Royal Palm Beach High School’s Class of 2017 was “brilliant,” as Principal Jesus Armas would call them during his commencement speech on Monday, May 22 at the South Florida Fairgrounds Expo Center. At the evening ceremony, the seniors sat awaiting their turn on stage, young men on the left in black caps and gowns with women on the right in silver, all about to become high school graduates.
Armas led the ceremony, which included a commencement address from Palm Beach County School Superintendent Dr. Robert Avossa.
Avossa continued to share his central message of adapting to the ever-changing world we live in today. It is this world that the seniors were entering as they reached the milestone of their high school graduation.
“There are a couple things that will always remain the same even though things in our lifetime continue to change,” Avossa said. “There are some pretty basic rules, like be nice, be honest and work hard, dream big.”
Avossa shared details of his own life as he urged the graduates to embrace the future.
“In the early 1970s, my father packed up his four kids, me included, and rolled the dice and moved to America with few dollars, no formal education, hoping to inspire me and my three siblings to do better than they had, and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” Avossa said. “And today, I have the great privilege of living out that American dream, and I know many of you will be doing just that.”
Avossa spoke about the importance of leadership and the tough decisions that people in leadership roles must make in the present day to better the future for everyone.
“Class of 2017, we are so proud of the accomplishments that you’ve already attained, and we know that your future is bright,” Avossa said. “Let’s give the Class of 2017 one last round of applause. Thank you all and God bless.”
For Armas, the focus was on brilliance — the brilliance of his students, the brilliance that they achieved as high schoolers in Royal Palm Beach and the brilliance they have yet to achieve.
“I’m so very pleased and proud to say that I have seen brilliance in so many of you and in so many different ways,” Armas said. “Brilliance, ladies and gentlemen, is the growth that so many of our graduates have demonstrated in these last four years, so as to be able to walk across this stage today.”
Salutatorian Owen Flannagan, who graduates with 35 completed college credits, rose to the podium and focused his speech on the Royal Palm Beach community, and how it has shaped him and his fellow classmates.
“This is more than just Royal Palm Beach. This is our home, and I see all of you as my family,” Flannagan said. “As the singer Ed Sheeran points out, ‘These people raised me, and I can’t wait to go home.’”
He looks back at his high school memories with a smile, and urged that persistence be the key to the future of each individual.
“Everyone here has gone through many achievements to reach this point, whether it be pushing through classes for 13 years or urging your children to do so,” Flannagan said. “Graduation is a very important milestone, and it shows that persistence really is the key to reaching any of your goals.”
Valedictorian Carlos Romagosa, who graduates having completed 42 college credits, spoke of sacrifice in order to pave the way for future experiences in life.
“Tonight marks the end of a run, a run marked by hardships that led many of us to make sacrifices,” he said. “We sacrificed our sleep to work on our schoolwork; we sacrificed our down time to aid our community; and, most importantly, we sacrificed our personal interests to maintain a proper balance in our lives.”
Romagosa shifted his speech to shine light on hope.
“Although some of us may have strayed off the right path, just because someone stumbles and loses their way does not mean they are lost forever. There is always hope,” he said. “Hope is the most important thing to have, especially in regard to the future, because it is always there, even when it seems like all is lost. We rely on hope, for it fills us with this unconditional optimism that makes us believe we can do anything we set our minds to.”
Armas shared his final words with the Royal Palm Beach High School Class of 2017 before the presentation of diplomas.
“Remember that today is called ‘commencement’ because it’s the start of you going out into the world and experiencing that adventure that we call life,” Armas said. “While it’s nice to think back on your years at school, we’re going to start looking forward to the future that awaits you.”
ABOVE: New RPBHS graduates Julian Bailey and Paige Lee.
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