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Graduation 2007

Graduate Speaker

Lindsay

I’d like to start by saying congratulations to all of the students who are completing a cycle today.    It is amazing to see how many students there are here today and how this school has grown over the years.  As some of you know, I was a Khalsa student myself in the late 80s and early 90s, when the school hadn’t quite grown out of the building on Coronado.

My memories of being a student at Khalsa are rather vague.  I remember tracing with my fingers the sandpaper letters, learning the alphabet through sight, sound and touch.  I remember arranging my stamps while working with the stamp game, showing that 2 and 2 really does make 4.  I remember working my way through the many colors of SRAs, taking my reading beyond just words on a page.  And I remember being happy at Khalsa, climbing the tree in the backyard; I was comfortable with my surroundings.

It wasn’t until later that I began to really appreciate my time at Khalsa School.  As I continued my education in various other schools, I noticed a difference between myself and my peers. I found my friends were always looking for outside sources of motivation, a teacher or a report card; but for me the work of learning itself was the reward, not the grade.  I took ownership of my work and this led me to a feeling of responsibility.  As I grew, that sense of responsibility developed into a maturity which served me well both in high school and in college.

Then, as I looked back, I realized that it was here at Khalsa that I had gained this power.  I had not only been taught how to read and write -- I had been taught how to learn.  And more importantly, how to love learning.  This is the greatest gift one can receive because one who loves to learn can always find satisfaction in life; there is always something new to discover.

I gained skills that have served me and will continue to serve me my whole life here at Khalsa, even though I left after I had completed my second year of elementary.  And while I was no longer a student, the school community has remained like an extended family to me and my family.  I only have to look around and see teachers here who were once my teachers and taught me so much, to see that although the Khalsa community has grown tremendously, it retains the same integrity and excellence that I’ve experienced for so many years.

To return specifically to the students we are honoring today.  Those of you who are completing their third year, and especially you who have completed six years of elementary here are now incredibly prepared for anything you will encounter in your future education and beyond, even if you don’t realize it yet.  I hope that you feel inside you a power to continue learning, to lead, and to do great things.