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May 15, 2020 13 mins

Hear from five graduating seniors during the Doritos Valedictorian episode, as these students inspire a generation of seniors to rise to the next level during this trying time.

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Commencement Speeches for the Class of twenty is a production
of I Heart Radio, Class of Parents, Faculty, Rising Graduates,
Welcome to Commencement. You made it Our first Rito's Valedictorians

(00:23):
on this special Derrito's episode of Commencement is Caleb White.
Caleb is one of the five graduating seniors to be
selected by Derritos to win fifty thou dollars in tuition assistance.
He's a graduate of Detroit Catholic Central High School in Michigan,
where he was on the school's wrestling team and started
a nonprofit to help the homeless called the Caleb White Project.
Ladies and gentlemen, Caleb White, yea, dear COVID nineteen. You've

(00:59):
caused us pain in heartache, but you will never cause
us to break. Look, we have nothing in common with you.
For God's sake, we've come together as givers as you've
continued to take. First it was sports, and then prom
then graduation. We watched from our homes as you swept

(01:20):
through the nation. COVID nineteen. You may temporarily confine us,
but let us be clear, you will never define us.
You did, however, graciously remind us that disappointment and grief
have the power to align us. We are stronger than
ever this class that you've stolen from. In fact, watch

(01:41):
out world, because here we come. We will never abandon chip.
We will still win championships because that thing on our shoulder, Yeah,
that's a chip. The dances and the sports that you've
taken away will mean so little when we're leading the world. Someday.
We will use your servitude to enhance our gratitude. We

(02:04):
will use your ability to be effective to remind us
to keep life in perspective. COVID nineteen. People are starving
because of you, and we're stepping up to feed them.
Thank you for giving us a quarantine that will remind
us to appreciate our freedom. You messed with the wrong

(02:25):
class if you wanted to slow our progress, because we
will turn all of your disappointments into success. So class
of stand up with me and take a bow, because
there is nobody more prepared to lead than we are
right now. Up next, we have a rito's valedictorian from

(02:52):
Princeton Senior High School in Princeton, West Virginia. Throughout high school,
she participated in banned Choir and Model U N and
now her dream is to go to Berkeley College of
Music and major in songwriting. Please welcome Grace Campbell. How

(03:17):
do you want to be remembered? Almost every day of
my senior year was spent asking that very question. In
a short few months, I would be expected to make
the choices that would give society the right to consider
me a success or a failure. I would have to
answer the questions, what do you want to be, what
kind of job will you have, how do you plan

(03:38):
to make money? When are you going to move out?
And are you afraid? To the rest of the questions,
I say, I don't know. I'm not a seer and
I can't see the future. And if I could, I
would have let the world know a pandemic was coming,
and we wouldn't even have the opportunity to walk across
a stage with confidence, much less make the choices that
decide our lives. If I could see the future, I

(04:02):
wouldn't worry about my prom or my graduation, or my
senior skip day, or my class gift, or even if
my French glass will still be counted on my transcript.
But I can't see the future, and as far as
I know, neither can any of you keeping that in mind,
I'd like to say this, even though it's bold of me,
and even though I don't know every person listening on

(04:25):
a personal level, I feel the need to tell you
it's going to be okay. You will move on. The
sun will come up tomorrow and we move forward. We
may be separated now for our own safety, but we
won't be separated forever. When the sun comes up on
the day where I can hug my friends and my grandparents,

(04:45):
I will remember how much this time hurt. I was confused,
I was lonely, and I felt such a sense of loss.
But those awful feelings did not last forever. Class of
although we have lost something we consider precious, we will overcome.
We will overcome and be stronger for it. And if

(05:08):
that's how we are remembered, that's okay with me. Congratulations
class with and now this rito's valedictorian has lived all
over the globe and plans to attend Chapman University, where

(05:28):
he'll study broadcast journalism and production. Introducing Max Carpman to
the class of two thousand, twenty brought into a world
post nine eleven beginning elementary school at the start of

(05:51):
a recession, and now losing our senior year to a
global pandemic. We really can't catch a break. I remember
in first grade when my teacher told me I'd walk
across the stage to grab my high school diploma in
the year two thousand twenty, and now senior year, unable
to walk across that stage. We have adults telling us
not to worry because of how far we'll go, But

(06:12):
what about how far we've come. Freshman year, we were
scared looking at all the kids who were so much
bigger than us. We began our four years of drinking
milk and eating hamburgers at eleven in the morning. We
made it through being made fun of constantly by the sophomores.
Sophomore year, as we had just begun to establish ourselves
as real high schoolers, we got ready for junior year. Oh,

