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The following is the text of the light hearted speech given by Long Nguyen, Valedictorian of the Kennedale Class of 2018.? He spends time thanking his parents, teachers and fellow classmates and recognizes his class for its passion and perseverance. {{more: continue …}}?Long graduated with a G.P.A. of 4.57. He is entering the University of Texas at Arlington this coming fall and plans to major in computer science.?*************************??
“Good Evening ladies, gentlemen, faculty, administration, children, babies? chairs. We?ve finally hit the end of the road and boy oh boy am I ready to send y?all off. Honestly, I?m surprised to be up here because if you know me well enough, the only thing I have to say when giving thought out messages is just ?uhhh YEAH? and enough said. Either way, with best wishes from our Kennedale community and my intercom overlord Mr. Cagle, I can?t help but feel obligated and honored to deliver a brilliant speech just for you all.?
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The Thanks …
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Before I die from anxiety and y?all die from boredom, I would like to at least give a couple traditional thank you very “muches”. I?d like to thank everyone for being here to enjoy this. To see everyone here supporting the class of 2018 set off to their eventual awesome future, it really brings tears to this stick bug.?
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I?d like to thank my family, especially my mom and dad, for raising a neurotic spaz and nurturing me to the best of my potential. In my worst, my best, and my crazy, they?ve always been there to support me. I will cherish the scrumptious ph? that my mom always makes. I will cherish the effort my dad puts into teaching me Calculus at 3:00 AM. I will forever love and appreciate everything my family?s done for me.
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I?d like to thank my teachers for mentoring me and making high school a step above prison. I will always cherish my photo reel of memories where each memory of my teachers is painted in different vibrant and distinct characteristics. Mrs. Hadaway with her quirky derivatives, Mr. Creasy with his look of disapproval, Mrs. Cullum with her happy clams, Coach Trantham with his trusty baseball bat, Mr. Matuni with his luminous shine, and so on. I wish I could list the rest of my teachers but then I?d truly kill everyone here with boredom. In short, I had a delightful educational adventure because my teachers made learning fun.
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I?d like to give special thanks to a distinct artist and mentor named Kenny Vo for changing my way of life and who I am. Yeah, I know I had class with you for about two weeks and flunked in lessons about drawing boxes, but it was an overall eye-opening experience. I wouldn?t have been so strangely passionate and over-the-top without the musings of an amazing concept artist.
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I?d like to thank my friends for our heartwarming memories and just simply? tolerating me. My friends were the best experiences in high school. I will miss Ji Soo?s slap, John?s ?BOY?, farming exalts with Braxton, Joseph?s ?uh YES?, Valentina?s pebble, Chris?s dancing, James?s astrophysics? I will miss everyone and the wonderful memories they left behind.
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The Message …
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Out of my experience, I?ve noticed that the Class of 2018 has three wonderful qualities: passion, perseverance, and senioritis. They?re the things that bond us together, and this is not coming from a computer nerd that spends his hours raving about Unity?s new particle editor. This is coming from me of all people. Through the struggles of finding the meaning behind these last four years, a realization hit me: this isn?t about the experience of one person?s journey, it?s about the collective experience of the Class of 2018.?
The Class of 2018 is passion before, now, and forever. Here?s what the Class of 2018 says about passion. Through these four long years, each time band competes, they pour their emotions in their instruments. With UIL, the academic competitors genuinely had fun competing and gave everything their best shot to State. The Theatre Troupe, with intense fervor, pushed through and made Kennedale History by making it to Regionals after so long. Obviously, we can’t forget the immense passion we have sneaking in food, forgetting our IDs, and perfecting the art of in-class napping. And me, with my crazy passion, I managed to finally spin my pen. I?m nothing compared to what my classmates have done. We give it our all and feel our hard work. The world will be lucky to have such enthusiastic people.
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The Class of 2018 perseveres even under the bleakest of situations. Here?s what the Class of 2018 has to say about perseverance. After fighting it out Friday night after Friday night, our football team has finally made it to the State Finals. The Girls? Soccer team won State two years in a row. Our UIL Academic Teams finally swept District two years in a row. The Theatre Troupe, who has never gone to Regionals in at least 10 years, made it to regions with their extreme devotion. Let’s not forget the ginormous amount of effort we give to roll out of bed or procrastinate efficiently. And me, I?ve finally gotten 2 characters that are over level 80 in Path of Exile. It?s quite the achievement in tenacity. But with that aside, I really think that our relentless determination is the best part of our class. We started out quite rough, but in the end we were more worthy than anything our past selves would?ve dreamed of. With our achievements, I feel that our Wildcats are more prepared than ever to face the real world.?
The Wrap-up …
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Looking back at everything, it?s truly amazing with all we?ve done. I feel like we?ve left a legacy in Kennedale, and with seeing our current trajectory, I?m sure we?re going to see each other in the news someday, doing some real good to this strange world.?
Congratulations, Wildcats, I?m so honored to be a part of such wondrous people.”
