Good evening everyone. Before I connnence my speech, I would like to thank some people. Thank you to the teachers, counselors, administrators, and all other faculty members who have greatly helped us through these past four years and through this awful pandemic that has affected us all. Thank you to the parents, siblings, family members, and friends that have motivated us and have helped us make it through this year. I know I definitely would have missed a lot more online classes without them. I would also like to congratulate the Class of 2021 who are graduating today, and I connnemorate all of your hard work and dedication to earn your education and further yourselves.

This year has been much tougher than we expected. With a virus endangering the lives of millions, virtual meetings that could never compare to real classroom time, and constantly changing schedules to protect students from getting sick, all of us have struggled time and time again. I myself struggled greatly with the motivation to do my best in school during this time. However we have pushed through our obstacles and tribulations and have guided ourselves to success. We have climbed our own mountains and now we all can place our flags of accomplishment down and move on towards higher peaks.

Throughout our journey, we have learned numerous lessons and developed a multitude of skills to create successful careers and move forward in life. But the most important lesson we have learned throughout our time here is to be patient and to persevere. To quote author Max Lucado, "I can is 100 times more important than IQ". It does not matter what perfect score you got on your tests, or what special honors class you took. You will not guide yourself down a path of success solely because of those things. How you will succeed in life is your ability to break the boundaries of human thinking and your persistence to follow your goals and dreams for years to come. At this time, we all need a lot of change. We do not need another genius to just tell us what we are doing wrong, we need you to have the dedication to take charge and make the change not only for yourself, but for our communities. We need your tenacity to lead yourselves into a bright and promising future.

Very few of you will remember this speech or what was said tonight. But I want all of you to take at least one thing out of this moment. No matter what you choose to pursue in life, put your best foot forward and try to be the best at what you do. We have only touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to forming our careers and futures, so striving to be the best will carry you towards your goals and dreams. I would have never got to where I am today without that ideology. So I want all of you to always be thinking, "How can I push myself to the next success in my life, and how can I use my perseverance, determination, and ambition to lead myself on a triumphant journey that will last the rest of my life?"

Thank you very much for your time and good luck on your careers.

Tyler is currently employed as an electrical apprentice at Full Scale Electric out of Stonington. He is an avid guitar and piano player and this fall will be attending the University of New Haven and majoring in Mechanical Engineering.