Graduation Speech: Jordan Kilkenny

Good afternoon, administrators, staff, teachers, friends, and most importantly family. It is my absolute pleasure to welcome all of you to the graduation of your North Brunswick Raiders. Before I go off on a tangent, I would like to thank my father, for being there through times of all kinds, my Tia, my cousins Deitric and Cecilia, my mother, as well as the rest of my family members that I love so much for always checking up on me, and worrying about how I’m doing.

No matter where we come from or who we are as people, I am very glad, and thankful for everyone who has come here today. I see more than extreme amounts of potential in my class, and I have faith that we can all push ourselves to truly be the best version of ourselves that we can be, whether that be continuing with studies, sports, or generally figuring out what it is that we truly want out of life. 

Our world has all sorts of different problems happening everywhere. I think that no matter what happens, the most important thing is sticking together. Unity and working together as people is something that is genuinely one of the most powerful tools in the world, some of you may go on to become the president, vice president, a CEO, celebrity, or maybe even cure cancer. Whatever it is that you decide to go on to do, could impact the world in more ways than you could ever imagine.

Growing up, I myself wasn’t the most popular kid, I always did my own thing, and when I wanted to I would chime in with my two cents with any conversations that sounded interesting to me. I often think back to times when I would do this, and be told, “Mind your own business!” or “Nobody was talking to you.” As time went on I would begin to do more listening instead, so that way if I were going to chime in, which I still do, I would at least know what I would be talking about. I personally think however, that this was a stepping stone for me, doing this more often allowed me to come out of my shell, and make interesting, or funny conversations, or on some occasions, build friendships.

Our generation has the amazing potential to go out into the world, and do just about anything we put our minds to, as we are not only creative and innovative, but motivated. As Steve, from A Minecraft Movie once said, “Anything you can dream about here, you can make.” Our creativity, ambitions, and growing intelligence as we go out into the real world as young adults are three very important, and powerful tools we can use to impact the world in ways we probably never thought could be possible. As long as you stay focused on your goals and are willing to give your utmost effort, anything is possible.

I would like to close by thanking all of the North Brunswick staff for being there for us when we had questions, needed someone to talk to, and overall just making the high school experience that much better. And thank you, students, for being as inclusive as you probably could have been without getting too annoyed by my tomfoolery. I never thought my high school years would go by so fast, and I hadn’t even begun to think about graduation. What made getting through the end easier, was finding sources of strength inside and outside of the school; I will always make sure to carry that with me, as well as the memories I’ve made with all of you, whether good, bad, annoying, or funny. I hope you all can also find sources of strength to help you push forward in life, as it’s amazing what you can get done, and how much of your life will change by surrounding yourself with positivity. Thank you, North Brunswick Raiders, I won’t ever forget you.