
- Realize that you are competing with yourself. Sometimes worrying about other people and their success can distract you from your own. If you are competing with yourself and concerned about successfully completely the path that God has created for you, you will constantly evolve and become a better you.
- Be humble. You don’t have to brag about your achievements because at the end of the day, your successes are about making this world a better place to live in for everyone.
“Winston Churchill once stated, ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts,” Cooper said. “Walk out of here into your future; be courageous and make the rest of your life count.”
Principal Arlene Wallace said that the Class of 2017 had a 100 percent graduation rate, earned $11.6 million in scholarships and finished their high school career with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
Check out our gallery of photos from Mayo’s graduation here: https://newsandpress.smugmug.com/Mayo-High-School-Graduation-2017/