Every weekday morning at South Lakes High School, senior Phil Kipperman announces the "word of the day" over the school's loudspeaker system. Addressing his fellow graduates of the class of 2004, Kipperman read one last word to his classmates.
"The word of the day is commencement," he said, to thunderous applause from the sea of blue-gowned graduates before him and from the family-filled bleachers in the school's gymnasium.
Kipperman, along with 362 of his fellow graduating students in the class of 2004, strutted across the stage Tuesday afternoon to receive their diplomas at the high school's graduation ceremony.
"This isn't the end," Kipperman said. "It's just the beginning — the beginning of the rest of our lives."
As his classmates shot silly string into the air and inflatable beach balls bounced through the crowd, Kipperman urged his classmates to find and hold onto something about which they are passionate.
"Each and every one of you can do whatever you want," he said. "The key is making it happen. Find out what you're good at and do it."
THE SCHOOL'S first principal, George Felton gave the keynote address at Tuesday's ceremony. After invoking the names of George Washington, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and George W. Bush — all leaders who faced crucial decisions in times of war — Felton told the graduates they would also one day be faced with making decisions upon which life and death hang in the balance.
"Critical decisions like theirs will be awaiting you," he said.
Felton also told the graduates they need to become and remain engaged in the political process to achieve peace and social justice for the nation and the world.
"Peace will come with courageous decisions and firm commitment," he said. "If it is peace you desire, then you must become involved in the election of our national leaders."
Though he did not reference the war in Iraq specifically, Felton alluded to the ongoing violence throughout his speech, calling the graduates the "caretakers of the 21st Century."
"It will take immeasurable commitment on your part to rebuild the trust in our leaders and in our government," he said.
THE CLASS OF 2004 has a reputation for having a good sense of humor and for not taking things terribly seriously, said David Dalton, the graduating class' sub-school principal.
"I've never had a class where so much humor is so self-evident," he said.
In his parting speech to the students he has overseen for the last four years, Dalton encouraged the graduates to have goals in life, but still take risks and experience different things in the world.
"You have the gift of time," he said. "You can try things. You can make mistakes. You can back up and try again."
Because South Lakes High School is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Dalton read the names of the school's original faculty, including Felton.
"Time is fleeting," he told the graduates. "Twenty-five years from now, someone like me will be speaking to someone like you at this school's 50th anniversary.
Natasha Parnian, president of the class of 2004, said she and her fellow students will remember their time at South Lakes for the rest of their lives.
"High school has been a journey," she said. "As we walk across the stage today, we complete that journey."
As the graduates begin to look more toward the future, Parnian said, it is also crucial to consider the past as well.
"We're here. We all did something right," she said. "It is of the utmost importance that we reflect back on our time here at South Lakes."