TRANSCRIPT
Shanxi: Hello, this is Shanxi Omoniyi, host of MPE’s “Homeschool Hints” podcast to encourage you wherever you may be on your homeschool journey.
Graduation season is upon us, and one of MPE’s most enduring traditions is its high school graduation ceremony, just for homeschoolers!
The ceremony is student-led with a class feel, yet also personalized as parents pronounce a special blessing over their graduate. This year’s ceremony will be Friday, May 8, at College Church of the Nazarene in Olathe.
As we prepare for the big day, we thought you might like hearing these senior addresses from our class of 2025.
Elle: Hello, my name is Elle Goddard.
Today, I would guess most graduates here are looking towards the future. We’re making plans, whether it be deciding where to go to college, entering straight into the workforce, or making any other decisions that come with being graduated from high school.
As I stand here today, not only am I looking towards the future, but I’m remembering what happened to lead me here. Our senior motto is attributed to Ralph Abernathy, who was a civil rights leader and close friend of Martin Luther King Jr. He once said, “I don’t know what my future holds, but I know who holds my future.”
There are two main parts to this statement. The first one is, “I don’t know what my future holds.” Admitting that we don’t know something is both empowering and humbling. Those words might not seem like they belong together in a sentence, but I would argue that they do. Admitting we don’t know all the answers can be hard, but it can also lead us to a better solution.
The next part says what we don’t know, our future. At least for me, this is a hard statement to make. I want to know exactly what’s going to happen and how I can best prepare. However, with the future, we just can’t tell.
We may have plans that go in one direction and our life takes us in the opposite. Sometimes we can control it, and sometimes we can’t.
It reminds me of James 4, which in verses 13 through 15 says, “Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit. Yet you do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
James is telling us that we’re not guaranteed tomorrow, but he’s also telling us how fragile our plans for the future are.
This leads into the second part of the saying. It says, “but I know who holds my future.”
The conjunction there is telling us that even though the previous part of the statement is true, it’s going to turn around. Then it says, I know who holds my future. This is so profound to me. Because who is holding my future? The God who can hold the entire universe in his hand.
If someone’s holding something, that means they care about it. God wants what’s best for us, and he has our future already planned out. Jeremiah 29: 11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a hope and a future.”
As Christians, we have something the rest of the world doesn’t. We have hope and assurance for the future. Even if our plans don’t go exactly the way we want them to, we can know that God is with us, He is guiding us, and He will make everything okay.
I encourage us all to look back in our lives and see the ways that God has led us to get where we are today. For me, I can say that it is definitely not the path I expected to take, but I’m so grateful that He led me to be where I am and who I am today, and I trust Him with my future. Thank you.
Sophia: Good evening. My name is Sophia Hofflinger.
When we graduate, we face new responsibilities in life. The decisions we make become far more impactful as our focus moves away from the past four years. We now have to consider how our choices affect the rest of our lives.
This transition can feel incredibly overwhelming, but God, in His mercy, provides encouragement for His children in Scripture through the example of Joshua. Our class verse, Deuteronomy 31:8, says, “It is the Lord who goes before you, He will be with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
For a little bit of context, Deuteronomy 31 describes the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua. Moses had sinned against God, and he was no longer allowed to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. Instead, God appointed Joshua as the new leader.
Joshua’s responsibilities were changing drastically. He now had an entire group of people to lead. He must have felt so overwhelmed. What words of encouragement could possibly bring him peace and prepare him for such a task?
Moses tells him, it is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Joshua doesn’t need to figure it out on his own. The Lord goes before him. The Lord knows the path to take.
Joshua doesn’t need to figure it out from scratch. He only needs to follow where the Lord leads him. Furthermore, the Lord promises to never leave Joshua. Now this promise doesn’t have contingencies.
Think about it for a moment. This is an incredible promise. The creator and sustainer of the entire universe promises to never leave or forsake a finite, sinful man.
This should be an encouragement to all of us as we face new chapters in life. The Lord goes before us. The Lord will show us the path to take. He will not forsake us or leave us, no matter how many times we make mistakes or we stumble.
So, we don’t need to fear or be dismayed, because it is the Lord who goes before us. Thank you.
Jane: Greetings and salutations. Thank you for coming out tonight. My name is Jane Vanderhorst, and today I’ll be talking about purpose.
Now, I think when you live on a ginormous rock, constantly hurtling through vast space, it’s hard to believe that purpose isn’t something we’ve made-up as a comfort, a justification for our little habit of forgetting just how impossible it is. for even one human to exist, let alone 8 billion. Impossible, that is, without the hand of a higher being. And yet here we are.
Of us 8 billion humans, your parents happen to meet. Of 20 million possible genetic combinations, you happen to be the lottery winner. God planned the dimensions of your soul before he breathed life into the first human being. In his own image, he made us, every one of us.
And yet sometimes I still struggle to believe that this earth is enough for us. And that makes sense when you think about it, because a fallen world was never meant to be our eternal home. Thankfully, I know that just like high school isn’t the end of our story, neither is a sin-ridden planet.
Even crazier sounding, my mom and dad weren’t lying when they said there was a purpose behind my suffering and studying, which were usually the same thing. (laughter)
But what is that purpose? if you’re like me, you’ve had the basic answer drilled into you from a catechism since you were pretty young. Our purpose is to glorify God. But how does school accomplish that?
Well, I’ve thought about this a lot, especially since when I was in 5th grade, I planned to be a high school dropout. (laughter)
But my answer is this. It’s pretty hard to authentically praise an author that you claim is your favorite if you refuse to read his writing. It’s pretty difficult to praise a beautiful sunset and talk of it with true passion if you won’t leave the shade of your house.
