Vanessa Stahl is the 2014 Kennedale High School Salutatorian. Vanessa will be attending Texas A&M in Education with an emphasis on English and plans to be a high school English teacher. She has received two scholarships from A&M: the Top 10% $600 per year and the Texas Aggie scholarship of $1,200 per year plus a Kennedale PTA $500 award along with an Art in the Park $1,000 scholarship.
Vanessa in her salutatorian address, gave special recognition to her mom and dad, {{more}}the faculty and staff of Kennedale High School for ?pushing us to our limits? and God for ?all that he has provided.? She focused on the ?unity? of the Class of 2014 and for being one of the most ?diverse, talented, intelligent, involved, and successful ?classes.
The following is the complete text of her speech.
?Good evening! First of all, I would like to thank you all for being here to celebrate the Class of 2014. Thank you to all of our families, and especially our parents, for helping us get to this day. I know that it hasn?t been easy putting up with us for 18 years, but we would not be anywhere without your love, patience, and guidance. I especially want to thank my mom and dad, the two people who have made me who I am today. I love you both more than anything in the world. To Mrs. Pintavalle and all of the faculty and staff at Kennedale, thank you for pushing us to our limits through the good and the bad of these last 4 years. We greatly appreciate all that you do for us. Lastly and most importantly, I want to thank God not only for the opportunity to stand here today, but for all that He has provided for us.
As some of you know, I had a very difficult time figuring out what I wanted to say in this speech. I spent many hours browsing the Internet for ideas, examples, videos, and quotes. I finally realized why none of my searches were helping: they were all examples of other schools, other graduating classes, other speeches. The Class of 2014 is not like any other class. I was not going to find help on what I wanted to say because there are no other words out there to accurately represent this spectacular class. We are one of the most diverse, talented, intelligent, involved, and successful groups to ever pass through the Kennedale halls. But the one characteristic that I am most proud of in our class is our unity.
12 years ago, many of us entered the Kennedale schools for the first time, completely unaware of the journey that was before us. We started off with our Barbie or Power Rangers backpacks, terrified to leave the comfort and safety of our moms and dads on that first day of school. Now, the tides have turned: we?re halfway out the door and our moms and dads are the terrified ones. We were all so close through our first 4 years at Delaney or Patterson, and then we created even more bonds when we combined at Arthur.We?ve been through so much together and have always been there for each other. One of the biggest examples of the unity of this class that stands out to me was when the tornado came through in our sophomore year, and we all came together to help others in their time of need. Though a little unorthodox, the Class of 2014 was unified both last year and this year when we defiantly stood together ? or rather, sat down together ? against the outcomes of both Homecoming Hall contests ? which we all know were wrong. We have always supported one another, from our successes in sports, academics, and performances to our trials and hardships. If you don?t take anything else from our years at Kennedale, take this. Take the unity and pride that we so strongly developed, and use it to be an impact in this world when we leave today.
Always remember the bonds we have made, the successes, the failures, the laughs, the ??Dale?, the memories, and all the things that have brought us to this day. Because now is the time to make mistakes and learn from them. Now is the time to become the people that we have always wanted to be. It is finally our time, so make the most of it. Congratulations, Class of 2014!?
