Inspiration in ceremonial speech

Inspirational Ceremonial Speech

Dear Graduates, Today, as your professors, friends, and family members stand before you, we are looking at the future: a future that is filled with hope. You, sitting in your chairs, dressed in blue caps and gowns, are a sea of hope. Each one of you as an individual as well as all of you together as a class, offer the world around you hope. Aristotle, one of the world's greatest philosophers, said that "hope is a waking dream." Hope is not a useless virtue reserved for the dreamer picking daisies in a field. No, hope is a sign of life and great wisdom. It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who noticed that "we judge man's wisdom by his hope." It is wise to put our hopes in things that are proven and substantial. We place our hope in you because you have demonstrated your character through the completion of a challenging task. If you did that, your parent's and professors are thinking, then you can do anything.

Moreover, today's ceremony is a testimony of your internal character and strength. More than the tangible work accomplished and the hope of future careers and vocations, today's accolades take note of who you are in your heart and soul. It puts a spotlight on the things that your heart loves. As Oliver Wendell Holmes articulated, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." You take from this fine establishment more than an ability to write or calculate well. You take an opportunity to know yourself as a whole integrated person where your mind and your heart work together toward true and lasting happiness. To recognize your own personal strengths and weaknesses is a great gift that will help you achieve even greater monuments than the diploma you receive today. Graduation is a day, but in real life you never graduate because you never stop learning. You never stop relying on who you truly are at the core of your being. This is where the work begins and ends. Life will give you many opportunities to display your character. And nothing, as Helen Keller realized, will test your character as successfully as the most difficult challenges in life. She wrote, "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."

Today, your graduation is a dream come true, a testimony of your character, and a promise for the future. It is a moment when your past hopes turn to great joy. In a few minutes you will be walking across this stage to receive your diplomas and to shake hands with those who have walked beside you during your laudable undertaking. These time-honored customs are concrete signs of recognition for a job well done. They are symbols of all the hard work achieved, lifetime friendships established, and a promise for a future of unfolding intrigue and wonder. Very few moments are more satisfying than receiving recognition and honor for a job well done, and moving from one success to prepare for another. It is moments like these that become frozen in time because in these moments the past and the future meet in complete harmony. All that you accomplished in the past few years has opened a door that you will walk through today.