Class of 2020: McLane High School
McLane High School 2020 Graduation Speeches
Speaker: Jennifer Leyva
Good evening faculty, alumni, family, friends, and, of course … Class of 2020. I am Jennifer Leyva and it is an honor to be here as your Valedictorian speaker. First, I would like to start off by congratulating all of our graduates… We did it!
It is crazy to think how fast these 4 years of high school went by. These days passed by in a zoom. People always warned us saying “high school will pass by in a blink of an eye, so enjoy it and make the best of it.” I never believed them, but now I see that they were absolutely right.
These 4 years have been amazing, and I am glad to have shared them alongside all of you. While our class may have had a bit of a struggle at the end of these years due to the virus, I would like to point out how proud I am of how everyone handled the situation. We showed how strong our class is by never giving up and finishing strong. We managed to get all our work done and finish all the credits we still needed.
Yes, this virus may have negatively affected our senior year, but we shouldn’t focus on that. Instead we should focus on all the positive things we did before it, such as all those nights we sat together under the stadium lights as we cheered on our football team, or all the rallies and events we attended. We should even focus on the little things like sitting in the quad at lunch and playing uno with our friends. Those are the times we should hold on to.
Not only should we focus on the times before the virus, we should focus on the future as well. The future that everyone around us has helped us prepare for in order for us to become successful. No matter if you’re going to college, the workforce, or the military, or wherever life takes you, you can always use the things you learned in high school. These things were all taught to you by the following people: our parents or guardians (thanks mom & dad!), teachers, coaches, counselors, custodial staff, lunch attendants, safety assistants, principals, vice principals, and office staff. These are the people we should say thank you to. We will forever be grateful to you for keeping us going in the right path, even if sometimes we didn’t always listen.
Wow! Look at how grown up we have become! We used to be tiny little freshmen and now we are about to go make a difference in the world. In our graduating class could be our future doctors, lawyers, maybe even our future McLane or Fresno Unified staff. I am excited to see what new things we will move on to.
I am proud to say, we are now officially McLane High School’s Class of 2020 Alumni! Thank you.
Principal’s note
Congratulations to the graduating class of 2020! It has been an honor to be able to take part on this journey with you. I know the entire McLane High School staff, your families, and the community which you represent is proud of you. We look to you, our graduating seniors, to be the future leaders of our community. I encourage all of our graduating seniors to take time to reflect on the journey. Remember the laughs, smiles, and friendships you have formed over the years. But also remember the failures, struggles, and challenges you have faced along the journey to reach this milestone. We are all proud of the effort you have put forth over the past four years in high school to make graduation a reality. Graduation is a time to celebrate all of the people in your life who have supported you over the years including teachers, counselors, coaches, parents, friends, and family. Please take time to give them your thanks for the support and belief in you. We are all proud of you, continue to always work hard, do your best and be a person of high character. We are all counting on you to represent McLane proudly, remember, once a Highlander always a Highlander.
Brian Wulf
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 12:00 AM.