Valedictorian's address from Rachel Knuth

Read the class of 2009 valedictorian's address from Rachel Knuth, exclusively on RB for DV.

This is a copy of her speech that was handed out to the press on Saturday. Because graduation was a day later and the speakers were allowed to fine tune their speeches, there may be some differences between what appears here and what was read on Saturday.

Welcome, everyone, to the class of 2009 graduation ceremony. Seniors: we made it. The day we thought would never arrive as freshman is fmally here. We've fmished the last assignments, turned in the last books, taken the last of our exams, and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before the ceremonial burning of our notebooks begins. But this day is more than the close of our thirteen years of school, it's more than the culmination of all of our efforts over the past thirteen years-it's the end of the first stage of our lives.

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We're at a pivotal point, and whatever our next step may be, we will succeed. Success, at its core, means only to follow through. It is not one isolated event-it's continuous. Success can be small: the first time you get a perfect score on a test, the first time you earned a lead part in the play, or even the first time you learn to playa new song on your guitar. It can be as big as becoming a business executive, discovering the cure for cancer, or raising a family. There is no failure, as long as you have worked to the best of your ability and completed the task at hand.

I had hoped for a long time that I would have this success, to reach this point, to stand before you today. And now that this moment is fmally here, it's a little surreal. I know that I could not have accomplished it if it were not for the support of my family, friends, and teachers, but especially not without the unfailing support of my parents. They never gave me any impression that I couldn't do anything I wanted to do, or be whomever I wanted to be. I would like to convey that same message to you. Famous British philosopher and writer Mary Wollstonecraft once said that "the beginning is always today," and I encourage all of you to embrace that message. Strive for today, because you can only achieve success by taking your life one day at a time.

Congratulations class of 2009, you earned it.