Graduation Speech
June 3, 2000

Albert Einstein, Time Magazine's "person of the century," received a compass from his father as a young man. That compass set the basis for his first scientific experiment-- he wanted to know why the needle always pointed North. Little did anybody know that this "high school dropout" so-called "stupid" young man would sprout into one of the most influential geniuses of our time. In a nutshell, we can say that the compass guided him to success since it sparked his curiosity in science.

Einstein understood the power of the mind, yet he still understood the danger of it. On one side of the table, he found that his famous equation for atomic energy could power huge cities. At the other side, he saw that it could destroy them.

His theory of relativity was revolutionary, but he swayed away from a scientific explanation when he was asked what it meant, "When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute," he said. "But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute and it's longer than any hour. That's relativity."

Einstein's brain was no different from your's or mine-- same weight, same size, same dimensions. What made him genius was that he possessed something that "spurred him on." Einstein said that "man, like every other animal is by nature indolent. If nothing spurs him on, then he will hardly think, and will behave from habit like an automaton" or machine.

As a school photographer I've seen what spurs this class on. I've captured those ephemeral moments that are so ubiquitous throughout the halls, gyms, and playing fields. I've seen students toil to fill in the right bubble on a test, and I've seen them scream in victory as they win a crucial game. I've evinced many of your greatest moments in high school. For some of your, it was taking third-place in teh girls' basketball state championships; for others it was the small things, like when Mr. Larkin was taped to the and had a pie thrown in his face.

The stories and images I captured are indelibly etched into my mind, and I hope you keep them there too. I encourage each one of your, not only to learn in your life but to enjoy it. Einstein warned that "we should take care not to make the intellect our God; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality." He even said once that "imagination is more important than knowledge."

All of you have both personality and imagination. Enough to take you even further than Einstein. Just don't lose those matchless qualities by getting caught up in the mundanities of life. Hold on to your uniqueness.

Before I entered the halls of Douglas as a freshman, I was clueless as to what relativity was. When I walk out today, I will completely understand it. The four years I experienced at Douglas will seem as if they were a moment. Now that is relativity.

Before I go, I wanted to say that my inspirational teachers, wonderful friends, and extremely supportive family were my compass. Without you, I most likely wouldn't be giving this speech now or even going to the college of my dreams. I'm going to miss you all. To all of the graduating class of 2000, Good old Albert would be proud of your wisdom in life. In fact, I'm sure he would be envying you right now. He got the person of the century, but we have eachother and I wouldn't trade that for anything. Not a compass, some pseudo award given by a magazine that is merely read by millions, or the knowledge to influence the masses of mankind.