Salutatorian Speech for the 2020 P.K. Yonge Virtual Graduation

Good evening Class of 2020. My name is Jacob Sedesse and I have been a student at P.K. Yonge since the sixth grade. I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude for having the opportunity to speak to you tonight as your co-salutatorian. It means a great deal to me and I want to thank everyone who contributed to making this possible. I would like to take a moment for all of us to reflect on the tremendous amount of effort the administration and faculty of P.K. Yonge put into getting us through the end of this school year. I am very proud of the way this school came together for us.

As the Class of 2020, we have the distinction of being that class who had the most celebrated part of our senior year taken from us. After the initial shock and heartbreak, we were able to see our community, both locally and nationally, come together to do their best to make up for our situation and provide an outpouring of love and support. Through this, it is important to realize how fortunate and privileged we are to be members of this community and understand that all of us need support at one point or another in our lives. I ask that you keep this with you in your heart and return the favor when it is presented to you.

The biggest lesson that I have learned through my educational career is that going the extra mile is a good thing and you should always look for opportunities to further your experiences. You may not always be recognized for the effort, but the journey will make you a better person. Sure, it may create more work and, in that moment, you may regret taking on extra challenges, but in the end, it will pay off. This became apparent to me while dual enrolling at Santa Fe College, where I was able to graduate with my Associate’s Degree in Theatre earlier this month. Another important thing I learned is that you should always stand up for yourself and what you believe. To demonstrate that belief in yourself, you must take action and also take accountability for those actions. If you work hard and truly believe in what you do, standing up for yourself will come naturally.

Finally, it became especially evident to me over the past few months that challenges present opportunities to grow and without adversity, it is easy to accept the current way of thinking and doing. I ask that each of you use this experience to push yourself beyond the limits you previously thought possible.

In a speech I made at my fifth grade graduation, I quoted Steve Jobs in his Stanford Commencement address. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

I leave you with this, P.K. Yonge Class of 2020. Go out and do good in the world, because the world is counting on you. Thank you.