Speakers admonished Provo High School's senior "Bulldogs" to develop hope, vision, optimism and happiness in their lives, during graduation ceremonies Thursday night.
Family, friends and schoolmates were greeted and welcomed to the ceremonies in Brigham Young University's Marriott Center by Jennifer Hardy, senior class president, and Karl Nelson, student body president. The "Sanskrit" was used as the theme of this year's commencement.Comparing the power of one lighted match in a dark room to hope, Kristen Orton said, "Just as one small flame can make a difference in the darkness, so can our hope make a difference in a world full of despair and sadness.
"It is so important that we do not fall victim to the attitude of indifference, for to succumb is to lose all hope."
Eun-Ha Park, speaking on vision, told classmates, "Vision is only of tomorrow. But to make that dream of tomorrow a reality of today, we should never forget that hard work is a must. To expand the scopes of our vision, we must go out to learn what is important and serve others. No matter how many times we fail in achieving what we envision, we must remember never to lose the ability to keep on dreaming and search for the truth. . . ."
Jerilyn Nielsen said, "Each one of us can determine if our own life is well lived by the people we associate with, the choices we make and the activities we participate in."
"Structure your life from right now with the knowledge you have gained, so that you are able to take advantage of opportunities as they come. Live your life so that you will be able to look back on the past with satisfaction and look forward to the future with confidence."
Advising graduates that it is necessary to create their own happiness, Debbie Smith suggested four methods to accomplish that. "Look for the good in everything. . ., learn to be satisfied. . ., be true to yourself. . . and be good to others. Happiness is a wanderer and will easily slip away if we are not careful with the methods we use in keeping it."