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Potential for graduating students is staggering: McIntyre

Recognizing they embody nearly limitless potential, guest speaker Sean McIntyre encouraged the École H. J. Cody School graduating class
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Guest speaker Sean McIntyre

Recognizing they embody nearly limitless potential, guest speaker Sean McIntyre encouraged the École H. J. Cody School graduating class of 2013 to embrace four core values — hard work, integrity, commitment and passion.

McIntyre, a member of Cody’s grad class of 2001, noted his fellow students have gone on to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, business owners, engineers “and have affected this world for the better”.

“There are people in this graduating class that will go further and do more than they have. The potential and value in this room right now - is staggering.”

He talked about the foundation several of his teachers set for him and thanked them.

“The teachers of H. J. Cody have set a strong foundation for thousands of students, and they continue to do so today, and have helped to set the foundation for the graduates in this room.”

“I see massive potential, I see great opportunity; and I see the future,” he said while looking into the eyes of the graduates.

Telling graduates not to let anyone look down on them because they are young, he said, “There will be times where you need to earn the respect of your new peers by working hard, working long and being humble. That is reality of entering a world where the people around you have more experience and wisdom.”

Yet he noted, “the education you have already includes technology and information that was not available even 10 years ago. You have an edge, you have an opportunity. If you embody integrity, hard work, commitment and passion you will go far in this life. But when you add creativity; that is what will set you apart.”

“Your foundation is set, and the time has come for you to start to build on that foundation,” McIntyre said during the commencement ceremony last Thursday. “The kind of life you build now is up to you. And the way in which you look back on these years will help determine whether that structure is strong or weak. I encourage you, take these years as they were meant to be, a learning experience. Understand that you don’t have it all, just yet. Set a course for yourself and never stop learning. And understand the lessons will change.”

He concluded, “We, as your community, stand with you now, we believe in you, we are proud, and we are ready to see you go further than even you think is possible. The world is yours, be good to it, and be good to each other.”