“Breaking the mold”

                                                                                                                                                                Good afternoon everybody, let me begin by saying it is an honor, and a privilege to be here today.  When I began writing my speech, it was something that I had not done before.  I wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed, so I ended up doing what I usually do. I study the people who have come before me, who are proven experts, and see what they have done, and how.  I watched YouTube videos of previous graduation speakers like Barack Obama, and Oprah Winfrey.  I also read the speeches of other AEC alumni from past years, and I noticed two things: Values are almost always mentioned; and it is acceptable to tell a little story about your own experiences.

Before I began my research, I too was going to formulate my speech around values, but I would like to do something a little different. Plus if you have been through the AEC, you have undoubtedly been exposed to the importance of values at some point. In order for this to be an official speech however, I am required to touch on values at least once. Please allow me to give you a quick summary of how I view morale subjects.  Values decide which teams you play for, if you strongly believe in honesty, compassion, justice and honor, than let those values guide your conduct. On the other hand, if you lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do, all the education in the world will not change the fact that you are a burden to society. For myself, it is that simple, choose a side.  Psychologists might shriek at that over simplification, but that is how I see it.

I mentioned earlier that when I am in doubt on how to proceed, I usually emulate someone who is a proven star, or expert, in their field. One of the main reasons I am here today, able to speak about my recent academic success, is because I’ve been imitating the habits and characteristics of the staff and teachers at the AEC for several years now.  Their hard work, dedication, and amazing grace, is what makes these ceremonies possible. Their everyday resolve to see us through inspires us, and motivates us to accomplish our goals. Their example is the very definition of leadership.  The AEC is like a magical factory, every fall it accepts people of all different ages, cultures and educational backgrounds, and in the spring, produces highly skilled, community conscientious graduates.  It is truly remarkable what the AEC accomplishes year in, and year out.  That is one of the many reasons I am incredibly proud to be a former AEC student and graduate, and still to this day, it remains my favorite place on Earth.  I would like to take a moment to recognize a few particular individuals at the AEC who were kind enough to continue helping me this year, even though I am no longer a student at AEC.  Anne Grossman who has done a phenomenal job taking over as the new director, she is a wonderful educator, and was brave enough to trust me to be a speaker today. To Liz Plett and Christine Grosshans, who allowed me to work with their students as a volunteer tutor.  And to Ruby Schilke who is always injecting me with confidence, and encouraging me to improve my writing skills.  Thank you very much for the excellent opportunity to learn, and contribute, you have all been a great help to me many ways.

I would also like to take the time now to thank another very special group of people that made this possible. To all the friends and family of the graduands who stuck by them, and supported them anyway they could, especially financially, I thank you on behalf of the graduands, and the community.

I know from experience that one the toughest parts of graduating as a mature student is that often there is very little support out there for you. In many cases, no one outside of school takes your efforts seriously, and that includes the provincial and federal governments. It is practically impossible for most people to get any financial aid, of any sort while returning to school. That is something I would like to see change in the future. Some people would argue that we had our chance already; society has paid for us to go to high school, so too bad for us. I disagree; I would counter argue that society’s ways of doing things are inflexible and archaic.  I believe one of the ways to change society for the better is to do what we have done, break the mold, and buck the trend.  I believe that we have shown that there are reliable, viable, and superior alternatives to the established way of doing things.

One of the main reasons why I struggled so mightily in High School was because I had no idea what I wanted to do after. I am from a small town on the edge of the Canadian Shield.  When I was that age, I knew very little about the wider world, and I did not have enough facts to make an informed decision about my future.  People often hesitate to believe me when I tell them I always planned on attending post-secondary education at some point after High School.  To me, it was only logical to spend some time outside of the province, and gain some life experience before committing to a degree.  Unfortunately, society makes it incredibly difficult to return to school after leaving. It took me four attempts to acquire all the credits I needed to apply to post-secondary, and I do not even have any children.  For those of you that do have little ones, you must be tough as nails, I have no idea how you made it through, but you did, and I admire your resolve and determination.

In the future, I would like to see what we have accomplished become normal.  Instead of people being stigmatized as drop-outs, and abandoned by most of society.  Young people should have a chance to get some life experience before making a huge decision that will have various implications and big consequences on their lives.  I believe it would make a happier, healthier community, as well as improve the quality of life of the individual.  Planned or not, I think you are all pioneers of this future trend, thank you for cracking the mold and blazing a trail for the next group.  I know all of you have you worked long hours, and suffered some hardships to be here today, but do not despair, it actually gets easier from here.  You have all done a fantastic job, so take a rest, enjoy the summer, and be proud of your accomplishments.

Congratulations to all the AEC Graduates of 2013.

Sincerely,

Edward Kuipers