My “brief” graduation speech:

For as long as I can remember I’ve been a person who has preferred substance over style. In my professional life and even in my friends I have valued quality over quantity. Perhaps it was this attribute that first attracted me to Highland Tech. One pass through the hallways is enough to assure anyone that we’re not so concerned with style. Yet one day walking in and out of classrooms will certainly demonstrate our substance. Watch the high school boys playing cards and online games at lunch, count the shades of the girls’ hair colors and you’ll be convinced that style is a relative term at Highland Tech. Spend five minutes talking to any of these students about their PSS levels, integrated learning, or voice and choice, though, and you’ll hear substance.

If any of you have attended a neighborhood school’s graduation, you will no doubt see quantity; quantity in the hundreds, in juxtaposition with our twelve Highland Tech graduates tonight. What they lack in quantity, however, they truly make up for in quality. Highland Tech has arguably the most rigorous academic program and demanding criteria for high school graduation in the Anchorage School District, perhaps even the State of Alaska — I’m not quite sure, I just got here nine months ago. But nine months is long enough to have witnessed first-hand the level of dedication, perseverance, and personal commitment required to be a Highland Tech graduate. I can state to you without hesitation that while the quantity of our our graduates is nowhere equal to other schools, the quality of our graduates is incomparable, and I would proudly stand them up next to any others in our city, our state, and across the country.
I’ve only had the opportunity to get to know this group of young adults this year, and I wish I had more time, and I wish I could have learned more about each of them.

I can tell you that each of them is determined, self-disciplined, and passionate. I can tell you that they have mastered high school curriculum that some adults would struggle with. I can tell you that they are thoughtful and empathetic, and that they see the world beyond their smartphone screens. I can tell you that the possibilities in store for them are endless. Finally, and most importantly, I can tell you that I am proud that I have gotten the chance to call myself their principal for this brief time.

Cultural Observation: They don’t use salt in the streets in Alaska during the winter, they use gravel. I think because of the consistent cold and depth of snow (usually) salt just doesn’t cut it. So, they use gravel. Everywhere. Layers and layers of the stuff. The consequence of which is flying gravel. So now that it’s spring and it’s light out and you can see everything, you can see windshields. I don’t think it would be much of an exaggeration to say that one in four windshields either has a ding in it or is just plain cracked. I’m not kidding. Everywhere I look I see cracked windshields, and on every other corner, a vehicle glass repair shop, they’re almost as prevalent as Blockbuster video stores and coffee shacks (did I mention they still have Blockbuster up here?). So, note to would-be Alaskan entrepeneurs — get in the windshield glass game. It’s all it’s cracked up to be…