202 2 G R A DUAT IO N
Graduation Speeches At the 2022 Sycamore School commencement, three 8th Grade graduates were chosen to give a speech to parents, teachers, and friends in the audience. In addition, three students were chosen to give speeches during the 8th Grade Honor Convocation held the day before graduation. Here are excerpts from each of those speeches.
GRADUATION SPEECH
SHIVANI DESAI Congratulations to all of us here today: We made it! Through all of the science labs, the research modules in language arts, the art of note taking in history, and the daily grind in math, we successfully navigated the Sycamore path. It is bittersweet. Part of me does not want this to end while another part is excited to start new. I can’t contain the excitement; I want to roll my car windows down and sing the lyrics of a Taylor Swift song with pure joy. “But I keep cruising. Can’t stop, won’t stop moving. It’s like I got this music in my mind, saying it’s gonna be alright.” Certainly, none of us want to shake off Sycamore. But her lyrics echo each of our paths as we have overcome so many challenges and learned to keep moving forward. Importantly, during this process, we had the unending support from our parents, family, coaches, friends, and our teachers. This whole Sycamore community grounded our aspirations, reminded us to soar, and helped us to translate our talents into a long list of accolades.
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2. When we were in awe at using a 3D printer with Mr. Lowell 3. Coaches Fink and French, for staying calm with us while we behaved like a circus show in PE 4. The anxiety-provoking court cases of 8th Grade history with Mr. Young 5. The discussions dissecting the depths of literature with Mrs. Simpson and Mrs. Corcoran. 6. Trying to rush through math tests to be able to get to those challenging bonus problems provided by Mr. Keith and Mrs. Miltenberger 7. Rehearsing and feeling the nerves for band concerts directed by Ms. Johnson and Mr. Buchholz 8. Profe’s limitless perseverance to help teach all of us that triptongos are illegal in Spanish Adding more fuel to this fire, beyond the school commitment, teachers showed their deep dedication even after school for our further enrichment with activities such as: 1. Highly competitive math team and Mathcounts hosted by Mr. Tsometimes three times a week! And that’s not counting the thousands of contest and challenge problems he made for us over the past few years
First, and foremost, I want to recognize the incredible teachers and one of our major pillars at Sycamore. Reflecting on the past, I am in awe at what we have learned, accomplished, developed, and experienced through their efforts. They have passed on their knowledge and wisdom to each student. A few notables include:
2. Mrs. Simpson’s victorious debate team and her dedication as highlighted by hosting debate tournaments on Saturdays
1. The cadaver dissection with Mr. Schuth and Dr. Wendel in the seventh grade where many of us felt faint
4. Ms. Mihm and Mrs. Cummings’s Spelling Bee initiatives and their national recognition
3. Mr. Keith’s blood and sweat to help Sycamore students rank nationally in VEX.
