001oh all [Music] all [Music] a [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] l oh [Music] l [Music] h all this hello everyone and welcome to the 2024 California School for the Deaf graduation ceremony we are thrilled to have all of you be here in attendance to celebrate our seniors graduating to today is a very hot day so we are trying to get as many tents for shade as possible I know what the tents set up sometimes it's a little bit hard to see so we want to make sure you guys are as comfortable as we can while you are here in attendance for the graduation ceremony we do have water on tables on either side of the field here bathrooms are in the back and you can use at your convenience and we'll let our program begin and
002we're going to be starting with the national anthem so we will welcome two students anaise as morala orina arbara and rashab Singh say can you see by the [Music] D what so proud we H at the Twilight last gleaming who BR stripes and bright stars through the pous F for the r Hearts we were [Music] so get me streaming the [Music] sing G through the night that I BL was to them oh s do that star spangle b or the land the and the home to uh [Applause] [Music] thank you Analise and Risha for signing the national anthem I would like to introduce myself my name is Frank Lester and I am the student student engagement and leadership development coordinator supervisor career center supervisor and we I help to make this event happen I would
003like to welcome Miss Amy novotney our school superintendent and she will give our welcome address and thank you [Music] Frank hello before I begin I wanted to say such a lovely job performing The National Anthem thank you so much it was so beautiful I can't believe it we're here we have been discussing things all day and now we have come to this moment of the graduation celebration and ceremony I do want to say thank you and good afternoon to our faculty and families our special guests and especially the class of 2024 who are here today for this special celebration of your last day here at CSD we look back at what's happened over the last four years years and we can't help but also look forward to see what is held in the future for
004you all I'm here as a superintendent of CSD and a couple of weeks ago we were already celebrating we had the senior banquet we had the High School awards ceremonies with the FAA banquet we had the morning brunch all kinds of different activities where we could share wisdom and words and advice and now we're here and I was trying to think what words should I impart heart today what have I not yet said well I was thinking about the theme we have Journey to Excellence that's our theme this year and we want to keep that phrase not just with us for today but until we got here today and continue with it into the future journey into Excellence it's not that you got here and you've reached the the final last element of your time
005here it's something that needs to stay with you and it's something that you need to continue to do things that you continue to learn lessons that you continue to learn that are going to stay with you and that will be your journey it doesn't end today it commences after today excellence in Academia athletics events student events and sometimes it's very exciting to win and sometimes it's a bit frustrating when you can't make what you were hoping to do and you experience frustrations yes there's a social event here and we've had this is the culmination of all the events that we've been celebrating lately what I want you to think about is how you will continue this journey into Excellence going forward you will want to be the best version of yourself continuing to improve learning
006every day despite the frustrations you can learn a lesson from those as well and that is the spirit we hope to embed in you all today and why is that journey into Excellence significant because you will become the best version of yourself and that will positively impact your community and we want to see the best in you again congratulations class of 2024 we are so proud of you but we can't wait to see what you will become in the future it's just beginning it's just beginning and that's very exciting to embark on a New Journey we have a series of speakers today and before I pass the Baton to the next speaker I want us to thank all our families and friends who've been very trusting of their children to CSD we also want to
007thank the staff and family members who've had an ongoing commitment to our school and to the children and also recognize my cabinet team starting with Katie Canfield and I'm un fortunately she could not be here today we have jopia Charles could you find your names oh I'm sorry being busy being a manager Len Gonzalez Dina students we got Su Hong our director of instruction Barbara White from PPS student services never mind it's so I want to thank all of you at the career center a wonderful team the graduation committee thank each and every one of you you on the graduation committee and my secretary Lisa Nunes who is responsible for keeping us in in line and pursuing the right path we also want to acknowledge some special people that are here today with us we
008have CDE Department of Education cherl cotton Deputy superintendent oh not here all right we also have the California School for the Blind Gina wallette oene is here all right the Diagnostic Center you have Gloria we have people from the city of Fremont we have the mayor of the city of Fremont that's Lily may we have the city of Fremont council member Yang Xiao we have assembly member Liz Ortega representative Karishma katri and thank you all for coming and participating in this celebration I am now going to celebrate you today congratulations class of [Music] 2024 thank you Amy for such a lovely opening and welcoming introduction and now the gr the graduation commencement speakers with the class of 2024 they've decided to select a person to come up here on stage and present to the rest
009of you and that would be Mr Jeffrey bib could you please step [Music] forward hello everyone hello good afternoon superintendent Amy naat nne faculty the graduates families friends and alumni I am honored to be invited to give a speech at my by my Elma M the California school for the deaf and its 164th [Music] year again I'm Al so happy to give a speech at my alma MRA the California school for the def and its 164th year class of 2024 are you guys ready to graduate are you ready I'll give you a little bit of a preview of what you shoot I'll give you a little preview I'll be your athletic director this fall Eagles let's go again Eagles right here now [Applause] you so [Applause] all right you guys are ready my name is
