PORT ANGELES — Port Townsend Mayor Michelle Sandoval told more than 500 Peninsula College graduates Saturday to not only expect change, but also look forward to it.
Sandoval, the keynote speaker for the commencement ceremony on the Port Angeles campus, said most of the graduates would have between 10 and 24 jobs by the time they are 38.
“Change is inevitable, and it is the only constant in life,” she told a packed gym at the ceremony.
“Don’t just be open to it; embrace it,” she later added.
An important part of life is education, said the student speaker for the Class of 2011.
Carlos Estrada — a member of the All-Washington Academic Team who plans to study engineering at the University of Washington this fall — recalled how he learned the value of education.
It was during the summer break before sixth grade, which he and his parents spent not on vacation, but picking strawberries and other crops.
Why must the family spend its summers that way, he remembered asking his parents.
“Without an education, all we can teach you is how to work,” they responded.
“Right then, I noticed the importance of education,” Estrada said.
Estrada’s family moved to Forks from Mexico when he was in the first grade, college President Tom Keegan said while introducing the graduate, who was awarded an associate of arts degree.
Estrada, the valedictorian for Forks High School’s 2009 class, presented his high school speech in both English and Spanish.
Sandoval recognized Estrada during her address.
“The circumstances under which we were born don’t have to define us,” she said, before noting his accomplishments.
Neither of his parents speak English, said Estrada, but that didn’t stop them from setting goals and dreaming of a better future in another country.
“Today, I stand here a little closer to achieving my goals,” he said before urging his fellow graduates to achieve their own.
“We are the new leaders. We are the new generation,” Estrada said.
“We are the new American dream.”
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
