Lyle Edwards Commencement Speech

Well then, here we are. It’s actually happening; Graduation. Four years ago, we were all just freshmen. This day seemed so far off. It barely crossed my mind during my first year here. Coming up with this speech, the first thing that came to mind when I thought of Sturgis was the IB, and our school's motto, “IB for all.” During one of those presentations in 10th grade when they introduce the IB curriculum to all of us, I distinctly remember the slide about the IB learner profile traits. In this short amount of time I have to share something important with my graduating class, I would like to focus on the idea of one of those traits; Being a risk-taker. Now, I know mentioning one of the IB learner profile traits might be a lame thing to do at graduation, but I believe that it applies to our situation as a class extremely well. Personally, I’m not a very outgoing, extroverted person. In response to this, I remember my parents telling me something that has stuck with me to this day. “Don’t let your fears and insecurities prevent you from taking opportunities that could change your life for the better.” I think everyone here who made the decision to go to Sturgis took this advice in one way or another. Like many of you, I came to Sturgis not knowing anyone. I had come from a completely different country, culture, and lifestyle. Naturally, I was quite nervous the first day of school, walking into what was rumored to be a furniture store in the past. However, as I am now, and after everything that happened over these past four years, attending Sturgis has probably been one of the best decisions of my life, and I’m sure a lot of you feel the same way. Throughout my time at Sturgis, there were many events that defined what made my high school experience so great.  However, the most influential events were always because I was able to take the risk to push myself and try something new. 

Sturgis has given us all the chance to explore our passions, challenge ourselves academically, and create lifelong friendships. In short, the people in this community have offered opportunities for us all to have an amazing high school experience. During sophomore year, I had the opportunity to host an Italian exchange student. I was kind of against the prospect at first, but after giving it some more thought, I decided it might be a risk worth taking. Over the course of when the exchange students were here, I really bonded with them and the other students whose families were hosting. Later in the year, we then had the opportunity to go to Italy and for their families to host us. Despite both the good and the bad, it was perhaps one of the most memorable and amazing high school experiences during my time at Sturgis. Sorry to a few of you who wouldn't like to be reminded of this, but the seven hours we spent in Lisbon airport from 1am to 8am, and the fact that the airport couches were specifically designed to be as uncomfortable for sleeping as possible, will forever be ingrained into my memory. Despite that, I felt like suffering through the hard times together was what deepened our friendships so much. During that trip, I was able to bond with everyone involved, and I solidified life long friendships in the process. Much like how we all suffered through the IB together, I feel as if I have connected with this graduating class in that way. The reason I tell you all this is because the Sturgis community is a place where it’s easy to make friends and connect with people. Because of this, taking those opportunities to try something new like a foreign exchange program becomes much easier, and we feel more comfortable taking those risks that could end up being amazing. Anyone here that has participated in school trips, sports, clubs, and community events, knows this to be true.

Of course, I can’t not mention the thing that threw all of our senior year plans into disarray; COVID-19. I can recall the last day of school before the pandemic; The “before times” as my friend Rowan Wood likes to call it. It was march 12th. I was at the first Extended Essay dinner with other juniors. We ate pizza, talked a lot, and although we were supposed to be productively working on our EE, I ended up scrapping most of what I accomplished that night anyway. But that’s besides the point. Something I vividly remember was the drive back to my house that night. My friend's dad was driving us home, and he mentioned COVID-19. We each made predictions about if school would be canceled, and for how long. My friend Xander and I said no more than a few weeks. His father said it might be for the rest of Junior year. However, I am sure no one could have predicted that we would be out of normal school for more than a year. I remember being happy when I heard the next day that school was canceled for two weeks. Looking back on that moment, I couldn't have been more wrong. This past senior year has been rough for all of us. However, everyone at graduation here today has proven that they have what it takes to persevere, and in order to persevere, sometimes you need to take the necessary risks to set yourself up for success. Naturally, our class did just that. We found creative solutions to keep clubs running, created programs to help connect underclassmen to the rest of the Sturgis community, and kept our class spirit alive. We’ve survived one of the most challenging school years of our lives. Take pride in that. Now, as we move on and pursue our own futures, I feel that even this horrible year had some value to it. We adapted. We overcame the challenges of the IB program, applying to college, and managing rigorous school work, all with a pandemic looming over us. Being a risk taker not only means putting yourself outside of your comfort zone, but also challenging yourself, and taking the risk to rise to that challenge. Taking the initial risk to plunge yourself into a completely unknown environment that a charter school offers, and being a part of the rigorous IB program, has definitely made us all grow. With the pandemic, our senior year at Sturgis has been challenging; I believe more so than every graduating class before us. Now, as we stand at the precipice of a new chapter in our lives, the unique experiences we’ve accumulated during our time at Sturgis, as well as the many challenges we’ve managed to overcome, will push us toward success and help accomplish the goals we’ve set for ourselves.

I would like to end this speech by thanking everyone who supported us throughout our high school journey; The teachers, parents, and faculty. A special shout-out to Mr. Abel for helping me through my EE (I'm honestly not sure if I could have survived the IB if it wasn’t for you), my parents (for always supporting me no matter what) and all of my close friends that are among us today. But what made the “Sturgis experience” so special was everyone in the class of 2021. I want to thank each and every one of my fellow graduating peers that made this high school experience so unbelievably amazing. I know that all of us will take these four years with us and remember them fondly, as we push on to pursue our dreams. Thank you.