010Jeffrey bib I go Jeff by for short and I am a proud father to Gabriella and Victoria I am a husband to Matilda and I am the son of Esther and Arthur bib also I am that annoying brother to Maria kanu I love you guys teacher and coach and I'm also she's also a teacher and Coach I am an alumnus from the the class of 1998 who here is from my class of 1998 all right three three of us four 1998 let's go any of my class former classmates here really thrilled to see you guys all here thank you this marks my 20th year here at CSD or 28 years if you include my time as a student obviously I love this school can you believe it 26 years ago I graduate graduated over at
011the amphitheater with purple hair can you believe it I had dyed my hair purple and at that time I had no idea what the word rest of the world looked like nowhere nor where my angel wings would take me thank you no nor where my inkle wings would take me the biggest turmoil in the world at that time was President Bill Clinton though obviously you weren't born then so you may have to Google him later after the ceremony not during after this ceremony I am Mexican American or more specifically San Jose Mexican a grew up on the south side of San Jose in the Valley so my mother I learn and she is here I learned the value of Familia and Leadership my childhood my childhood upbringing strongly resonates with the Tapia side of my
012family through family gatherings trips to swap meets a late night card games I always felt family was an important part of my identity and my support system just like you and I hope it is for you as well my grandma she never learned sign language fluently she did speak Spanish but my mom was not able to speak Spanish this is unusual because typically the oldest child in the family would be fluent in their mother's native language my mom's first language was ASL and she was able to thrive she went to galet had children and worked at the post office she also volunteered for various Community projects including serving as treasure for the California Association of the deaf [Music] again she volunteer for dar's Community projects including serving as treasure for the California Association of the
013deaf those are the values I aim to pursue every day as my family and I work with my number one clients the students you guys here sitting before me through my friend other side I learn the value of school pride CSC have played a pivotal role in my family's generations starting in 1928 my grandfather Henry bab learned about the school through deaf church members my my grandfather before coming to CS started CSD in 19 my he had no prior schooling and enrolled for just a year because of his adulty age with little education he gained with little education he gained he bought and bought land and lived the Farmer's Life in Selma California and when my father was born Oscar bib he went to the California school for the deaf and also I went to
014the the California school for the de as well also both my daughters have come to school here at CSD as [Applause] well as part of our as part of four generations in CSD history CSD matters to me significantly as it should for you I challenge you to be willing to visit de schools in America go see schools in other countries I have visited over 20 schools in America and eight schools overseas some schools have features or programs that may be better than CSD there is no school that equals the bilingual whole child experience that CSD has to offer and CSD is number one for that experience as I Echo Dr Henry clapping's words CSD is number one take pride in your Alma matter as you spread your wings and fly like eagles I must give
015recognition to the class of 2024 all of you right here in the class of 2024 are oneof aind the legendary class in CSD history no matter what the Believers and the doubters say about this class there is no comparison to my ordinary 1990s High School experience with theirs just remember I only had Bill Clinton but you have gone through a lot more than I have and this is why freshman year the co year right you had to Define what high school is on your own and the at the beginning of your teenage years when it was critical to have access to adult Role Models or upper classman guidance your access was limited to monitor screens sure was cool to go to class and you are able to Define yourselves I know you also thought it
016was cool to go to class right next to your bed I know you also had late nights being online with your friends and some of you probably got out of class by claiming internet issues so you can go out and play Hoops but understanding what High School is was uniquely defined by [Music] you in your sophomore year we returned to school in masks remember mask and I I taught ASL how many of you were in my class and it felt like I had two freshman classes instead of one cuz it felt like you guys were freshman again it was an unbelievable challenge as step individuals to navigate academics and sports with critical communication components taken away your Junior and senior years P finally you guys had a normal school year you went to classes without
017restriction you competed variety of sports and had multiple school events you won national championships in the academic bowl and girls softball but yet you had to figure out how to be and the girls softball was one of the best in history winning that National Championship this year special s and but yet you had to figure out how to be role models to the lower classman you needed to plan a future altered by Co and the emergence of AI dang it again as you graduate from high school you will have have to plan a future that is altered by Co and emergence of artificial intelligence no class can duplicate this four years experience at CSD yours is a unique Class A one-of-a-kind [Music] class and I congratulate you today and here's some wisdom and advice that
018I have picked up on my life's Journeys and I'm happy to share be something be for something show up in support of your decision be curious and open-minded don't think I'm too cool for any of that be curious and open-minded travel and travel all over as you can visit New countries and cultures I have walked the Roman Coliseum I have summited Mount kilan jarro I have white water rafted on the NY River explored the old town of Stockholm and watched the sunrise at Anor Watt and yet I still crave more and I hope you guys do the same so again travel as much as you can find activities and hobbies that make you happy just like I found dis golf that makes me happy I can play for hours at a time and I I
