Commencement Speeches - Tina Morena

Tina Morena - Valedictorian Speech 

GOOD EVENING.

I would first like to welcome all fellow graduates, faculty, spouses, parents, and guests to the Long Island Business Institute’s commencement ceremony for the class of 2010. WOW! I could NOT WAIT to hear those words – and by the looks on all of my fellow graduate’s faces, I am certainly not alone!



Let’s take a moment to think back to the people and the times that shaped us these last few years. Every teacher deserves an acclaimed “Thank You” for helping us reach our goal of graduation. Without their incessant support and guidance, we would not be sitting here today. The love and support of our families and spouses have been so greatly appreciated. I wish to extend my gratitude and gratefulness to all of you present today. The very people who have made a difference are right here – right now. The greatest gift any of us could have received is having the people who influenced all of our lives, here, to witness this tremendous milestone. With your undying support, you have been our advocates in this arduous journey.



I am extremely proud and deeply honored to be given the opportunity to address all of you during this momentous celebration. Each and every one of you deserves the greatest congratulations. We have all paid a price to be here; effort, frustration, sweat, tears, and now – triumph-- into our time at Long Island Business Institute. We should all be incredibly proud of ourselves and each other.



Many of life’s failures derive from those who did not realize how close they were to success when they made the distressing decision to simply give up. YES, you might lose faith along the way, and YES, you might lose your enthusiasm – but you just have to keep on trying.


Tonight, we celebrate our successes after all of our hardships, struggles, and perseverance. We reminisce the challenges that stood before us and we savior the victories that came upon our hands. It was not so long ago when we dared to dream and not so long ago when we dared to take the first essential steps toward its fulfillment.



Along the way, we have met a plethora of trials, but our burning desires to reach our goals have kept us from straying or giving up. Along the way were many uncertainties, but we all found the right path to take because persistence, passion, and patience are the secrets to success. For those of us graduating, this day marks the culmination of a period of courage, commitment, and proficiency. It is important that we share a moment to reflect and appreciate the enormity of our fine accomplishment.



Fellow graduates, we need to be thankful for each other. The friendships that we have made here will continue to last. We have helped each other to SURVIVE these past years and in other ways, we have helped each other to SUCCEED these past years. I wish all of you continued success and happiness in the future and the satisfaction of knowing that whatever you do, you will do it well. We have every reason to look forward into the future with hope and excitement. Fear NOTHING and fear NO ONE. And always remember that each of you are unique, your soul to own.



No more will we hear the dreaded questions, “When are you going to finish school? How much school do you have left?” But instead we will now hear, “Are you working? Did you find a job yet?”

These are questions we have all heard time and time again. At times, we thought we would never be sitting here today. But we WILL succeed because there IS NO OTHER OPTION. The choices we have made and the choices we will advance forward will ultimately define us.

I know that a bright tomorrow awaits us. Let us get there by making the most of what we have today. NEVER be afraid to try and NEVER be afraid to dream.

There is a good reason why a graduation is called a commencement ceremony. It is because graduation is not the

end – it’s only the beginning.


Right now we are like birds just learning to fly. We may fall once, and we may fall twice, but we will not ALWAYS fall. We WILL learn to fly and once we do, the skies are limitless.



Thank you and Congratulations to all of you.