Graduation speeches are usually snooze worthy, but nothing could have been further from the usual for the Michigan high school that won a national competition to have President Barack Obama speak at their commencement. Not only did the 280 graduates and their families get to listen, first hand, to one of the premeire speakers of a generation, the President handed their diplomas over personally.
So how did they manage to score this honor? The public may have voted for the videos and essays the 1,700 student school submitted, but it was the White House that made the final selection. The administration cited Kalamazoo Central’s 80% plus graduation rate, improvements in academic performance and rich, culturally diverse curriculum.
“You could have made excuses — our kids have fewer advantages, our schools have fewer resources, so how can we compete? You could have spent years pointing fingers — blaming parents, blaming teachers, blaming the principal or the superintendent or the government,” the president said in his speech.
“But instead, you came together. You were honest with yourselves about where you were falling short. And you resolved to do better.”
The President professed quite a lot of admiration for Kalamazoo Central.
“I think that America has a lot to learn from Kalamazoo Central about what makes for a successful school in this new century,” he told the 5,000 plus people who filled the basketball arena at Western Michigan University. “It’s the key to our future.”
“But the most important ingredient is you,” Obama told the students.
