This will be my 3rd year handing diplomas to our High School graduates and I still get emotional remembering how it was when I graduated from Twin Falls High School. I was so scared for my own independent life to begin. Worried for my future. I had no scholarships, my parents could not afford college, we couldn’t even afford a graduation gown. I knew one thing for sure. I wanted to be an educated human. My parents always told me “everything else can be taken away from a person, except for their self respect and education.” The university of life taught me most of what I know, but formal schooling provided me with tools needed to organize my dreams. Absolutely proud of our 2017 graduates, they worked hard to get to this point! They succeeded on one of life’s longest journeys. Congratulations to CRHS, TFHS and MVHS CLASS OF 2017 we celebrate you today!!! Your achievement! Your dedication to your future. Your commitment to graduating! Keep going, keep upgrading your mind, keep soaring and never give up on your dreams. I encourage each of you to continue on to college, university or pursue vocational training beyond High School. I say a little prayer for each of them in my heart as I hand them their diploma. A prayer that they do not settle, do not get discouraged, do not give up on their young dreams… a prayer that each of them reaches their pure potential in life. Education is EVERYTHING.