: Kaye Dunn, Regional Academic Manager, ACT Education Solutions, Ltd.
I truly regret being unable to be with you today on this wonderful occasion –your graduation from the Global Assessment Certificate (GAC) at AlphaMax Academy! This year’s graduating group is small, but I am confident that others will soon complete the requirements and join you.
Although I have never met you, I do feel that I know each one of you. Reading all of your many, many assignments and looking at your PowerPoint and oral presentations make me feel as though I know you well. I have observed your development over the course of the GAC to a point where I look forward to receiving your assessments as I know I will learn something new and thoroughly enjoy reading or watching them.
I would like to congratulate you because now you are part of a large global family of high-achievers who can boast proudly, “I survived the GAC!” and as you know from experience, this is a well-earned achievement and not for the faint hearted! I expect there were times you thought you would never get to this day! You have worked your way through the sometimes seemingly endless expectations of the GAC and are now already in the next stage of your life – university. But please be assured that now in your academic life there will be nothing you will not know how to do. You can be confident that the academic and social skills you have learnt in the GAC have indeed prepared you to - not only succeed well in your chosen university course - but also succeed in your lives as capable, well adjusted, and high achieving people.
As you go through life it is important to always remember three things:
First, NEVER lose faith in yourself and what you can do…
Steve Jobs (now deceased), cofounder of Apple said: Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
So - Believe in yourself and Follow your heart!
A second thing to remember is; don’t ever compromise your basic values – only ever do what you truly believe – believe right deep inside of you - is the right thing to do. Even if everyone else is doing something else, trust in yourself and the values you have been taught by your parents and your teachers. To paraphrase Albert Einstein: Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value.
So - Don’t compromise values!
And the third is the most important thing to remember:
ALWAYS have a positive and caring attitude to others as well as for yourself.
Remember that a true test of a person’s worth lies in how much a person gives to society rather than how much they gain.
So - Consider and Care for others!
And so to each of you in this graduating class in 2013 – Congratulations and Good Luck!
And many congratulations to your wonderful teachers who have guided and nurtured you through this stage of your education with a great deal of care and dedication.
Congratulations to all of you!
From Kaye Dunn, regional Academic Manager on behalf of Ros Washington, the Academic Director and all the staff of ACT Education Solutions Ltd.
