Dear Seniors of Great Neck South,
Congrats on your success and completion of high school. These past four years have been a journey of a lifetime. When I think of the theme we chose, “Oh, the places you’ll go,” what comes to mind is…exciting, overwhelming, challenging, new and limitless.
As a little kid, Dr. Seuss books were my absolute favorite; my mom read them to me all the time. Dr. Seuss books never failed to make me laugh, and think.
The thought of new places, however, always frightened me. Change was intimidating and many times held me back. I remember the fear of leaving Parkville that had become a home to me. Then Saddle Rock, then Lakeville. And middle school, well, was a crazy change for me. Such a big school, changing classes, more tests, new people…oh the places I was going were frightening it seemed. And then high school, well, high school meant change again…more new teachers, independence, so much work, so many tests and tests that really mattered. Oh, the places you’ll go… I didn’t think I wanted to!
Now, as I look back, I wonder what I was afraid of. This school, and the people in it, became my family, my home away from home… this is my place. I fit in, I feel confident here, but what is more important is that I feel confident in the places I will go when I leave here. I have learned to believe in myself and all of my classmates. We are ready for our future beyond the walls of Great Neck South High School. We have a lot still to learn, but we have the tools to get us there…and Oh…Oh, the places we will go!
Read the complete graduation speeches from the Great Neck North Class of 2016: Adir Vegon, Graelin Mandel, Isabelle Sehati and from Great Neck South: Annabelle Golden, Annie Yang, Emily Bae, Haley Roach, Lance Kim and Michael Shen.
Learn about the 2016 valedictorians and salutatorians here.
Find out about other 2016 award winners here and here.
See who the 2016 Great Neck North graduates are here.
Find out who graduated from Great Neck South here.
For a list of The Village School graduates, click here.