Similarly, can I praise the Almighty Creator when I haven’t taken the many opportunities that He’s given me to learn about Him and His beautiful world? It certainly wouldn’t be as easy.
To my knowledge, everyone here has dedicated their high school years to serving God through studies and efforts to learn about his world. And that is what we’re here to celebrate today.
There is a purpose for all this work that we’ve done, and there is a way to persevere through our future as well. God did not walk with us this far to abandon us in the desert.
So the next time any of us feel distant from God, I’d like us to retrace our footsteps and ask which one of you walked away first. We have been granted the favor of a devil crusher and a cosmos sculptor.
So what we do from here is no longer a matter of what we can do, but what we will do through Christ who strengthens us. Congrats, Class of 2025, and thank you.
Lydia Wiley: Parents, grandparents, family members, friends, and fellow graduates, it is an honor to stand before you today as we celebrate this exhilarating moment of our lives. And to our parents, thank you for choosing to homeschool us. Thank you for believing in us, sacrificing for us, guiding us, and encouraging us to be who Jesus called us to be.
Today, fellow graduates, I’d like to present you with a challenge. One of my favorite memories of homeschooling was listening to my mom read aloud. A story we read when I was little was about a homeschooled boy named Wilson.
Wilson was fascinated by the world around him, particularly the tiny ice crystals that fell every winter in his home state of Vermont. The beauty of snow captivated young Wilson. His mother encouraged him to pursue his gift and gave him an old microscope. Wilson began exploring God’s creation.
We live in a world where we are pushed to blend in and follow the crowd. As homeschoolers, we are already set apart by the way we were raised. We have countless times seen the looks on people’s faces when we tell them we’re homeschooled, as they say, “oh, that’s nice.” (laughter) And the conversation, awkwardly or abruptly, ends.
It’s uncomfortable being different. The temptation to conform to worldly standards is strong, and the pressure to fit in will only increase as we step into this new season of our lives.
Jesus warned us that if we were of the world, the world would love its own. But he chose us out of the world, and because of this, the world will hate us.
You may be thinking, isn’t this supposed to be an encouraging speech? Well, Jesus also said we did not choose him. but he chose us and appointed us so that we might go and bear fruit that will last and so that whatever we ask in his name, the Father will give us.
Jesus didn’t expect us to find our own way. Instead, He became the way and promised to give us everything we need. If there’s anything I’ve learned in the last few years, it’s that trying to fit in will never make me happy. Playing a part so that others will like me will never fulfill me.
But going forward, as I step out into this new adventure, I want to continue to grow into who God made me to be and fulfill the purpose He has for me. And I challenge each of you to do the same.
But back to Wilson. He continued to pursue his fascination with snow. He drew the flakes he studied, but they never lasted long enough. People laughed at him and thought he was crazy. He invested much more than he earned and tirelessly worked towards seemingly futile ends. But Wilson didn’t mind.
And one day, at long last, he finally did it. Wilson Snowflake Bentley was the first person to photograph a snowflake. Each snowflake was completely different.
If our creative God designed beautiful, unique snowflakes, how much more did He invest in His children? He loves us and created us each unique and beautiful. He created us all in His image. He made no mistakes. He equipped us each with special giftings and skills to use for His glory.
Fellow graduates, may we dare to be different and unapologetically follow Jesus. Challenge accepted.
Danae Sabinas: Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, and graduates. My name is Danae Sabinas.
Today signifies the culmination of a significant chapter of our lives, a chapter defined by growth, perseverance, and the pursuit of knowledge. Tomorrow, we embark upon a new journey, one filled with boundless opportunities and unforeseen challenges.
As a homeschool student, this milestone holds particular significance. My educational journey has been uniquely shaped by the warmth and familiarity of home, a place where learning intertwines seamlessly with daily life.
My parents and family have not only served as educators, but as steadfast guides who have nurtured my character, faith, and intellectual curiosity. Their unwavering support has been the cornerstone of my achievements, and this moment is as much a testament to their dedication as it is to my efforts.
As we prepare to move forward, let us first pause and reflect on all the memories of our high school years, moments full of joy, shaped by love, and rich with learning. Let us carry forward the academic knowledge and spiritual lessons that have guided us.
As President Ronald Reagan stated, “If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
No matter where we go or what we do, there are challenges ahead. What I would ask of you graduates, and what I am asking of myself, is to meet those challenges straight on with our heads held high and our hearts wide open. We must try to excel in everything we do, strive for excellence in every task, large or small.
And remember, it is often said that knowledge is power. This is not true. The application of knowledge is power. We are making a fundamental change in our lives now, whether we start college, join the military, or begin working. And we must keep a fast hold on the values and convictions that have guided us thus far.
In the words of Jessica Lang, “Ultimately, your life is made up of moments.” So don’t miss them by being lost in the past or anticipating the future. Take pride in your work, rejoice in all the victories, and never forget to cherish the lessons you have learned along the way.
As we step into the uncharted territory of the future, remember, stand strong under God’s leadership, be true to yourself, and as one of our greatest presidents, Ronald Reagan said, the future doesn’t belong to the lighthearted, it belongs to the brave.
Shanxi: Please continue the conversation with us on our website, midwesthomeschoolers.org, or email us at podcast@midwestparenteducators.org. We’re also active on social media if you’d like to connect with us there.
Thanks to Kevin McLeod of incompetech.com for providing this royalty-free song Wholesome, which is licensed under creativecommons.org.
