Valedictorian Address
Jessica Cary

Des Moines Christian School
May 26, 2007

Here we are: the class of 2007!  In a few minutes, we are going to walk across the stage and get our diplomas, and then we will officially be graduates!  I know you all are as anxious as I am to graduate, so I will try to keep this short.

I want to say thank you to all of our parents and teachers who helped us to get to this point.  Teachers, I know that it has been hard, especially this last semester, getting us to focus since most of us were just dying to be done with school, and I want to say thank you for being there for us right up until the end.  It probably wasn’t easy.  Parents, thank you so much for the opportunity you have given us by sending us to Des Moines Christian.  It’s a big sacrifice, and most of us probably aren’t very good at expressing our appreciation to you, but we are truly grateful for everything you have done for us.

Class of 2007- Congratulations!  We’ve made it!  We’re finally here!  We have proven wrong everyone who at one point or another said that they never thought they’d see the day!  There probably were a few of those people back in our younger days; I’m sure you’ll agree with me that our class has always been a class with a reputation.  (And by a reputation I mean a not-so-great one.)  Whether it was from throwing food in the lunch room or having misunderstandings with a teacher, we always seemed to be getting in trouble.  I remember quite a few instances when Mr. Steddom asked our class to stay after chapel and discuss some behavior that was considered inappropriate.  And even though we have grown out of a lot of those things, our class’s reputation remains.  I can remember several times when we felt like we were being treated unfairly because “no one likes our class.”  I’m sure that this was not usually the case, but our class’s reputation has kind of hung over our heads ever since junior high. 

Now each one of you has a rare chance set before you.  When you walk across this stage and receive your diploma, you will be officially finished with high school.  You will have the chance to wipe your slate clean and begin to build your own new reputation.  Next fall when we all go our separate ways, it is no longer going to matter what any person at this school thinks about you.  What people think of you will be based completely on your own words and actions.  It is up to you whether people will see you as a loving, God-fearing Christian, or simply as a nice, friendly person, or maybe even as a complete jerk.  The reputation that you make for yourself will stick with you for the rest of your life, so make sure that it is one that you want to keep around.  Make sure that the person you are becoming is the person that you want to be.  It is my prayer that each one of you will build a reputation as a man or woman who seeks after God’s will. 

When you walk out of this building today, you will have a choice to make.  If you choose poorly, you may end up with a reputation that you do not wish to have.  If you choose wisely and choose to honor God with your lifestyle, there will be no end to the blessings He has in store for you.  It’s your choice, and no one at this school or anywhere else can make the choice for you.

Class of 2007, today is the beginning of a new stage in your lives.  You have the chance now to choose what kind of person you want to become.  Today is your fresh start, your new beginning.  What you do with it is up to you.