Superintendent’s Message

CLASS OF 2019 Graduation Address

On behalf of the Bremen Board of Education and all the faculty and staff of Bremen City Schools, we welcome family and friends of our graduates.

The Class of 2019 is the largest Bremen High School graduating class ever in the history of Bremen City Schools. There are 193 students receiving a diploma this year! This class has accomplished so much, and we will truly miss you.

I walked across a graduation stage to receive a diploma 30 years ago. Like many of your parents, I was a teenager in the 80’s. Regardless of what you might think, we were really cool! I’ll give you just a few examples. Before Xbox, PlayStation4 and Nintendo Switch, we had Atari! Before Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram, if we were lucky, we got to listen in on party lines. Ask your parents what that means! Before the handheld devices and super fast personal computers of today, we had the Apple IIE and at the time, it was a technological marvel. Before Avengers End Game, we had Flash Gordon, TRON, and RoboCop. Before streaming shows like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube, we had CBS, ABC, and NBC…those were our options and only if the antenna on the house was working. If you were lucky, you had a state of the art VCR player! Before Post Malone, Luke Bryan or Taylor Swift, we had some awesome 80’s bands like Bon Jovi, Van Halen, and Run DMC! Before Vineyard Vines and Under Armor, we had Izod, Polo, and for the girls, Jordache jeans! Before the Undercut haircut, we were responsible for the popularity of the Mullet hair cut! We are particularly proud of that one!

After hearing the list from the 80’s, I’m quite confident I haven’t convinced you of our coolness! However, if you envision yourself 30 years from now, I assure you that the things popular today will be seen as dated and way past its time when you reach our age. Time slows down for no thing and for no one, and the one constant is change.

Change is an interesting concept, and it is something inevitable for us all. Change is embraced and change is despised depending upon how it affects us. I think we can all agree that change away from the Mullet hair cut is good change! Even tonight, the change that occurs due to your graduation is likely not viewed the same by all of you. I’m sure some of you embrace this change and are anxious to move on with your lives while others tonight might be less enthusiastic about leaving friends and teachers behind.

As you transition out of high school, learn to accept that most all things come to an end eventually. Remember to reflect and try to learn from the change that comes your way. Remember that everyone, and I mean everyone, experiences change with both its happiness and its heartache. Do not measure your happiness by what you see on social media. Do not base your self-worth on what you see others post as we all tend to accentuate what we want others to see about us, which is the positive rather than the negative. Somehow we always tend to wrongfully compare ourselves to others but it can rob our joy easily if we believe we don’t measure up to the positive change going on in others’ lives.

As I ponder the last 30 years, the amount of change that has occurred for me has been seemingly never ending. There are many lessons I’ve learned that produced change in myself, and the way in which I live. In an ideal world, I wish, for you graduates, that I could snap my fingers and all the lessons of change your parents and I learned could somehow be bestowed upon you instantly. As parents, we don’t want you to experience the hurtful changes we’ve endured but the truth is, regardless of what we say or do, you will have hurtful as well as joyful changes in your life. Regardless of what we may think, no one escapes those realities of life.

Sometime, over the summer, I encourage you to sit down with your parents or someone our age and ask them what lessons they have learned from the change they have gone through since high school. It’s so hard for you to realize and recognize at your age but I promise you there is tremendous wisdom present in your parents and family. I have learned much through good and bad change, and there are a few pieces of wisdom I would like to briefly share using an acronym.

• B-Be Kind!
• L-Love and appreciate others.
• U-Unite others instead of trying to create division.
• E-Everyone, regardless of gender, age or any other characteristic, wants to feel valued and validated.
• D-Daily, tell your loved ones that you love them because they will not be with you forever!
• E-Expect to be wrong sometimes. Admit it when you are and learn from your mistakes!
• V-Vehemently speak up for what you believe is right!
• I-Initiate the change you want to see happen. Don’t be afraid to try something new.
• L-Laugh often and don’t take yourself too seriously.
• S-Slow down long enough to enjoy the people and things that matter the most to you.

As true Blue Devils, I hope and pray these things over you, our graduates.

In conclusion, please know that you are forever a part of our school and community. With this diploma, you are forever linked to us and to this special place. My hope is that you will always be able to say with pride that you graduated from Bremen High School! You are Blue Devils, and you will always be Blue Devils no matter where in the world you go. As Blue Devils, please remember to always do your best to represent your family and us with integrity, compassion and excellence.

On behalf of your family, friends, and faculty, we love you and we are honored to celebrate you, the Class of 2019! Thank you.

David Hicks
770-537-5508
david.hicks@bremencs.com