Jess Tierney’s Graduation Speech at Canyon Crest Academy

Jess Tierney gave this speech June 14, 2013, at Canyon Crest Academy commencement.

Welcome, friends, families, students, staff and any other honored guests to the graduation of Canyon Crest Academy’s Class of 2013. 

Webster’s Dictionary defines “graduation” as… I’m just kidding; I’m not going to start like that. If you don’t know the definition of graduation…this is it. Instead, I’ll start by telling you of my first ever experience at this fabulous high school.

At my inaugural class of freshman year at Canyon Crest Academy, the first person I noticed was sporting a blue Mohawk and an orange camouflage kilt. It was really embarrassing, because so was I. 

The thing about Ravens is we're not just plain black-birds, we can rock blue hair, we can play on the Quidditch team, and we can do theater for hours after school and not get beat up. We can paint our trash-cans, we can perform The Wall, and we can ace three AP classes in one semester… And not get beat up. CCA defied all the expectations I had for high school, set by every single Disney Channel Original Movie I had ever seen. 

What makes CCA so awesome is its people, the Class of 2013 being no exception. This group of graduating seniors contains the world’s next great political leaders, CEOs, writers, artists, scientists, and Google interns. The Class of 2013 is home to some of the most passionate, driven and innovative people I have ever met.

As we graduate and move on to colleges and careers, we must utilize that very same passion, drive, and innovative spirit in order to shape the world as we have shaped this school. We are capable of creating a world in which all people are accepted and given the opportunity to achieve greatness, just as we were at CCA. 

This past year I often found myself thinking of graduation and considering it an ending point. That, of course, is not correct, as our parents and teachers have told us; it is not an end, it is only a beginning. Who knows where we’ll be a year from now, 5 years from now, 10 years from now, 20 years, 30 years… We have a lot ahead of us. Though the future can be scary, we have to remember that we control our lives from now own and we can choose where we go next.

I hope we can extract and cherish how we feel right now. Right now- tethered to our white folding chairs. Liberated and excited, anxious and eager to take on the world. We must always remember that it is never too late for us to spread our wings and fly because we are free birds!

Thank you and Mazel Tov to the Class of 2013.

To see photos and read more about Canyon Crest Academy's 2013 commencement, Read ‘We’re the Lucky Ones,’ Grad Tells Canyon Crest Academy Class of ’13.