Looking to the future means taking one's past and current actions into consideration, said Raymond Daly, the Marshall High School senior class president, during the school's graduation ceremony on June 22, at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall.
"All of us are starting with relatively clean slates as we graduate and heading off to college or into the work force. I urge you to make the most of your new independence," Daly said.
For those going to college, taking opportunities may mean "opening a book and going to class when you really want to skip," he said. "Don't let your brain be idle. Brain matter is the most precious commodity we have, we should use it and cherish it."
When he was leaving eighth grade to start high school at Marshall, Daly said he remembered writing "carpe diem," (seize the day) on all the blackboards he could find. "I encourage you to make the most of your future," he said.
Actions the students take now can heavily influence their futures, said guest speaker Gov. Mark Warner (D).
"One thing I have learned is that no matter when you say something or how old you are when you say it, things can come back to haunt you," he said.
Warner had been at Marshall High School in the fall to announce the start of an initiative to create a national high school program and pledged then to return to address the seniors on their graduation.
"The ideas you gave me about high school are part of that national initiative," he said.
The world is changing at "Internet speed," Warner said, creating new, unforeseen challenges for the graduating class. He spoke of a trip to New Delhi, India, where a nonprofit group had set up a desk with a computer in an impoverished neighborhood and watched as children, who had never been to school, gathered to teach themselves how to use it.
"I've always been proud of our country and our abilities as a nation, but I knew that these children were our competition," he said. "We are in a race for your future, which makes this an exciting time to be graduating from high school. The experience you've lived through will better prepare you for the world."
Warner gave the students two pieces of advice.
"Don't be afraid to fail," he said. "We all learn from our failures. I had two failed business attempts before I helped to create Nextel. My successes have been achieved thanks to good luck, hard work and support from my family and friends."
His second bit of advice stemmed from that support, he said.
"Call your mother," Warner said, receiving applause from the parents in the hall. "Call your mother, call your father, call your friends, your brothers and your sisters and thank them. Billions of people in the world will never have the opportunity to graduate from high school or go to college, and we're very proud of you, but you didn't do it alone."
SELECTED BY Marshall students to speak at their commencement, social studies teacher J. Timothy Kane told the graduates to see their positions in Constitution Hall as a metaphor for their current place in life.
"You're looking forward, ready to get out of here, ready to start your own lives," he said. "We sit on stage looking at you and around you, proud of what you've become and ready for your future. Take a minute to wave to your family and friends, remember to always take a minute to look back and wave as you go forth. We have devoted a great deal of time and effort to you and we want to see how you turn out."
Kane reminded the students of the weight of their decisions. "Too often we make decisions based on what's around, not what we really want," Kane said. "It might not hurt to compromise on the little things, but never compromise on the big things in life."
Kane recited a poem reminding students to love the work they eventually do for a living. "You make the thing because you love the thing, and you love the thing because someone cared enough about it to make you love it too," he said.