Avon Lake graduates asked to embrace change, not fear failure

AVON LAKE — As the Class of 2026 sat together on the field of Avon Lake Memorial Stadium on Friday, they formed a sea of maroon, broken only by the green field below and a few extra-glittery graduation caps. They were congratulated on their accomplishment and were encouraged not to fear the major changes that were coming to them, for it was only through failure and change that they had come this far. "Know who you are, and ask 'What is my why? Why am I here? Why should I work so hard?'" Superintendent Joelle Magyar said. "And then once answered, take action. Don't wait for others to open the door, search for opportunities and rush towards them with excitement and inquisitiveness. Never quit, always be positive, think success and if a failure or a mistake happen — which they inevitably will — show back up. Get back up, be persistent, work hard and keep showing up until you will not be ignored." As examples of being brave and taking a risk, two seniors that addressed their classmates on Friday gave thanks to their parents for taking a chance by immigrating to the U.S. Class President Joodie Ahmad thanked her parents for migrating from Syria to give her "the greatest gift of all — opportunity." Likewise Irina Vatafu, one of two senior class speakers, thanked her parents for moving to America from Romania. "(My parents were) the ones who pushed me to accomplish my goals, even when they felt impossible," Vatafu said. "They started over in a new country at 35 years old with nothing but an empty suitcase, and taught me that starting a new chapter isn't something to fear, because it just means new opportunities away." Vatafu also thanked her grandparents for braving their fear of flying to travel 5,000 miles from Bucharest to be present on Friday, and asked her classmates to show that same bravery in their own lives. Ahmad also encouraged her classmates to be brave in the face of their new lives beyond high school, telling them that even if they did not feel ready, they could build the confidence to be so. "As we leave high school, I think a lot of us are scared for the future," Ahmad said. "Some people know exactly where they are going, and others are still figuring it out, but I hope whatever life takes us, we don't let fear make our decisions. I hope we take chances, I hope we speak up and I hope we allow ourselves to try, even at the risk of failing. … The life you want is often waiting on the other side of fear, because some of the best moments of our lives come from the things we almost didn't do." After Ahmad spoke, she ceremonially passed her class president's gavel to 2027 Class President Cricket Krawiec. Lincoln Rose, another senior speaker, said that graduating from high school had seemed impossible to his class both at times when life got hard and also simply because it had once seemed so infinitely far away. But, Rose said, it came just the same, as would any other goals that seemed impossible so long as his classmates would work toward them. "We worked so incredibly hard to achieve what we never even realized we were capable of," Rose said. "All of those decisions, all of those learning moments, all those times surrounded by uncomfortable feelings, they led us to where we all are today … Nelson Mandela's words, again, ring true. 'It always seems impossible until it's done.' So, as we embark on whatever the future has in store for us, we lean on the processes, experiences and people that helped us and shaped us to become who we are today. And, we lean on each other, knowing that we made it to graduation together." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.