Good evening, my name is Lucia Otañez and I am beyond honored to be the salutatorian for the FOHI class of 2024.
Primeramente, quiero agradecer a mis padres que no sólo me han apoyado en cada obstáculo que la vida me ha puesto, sino que siempre han sido los mejores motivadores que podría haber pedido. Y a mi hermana, gracias por ser mi mayor inspiración; Realmente me has mostrado lo que significa estar dispuesta a aprender y perseverar.
Este mensaje no sólo va para mis padres sino para todos los padres, hermanos, abuelos y maestros presentes: ustedes son verdaderamente valorados y amados. Gracias por creer en nosotros cuando nosotros no creíamos en nosotros mismos.
To the class of 2024, I grew up with most of you. I have known some of you since preschool, yet today is the day we must say good-bye. I am sure we all distinctly remember our eighth-grade year being cut short because of a pandemic. Many of us, including myself, still mentally feel the age we were when this event began. Although it has now been four years since the setback, I know we have all been able to recover; today demonstrates that. Any mishap that was thrown in our direction proved to redirect itself away from the accomplishments we have achieved. Today marks the end of our childhood and the beginning of our adulthood. We are entering a profound new era of our lives that will bring discouragement and fear; fear that we will somehow lose ourselves in an abyss of isolation and imposter syndrome.
Let me make myself clear when I say, “You belong in any given academic and social environment.” Your ethnic and cultural background do not make you less than. Instead, your culture enriches your way of thinking and is not something you should be ashamed of. Never allow anyone to make you feel differently.
It is with great honor and contentment that we walk across the stage tonight as a tribute to all our mentors, teachers, counselors, and family members because without them we would not have made it through high school. Most importantly we would not make it through life without a vast support system. I am incredibly thankful to all my teachers and mentors who have not only guided me throughout high school but who have also encouraged me to go out of my comfort zone to learn and explore new subjects and concepts.
Monsieur Costa, merci de m'avoir inspiré à apprendre autre chose que ma passion pour les sciences et les mathématiques. Votre cours m’a vraiment ouvert les yeux sur le monde des langues. Thank you for supporting your students when no one else would. (Please excuse my broken french).
I sincerely hope you all remain open to the idea of learning and open-minded to new possibilities and opportunities, for it is all the future holds. Our following days are not promised, but the decisions we make for them are; it is up to us to decide what we do with our next steps in life. Who do you want to be remembered as in 20 years? It is up to you to decide now.
I would like to end with a quote. “We obtain our education at home, at school, and, most important, from life itself. The learning process must go on as long as we live.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt
Thank you, Gracias, Merci
Congratulations to the FOHI class of 2024!