The graduation at ICA marks the success and achievements of ICA students across the United States and the world. At the ICA graduation ceremonies, several students took the opportunity to share those successes with their fellow graduates. Students used poems, video, and speech to communicate their experiences. Those have been included below for members of the ICA family that were not able to attend a graduation.
"Around the World with ICA"
by Joshua Edwards
"Homeschooled" by Malcolm Wright
For the past decade I have been a homeschooler,
that's what made me even stronger.
Graduation has now begun.
It's time to move forward,
not back in the corner.
During my years at my umbrella school,
I tried my best to be cool.
Soon I will go to college to get a degree.
Then I will be free
To be what I choose to be.
Here's advice for future seniors out there.
Future seniors don't get senioritis.
All it does is paralyzes.
Future seniors use this advice.
What you can achieve with your life extends beyond the sky.
Even if you can't perceive it with your eye.
We are the seniors!
True achievers!
"The Challenge" by Alexander Szpilka-Grosse
"Audentis Fortuna iuvat." As Virgil stated in B.C. 284 regarding courage, "Fortune favors the brave." Since probably the beginning of my life, it has been instilled in me to bravely view the world for its richness of new learning experiences and to approach each learning situation with zeal and commitment.
In 2004, when I was ten years old, my family relocated from Germany to the U.S., primarily for the freedom to continue with Christian homeschooling. Especially during a worldwide economic recession, the transition to a new culture was not easy for me. However, for as difficult as situations could be, Christian support from friends always pulled through, providing the relief of compassion and camaraderie. Through all the roller-coaster cycles of daily life, the continuance of Christian-based education remained the focus and purpose of my family's survival.
Now, the culmination of Christian secondary school is the realization of what at times seemed an unachievable dream. Perseverance and faith in a good and loving God are key to a peaceful existence and to success in God-directed endeavors. From a secular viewpoint, Alexander the Great stated, "There is nothing impossible to him who will try." Therefore, my challenge for the class of 2011 is for each of us graduates to be able to walk confidently forward with this degree as the beginning and not the end of learning. Through the example of a Christian lifestyle, let us defend our faith, and together with God, recognize in each day, each experience, yet another chance to learn something new. To quote from Virgil, "Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito. Vincit qui se vincit. . .Yield not to misfortunes, but advance all the more boldly against them. He conquers who conquers himself."
"My Inspiration" by Julia Swyden
These past years have been filled with immense joy, "light bulb" moments, and fun-filled field trips. However, I would be lying if I did not also mention the dreaded waiting for grades, arguments over math equations, and the occasional break down. As a student, it is easy to become overwhelmed by grades and deadlines. In life it is easy to become overwhelmed or even bitter with life's hardships. There was one experience in my life that helped me change my outlook to hope and determination instead of being overwhelmed by all of the obstacles in my way. I would like to share this story with all of you. This was my inspiration.
Helen Keller once said, "Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." This is one of the truest statements ever said. There is suffering everywhere. Suffering can be physical, emotional, mental, or any combination of the three. There is no age limit, height limit, or weight limit. Suffering is something that breaks the barriers of race, religion, and time. From the very beginning of the earth, to the very end of the earth, there has been suffering. Not only has there been suffering, there has been the overcoming of suffering, also known as joy and peace. Some people never learn how to acquire peace; others seem to be born with it. I am one of the blessed ones; I was taught how to overcome suffering. This lesson was not learned in a "normal" way, but most lessons worth learning are not.
When someone thinks of learning or being taught a lesson, they would ordinarily think of being taught by someone who is older or who has had a better education. However, the person who influenced my life in a great way and helped to teach me more about how to face the world was a three-year-old boy with Down Syndrome named Oran. Oran and his twin brother Jack were clients at a hippotherapy and therapeutic riding center for children with disabilities. I was an angry teenager, a volunteer who was unsure of how to be happy in a not-so-fair world.
I had only been volunteering for two weeks when what others might consider a simple event changed my life forever. My mother had dropped me off at the riding center so that I could work with Oran and Jack that day. I rolled my eyes as I walked up to the gate. As far as I knew, it was just another day that I had to get through so I could go back to my room and continue being angry at the world. As I was closing the gate, Oran noticed that I had come in. As I turned around, I saw Oran running toward me as fast as his little legs could carry him. Without thinking, I took a few steps forward and knelt down with my arms open. When he reached me, his small arms were immediately thrown around my neck. I wrapped my arms around him and held him close. In that moment, my heart melted and all anger and aggression were gone. All I could think was, This small child has every right to be angry. But he is hugging someone he hardly knows and he is happy. I can be happy, too. After the embrace ended, I put on a smile. I no longer had to fake joy; it was simply glowing outwards from my heart.
The knowledge of love and true joy has taught me to overcome many challenges. Instead of viewing things in life as something that I must do, I view them as something that I get to do. In every bit of work I see the growing experience it gives me. In each argument, I see the opportunity for a deeper relationship. In every test, I see the ability to learn. I have learned to keep going through hardships because, in the end, it makes me a stronger and happier person.
Having the ability to overcome hardships with joy in my heart has helped me to receive many awards and make friends in everything that I do. At horse shows, win or lose, I keep going. This kept me going all the way to a national championship in 2008. Overcoming has given me a greater commitment level to my education and my future. I see the opportunity to show others what joy and love really is through my education and through my success. I view this opportunity as the greatest I will ever have. Because of this, I graduated high school with a 3.98 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. This desire to influence others had me push to become a National Honor Society member and a leader within my community.
Suffering should be acknowledged because it is real. There are many people hurting and many people in pain. While all of this is true, it is not hopeless. There is still love, care, and joy. While we may not always see it, there is hope. There will always be suffering, but there will always be the overcoming of it as well.