019hope you find something that piques your interest seek out and have mentors once you get into college or your career find a mentor to counsel you and listen to their advice and experience and it's okay to fail it's all right digest it learn from it and don't repeat those mistakes don't spend time tomorrow stuck on yesterday's news live for today and hope for tomorrow again don't dwell on the past look to the Future go and visit our national parks who's been to yede you guys been to Yos come on more of you need to go to yosity you have to visit the national parks their sheer Majesty May remind you of your own Atomic insignificance you might feel very small but in the fascinating ways of nature you will feel larger and inspired and feel
020renewed please check out our country's national parks and buckle up get those safety harnesses on be ready for the future and have a have a good time and the rough on the rough Seas ahead is just a part of life but enjoy that ride and laugh a lot life is about to unfold for you in all of its forms love heartache accomplishments disappointment and testing of Faith Life is Beautiful laugh along the way it makes life a lot more [Music] fun as Stephan Curry yall know Stephan Curry right he is the greatest shooter of all time you know Curry's Curry has stated be the best be the best version of yourself in anything you do you don't have to live to live you don't you don't have to live anybody else's story thank you class
021of 20124 I wish you a long and beautiful Journey soaring journey ahead again one more time you guys ready Eagles over here on my left s now switch rolles Eagles on my right SAR on my left [Applause] congratulations graduates and best of [Music] luck and thank you Jeffrey all right the Eagles are soaring thank you what we have next is the salutatory address and that is Shel alhaj [Applause] [Music] hello good afternoon everyone thank you for coming my name is charbel alhaj and I'm very honored to be the salutatorian for the class of 2012 I would like to express my gratitude to my family my the staff the teachers every time I come here at CSD I've seen so many other mainstream schools I compare it to what I see I had so many frustrations
022and barriers to access into socializing my parents realized that I needed to go somewhere else and of course we decided it would be CSD so I started at CSD in the class of 2017 I became the most improved student that year so that tells you something every day I worked harder and harder to make the person I am the best I could be continuing still to now CSD has the best programs for us class of 2024 from 2017 until now we had covid big time we've had inflation well with Co most of us had to stay home we looked at the screens on our computers as was already mentioned field trips sometimes we couldn't purchase things that we wanted but we won't give up we agreed to continue and hold fast I have to say
023that this is the biggest achievement that I've had so far things here have really impacted me you know when I think of different things I say we have to do as much as we can and there were so many things if it weren't for them I wouldn't be here like my parents my teachers the staff the students and my friends this is the best memory I have my parents my teachers I've already mentioned all that I'm so grateful to the teachers and staff made us change into better people they've made us become good people who could Thrive and mature and I think that we all have memories of how much we enjoyed our time together and how much we laughed and also we have to show our gratitude to all the people in our lives
024think of who you are grateful to that have supported all of us in the class of 24 and I thank you all as well [Applause] [Music] thank you sherel what a wonderful speech next we will have the validatory address and that is by Jace tilletson woo hello everyone my name is Jayce tilletson and I am the V validator of the class of 2024 and I'm I came to csdf when I joined ECE and now I am standing here in front of you during graduation how do you feel about graduation of course you're excited and nervous and it's okay and normal I want to share a tip with you seniors as you enter the real world W you know some things are easy or hard in the real world and always you will struggle the first
025time you experience a challenge but never [Music] stop I want you to remember about deciding your path into the future but the experiences can can be positive or negative you need to think about what makes your decision to meet what you want or need in the future you will face many different challenges and Bear however you need to learn to be patient you can't get what you want too fast they always will solve and appear in short in the short or the long term You are not alone you have support from your family your friends and staff members all from here at CSC always they will work with you and help you to solve the challenges and be patient and to help you break down barriers to succeed remember please be patient sometimes it takes
026a long time for challenges to solve my last message to you is I am we are very happy to work with you no matter what whether you're a teacher a staff member family we still want to say thank you for everything to all of [Music] you you who I just mentioned will make us successful we learned from you no matter how little or a lot we know that this may the last be the last time we see each other for a long time but someday we will meet again and thank you to thanks to all of thanks to all of you for coming to our graduation if you work hard you will become successful thank you so much [Music] thank you Jays what a wonderful presentation next we're going to show you what we did
027this morning it was the the scholarship ceremony and we'll project up here on the screen the individuals who receive scholarships at this morning ceremony [Music] nice for for [Music] congratulate congratulations to all of the recipients the scholarships are here to help you with your future and even far into the future we would like to thank the individuals and organizations who made it possible for us to have the scholarship awards that we did today to assist our graduates next we have the conferring of degrees Amy nney sui hung team baby hey [Music] okay no [Music] go [Music] Jace Robert tilletson wo [Music] Shel alash let's go ulisa aasta Haro [Music] Christoper aralo anell [Music] Marissa aala Zoe Mall Bell [Music] we are number one thank you everyone keep that up for the future Lucy Elizabeth beus
028[Music] zanita bellam Maria Barry berlinski [Music] on helica Briseno Lopez [Music] I want to thank the teachers faculty and staff for everyone helping us get through high school and family and friends zaren Zoe breno hey guys [Music] josha Ruth Brock [Music] yes Isabella bin cilia bird f