Take The Risk

Good morning teachers, faculty, friends, family, and most importantly my fellow graduates, the class of 2026, congratulations.

I think for a lot of us, if not all, graduation seemed so far away. It was something people always talked about, but four years was a long way away. We started counting down the days, trying to imagine what graduation would feel like and what you would be doing after high school. And somehow after all the assignments, the tests and quizzes, late nights and early mornings, and memories that we will never forget, we are finally here. We made it.

When I thought about what to say I kept thinking back to one of the first things Mr. Callahan, the LRTC director, told us when we started LRTC. It was to “take moderate risks”. It wasn’t to take “crazy risks” or to “play it completely safe”. It was to take moderate risks. And honestly, that feels like a good description of life after graduation is.

Taking risks doesn’t always have to be something huge and crazy. Sometimes it’s signing up for a class you are nervous about. Going out and making new friends. Applying for new opportunities that may only happen once. Speaking up even when your voice starts to shake. Trying something new with the possibility of failure in mind. Because the truth is, most of our best moments begin with uncertainty.

I want you to look around at the people around you. At some point, one of you had to take a risk just to say hello. Maybe you became friends, maybe you didn’t. But someone had to take that first step not knowing what was going to happen. That’s what a moderate risk is.

And honestly I think people wait for the “perfect” moment to take a chance. But if high school has taught us anything it’s definitely not to wait to do things, especially when there’s an English assignment due. It is better to do something than nothing at all.

Making it to this point wasn’t easy. We pushed through stressful days, deadlines, and setbacks. And somehow with all of this we still spent countless hours on Membean trying to hit our minutes goal before our tests. I think we can all agree that’s one thing we definitely won’t miss. 

Now we are all here together, ready to move onto that part after high school. Some of us are going to college. Some are going straight to work. And some are still figuring things out. And that’s okay. There is never a “correct” path for us to take. After all, success might look different to you than someone else. We don’t have to have everything figured out immediately, we just have to be willing to take the next step.

To our teachers: thank you for patience, support, jokes, and encouragement.

To our families and friends: thank you for believing in us, helping us, and standing by us even during the stressful times.

And to the class of 2026: congratulations. Be proud of yourselves and how far you have come since Freshman year and all you have already accomplished. 

This message isn’t just for the class of 2026. But the class of 2027, 2028, 2029, all the future graduating classes and everyone here. Life doesn’t stop once we leave here. No matter where we are there will always be chances to try something different, to chase a goal, to start over, or become a better version of ourselves. So take that risk. Because sometimes the smallest risk is the one that changes everything. Thank you!

“Geir I testing the flex on the diving board” by hufse is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.