Katherine currently attends the University of Pennsylvania

nyone can learn the Pythagorean Theorem or memorize the chronological names of the U.S. presidents, but when it is your turn to face the music, your time to call the shots, your recitation of the 50 states and capitals will leave you nowhere. I am not saying the “clichÈ’s” high school experience is worthless, far from it. “Experience is like a knife, it can harm you or help you depending on whether you grab it by the blade or the handle.”

Today [as we graduate] we all get our ticket to the show, the ride, the adventure. It is up to us to cash it in. We get an infinite amount of chances in our lives. Chances to win, lose, or simply play the game. The odds are often against us, but don’t underestimate the value of being the odd man. We have been taking chances ever since we walked into freshman orientation. Taking a chance asking someone to a dance, taking a chance throwing a touchdown, taking a chance pressing that snooze button one more time.

Now I am going to offer you one more chance—take it or leave it. Right here, right now, I am going to hold a raffle. Your raffle ticket is underneath your chairs. And the winning # is 34951622. Now there is good news and bad news—you all have winning tickets. We, the graduating class of 2000, have the opportunity to change the world. We have the chance to save lives, create masterpieces, and build castles in the clouds. The bull is rushing at you now, my friends. You can drop the cape and run or learn how to scream Ole! For we are the mapmakers, the dreamrakers, the shiners of the sunbeams. Life is coming to theatres near you in the blink of an eye and you have the ticket. All you have to do is cash it in. Ole!

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