(06:33):
junior year. That was a rough one. I don't remember
getting more than five hours of sleep any night that year.
Then came our beloved senior year. As we grinded away
on college apps, we engulfed ourselves in school spirit. We
went to football games every Friday night, We went to assemblies,
pep rallies, and our last homecoming. What a night. Even
those cut short get this. We're the only class I

(06:56):
can tell our kids our senior year of high school
was taken away from us by a global pandemic. I
can promise you that no other class will have that
story to tell. And at the end of the day,
it is those stories, those experiences that make life great
because this isn't the only hardship will be facing in
our lives. You find strength through those hardships, and that's
what makes life beautiful. That's what gives us her courage

(07:18):
and individuality. And for one final message, I think subpar
American paper salesman and Cornell alumni Andy Bernard said it best.
I wish there was a way to know you're in
the good old days before you've actually left them. Take
that to heart, because lockdown or not, we're still in
the good old days. This next Rito's valedictorian was passionately

(07:43):
involved in speech and debate, key Club and Save the
Children Action Network throughout high school, and she'll be attending
George Washington University in the fall to study international affairs.
Please give your attention to Rushi Jane. Hey, class, I

(08:09):
hope you guys can see me all right, because our
vision seems to have gotten a bit blurry. So we
didn't get the perfect movie ending. But no one gets that.
But no one got the ending we got either. Instead
of prom and graduation, we got school and pajamas. Teachers

(08:30):
on video calls a global pandemic tough to beat. Something
about graduating in always seems so ideal. Twelve years dreaming
about our perfect senior years multiplied by about four million
of US seniors equals we really jinxed it. So our

(08:53):
ending wasn't perfect, But I bet neither was your beginning.
I entered freshman year with braces and animal print classes.
But for the next four years we grew from our
embarrassing phases and setbacks. We grew from them, and we're
going to grow from this current one too. Even if

(09:14):
we are graduating in a seemingly perfect year, high school
up until the end isn't meant to be perfect. Class
of we are graduating in the midst of a global pandemic.
If that doesn't show resilience, I don't know what does.
We're ready for what's coming climate change, food and water scarcity,

(09:36):
over population issues in our criminal justice system, gun violence.
We're going to be a part of it, whether you're
the doctor who saves lives or the inventor of a
new Derrido flavor. Don't lose sight of your dreams and
make an impact big or small. And if you ever

(09:57):
feel your vision getting a little blurry again, get some
new glasses. Our final Rito's valedictorian has played competitive golf
for the past eight years and even won a state
championship last year while attending St. Louis Catholic High School.

(10:18):
She'll be going to Alabama State in the fall, where
she plans to study business and psychology. Ladies and Gentlemen,
Mackenzie la Duffy, my whole life, I have imagined what

(10:39):
this moment would feel like. I pictured walking the stage
and receiving my diploma a million times over. For a
long time, I never thought I would even make it
this far. But I overcame conquered and made it to
this moment with you all. Many of us were told
we wouldn't make it this far, and many of us

(10:59):
didn't think we would make this for ourselves. But today
is our day to acknowledge all of our achievements this
far and to give us the green light to start
our next chapter without our loved ones to guide us
as they have for the last twelve years. To all
the teachers and staff, thank you so much for truly
taking me in and loving me in a way I

(11:22):
could have never imagined possible. I will always remember the
good times that outweigh the bad. To all the parents,
thank you for giving us the best education possible and
pushing us to be great even in the face of evil.
We will forever appreciate all of you and to the class,

(11:43):
You guys have opened my eyes throughout these past four years.
Freshman year, I was terrified coming into a new school
with new faces, but soon after that day that changed.
When I have needed to smile or laugh, you guys
were always the ones to make it happen, even if
you didn't know it. I am beyond grateful that I

(12:07):
get to be a part of a class with such
astonishing and lighthearted people. I know that each and every
one of us will go further and bring laughter and
joy into someone else's life. This is truly a bittersweet
ending to this chapter. It's sad to have to leave
you guys, but I'm happy because we will strive to
make the world a better place for those who will

(12:28):
come after us. With the all forever in my hearts,
Bonchan's good luck. You can find a collection of incredible
commencement addresses from all your favorite speakers at the Commencement

(12:49):
Podcast on I Heart Radio or wherever you listen to
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