SPEECH: 2026 Senior Speaker, McKenna Rizk

WE ALL KNOW THE QUESTION OF “WHAT COMES NEXT” REFLECTS A RITE OF PASSAGE FOR EVERYONE GRADUATING TODAY. 

AFTER WE MOVE OUR TASSELS OVER, THROW OUR CAPS UP IN THE AIR AND MARCH OUT AS THE CLASS OF 2026 ONE LAST TIME, THE FUTURE BECOMES THE PRESENT. 

WE MADE OUR CHOICES, DECIDED OUR PATH, EMBRACED THE UNKNOWN.

FOR ME, WHEN ANYONE ASKS WHAT COMES NEXT, MY ANSWER INVOLVES MOVING 2500 MILES AWAY TO GO TO COLLEGE IN CALIFORNIA. 

THE NEXT QUESTION IS ALWAYS, “ARE YOU READY?”  MY ANSWER, “I DON’T KNOW.” AND YOU KNOW WHAT? THAT’S OKAY. 

NOW, DON’T GET ME WRONG. IT TOOK A FEW YEARS OF THERAPY TO GET TO THIS POINT. I LIVE WITH “CHRONIC FEAR,” OTHERWISE KNOWN AS OCD. 

MY MIND CONSTANTLY CENTERS AROUND THE BELIEF THAT EVERYTHING I DO MIGHT LEAD TO A HORRIBLE CONSEQUENCE. SO WHAT MIGHT BE AN ORDINARY THOUGHT FOR SOME CAN BECOME A DEATH SPIRAL OF DOOM FOR ME. 

IF I DON’T READ A QUESTION THOROUGHLY ON MY MATH TEST, MY MIND BELIEVES I’M GOING TO FAIL THE ENTIRE EXAM. IN RESPONSE TO THIS INTRUSIVE THOUGHT, I WILL SPEND THE NEXT 5 MINUTES REREADING THE QUESTION TO “MAKE SURE” I UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT IT'S ASKING. IT CAN FEEL LIKE A NEVER-ENDING CYCLE THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BREAK…THE FEAR OF FAILURE, THIS FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN. 

BUT OVER THE COURSE OF A FEW YEARS, I WOULD INTENTIONALLY PUT MYSELF IN VERY UNCOMFORTABLE SITUATIONS, ALSO KNOWN AS EXPOSURE THERAPY. BECAUSE IN LEARNING HOW TO DO HARD THINGS, I DISCOVERED MOST THINGS WE FEAR ACTUALLY NEVER HAPPEN. 

DAY BY DAY, WEEK BY WEEK, INSTEAD OF PANICKING OVER WHAT I COULDN’T CONTROL, I LEARNED TO EMBRACE THE HARSH REALITY OF UNCERTAINTY. BUT IN DOING SO, I HAVE ALSO LEARNED HOW TO LIVE LIFE FULLY AND INTENTIONALLY.

SO AS WE STAND HERE TODAY, WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT OUR LIVES WILL LOOK LIKE TOMORROW, NEXT YEAR OR TEN YEARS FROM NOW. 

TALK ABOUT SCARY! BUT DO NOT WAIT UNTIL FEAR DISAPPEARS FROM LIFE BECAUSE, OF COURSE, IT NEVER WILL. 

INSTEAD, TRUST YOURSELF. HAVE CONFIDENCE IN WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED. LEAN ON THOSE AROUND YOU. ASK FOR HELP! 

SO WHEN PEOPLE INEVITABLY ASK YOU WHAT COMES NEXT, IT’S OK TO NOT BE 100% SURE OR —-ANY PERCENT SURE. 

INSTEAD, WITH YOUR HEAD HELD HIGH, STAND THERE AND CONFIDENTLY PROCLAIM:

   I MIGHT NOT KNOW FOR CERTAIN RIGHT NOW. BUT I AM READY TO FIND OUT!