St. Luke Primary School, Belize City - Standard Six Graduation Night

On Wednesday, the 23rd of June, we had the pleasure of attending the St. Luke Methodist School Graduation ceremony as special guests. Anthony was selected by the graduates to be their guest speaker, and he was honored to be chosen. He spent several weeks writing and revising his speech - even adding in notes at the last minute. His speech was moving and inspirational and certainly gave the graduates much to think about as they embark on whatever comes next in their lives. Here in Belize for many children standard 6 (like grade 8) is the highest level of education they will attain, so this is a very significant ceremony and Anthony did his best to address all the students with his remarks. It was a beautiful ceremony and a great speech - here are the highlights of the event.

Pre-Ceremony Preparations Underway

All 96 graduates march down the aisle with their candles glowing

Everyone at the Start of the ceremony

Time for awards and certificates

Students enjoying the pre-graduation activities

Anthony with Ms. Shirley

The award winning Saint Luke's Choir sings their rendition of the National Anthem

Anthony's Introduction as Guest Speaker

Anthony's Speech to St. Luke Standard Six Graduates:

Good Evening Reverend Papaloute, General Manager Patricia Bennet, Reverend Goff, parents, family, friends, teachers and staff of Saint Luke, Principal, Ms. Bodden, Vice Principals Miss Welch and Mr. Parham, and the students from the graduating class of 2010.

There’s an old joke about a young student’s first day of school. A little boy returns home after his first full day in the classroom, and his mother says to him, “What did you learn at school today?” the little boy turns and looks back at his mother and says, “Not enough I guess, they want me to come back again tomorrow.”

Congratulations are due to this outstanding group of standard six students for not only their successful completion of Primary School, but more so, for their willingness to return to school each day and commit themselves to a lifetime of learning. As you sit here tonight, know that we are all here because we are extremely proud of each and every one of you.

Twelve years ago I began my teaching career with the Los Angeles Unified School District. I was new, inexperienced, slightly intimidated, and even a little bit terrified of what seemed like an impossible challenge that lay before me. The only experience I had ever had in a classroom was as a student, and never in my wildest of dreams did I ever think to myself that I would become a teacher. Well, as it was, I entered my classroom on the first day of school not knowing if I would be chewed up, squashed, and eaten alive, or welcomed by the 36 young students who sat at their desks staring back at me. As we all looked back and forth at one another, I was silently overwhelmed. I gazed into their eyes and saw not just a young group of boys and girls, but rather the future of our country. As their teacher, I was not only tasked with simply dispersing information, facts, figures, and ideas, but rather I was given responsibility for helping to mold these young minds into doctors, teachers, bankers, business men and women, and future leaders of the world. As it turned out, we all survived, no one was eaten alive, and actually things ended up being a lot less scary than I had initially thought they would. So, after my first teaching experience and a number of additional years working in various schools, my decision to leave my family behind, move to Belize to work with teachers and students, make attempts at trying to understand a new language, and being assigned to work with the students, teachers, and staff at one of the largest primary schools in Belize was also initially overwhelming. However, it didn’t take very long before the students of Saint Luke made me feel as though I had found a second home. The students here and the moments that we spent reading, learning, and laughing together further cemented for me the incredible and sincere importance we must all place on the welfare of a child, since they are indeed to become the very backbone of our society. Whether they are the brightest or the funniest, the quietest or the loudest, the most creative or the most athletic, we must remember that each student is an individual, every one is unique and special.

Tonight is a special night for each of us here. It is special because each and every person in this building has in one way or another played a role in enabling these students to arrive here tonight. Parents, I’m not sure where to even begin. To be a parent is to dedicate oneself to a lifetime of responsibility and commitment toward the well being of another person through unconditional love and undying support. The mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and other family members who sit here tonight have each helped to nudge, guide, and encourage all of you to always be the best person you can be, to do your best, and to never give up. Graduates, always remember that your family and friends are your guiding lights in what can sometimes seem like a never-ending and complicated journey. Know that they are here for you, that they love you very much, and will always be there to support you as you continue along life’s path. Take care of them, love them, laugh with them, cry with them, appreciate all of the sacrifices they have made in their lives for you, and above all, cherish and hold dear the moments that you share together. These are the riches that make life rewarding. In the end graduates, you are each the sole person in charge of your destiny and the choices you make will determine the life that you lead; however, listening to the advice and counsel of your parents will certainly assist you along your path, especially when things become difficult.

To the teachers, staff, and administrators at Saint Luke, a million thanks could not possibly compliment the hard work, dedication, and tireless efforts you have each put forth over the course of these students’ careers at the school. A school is in many ways, as I’m sure teachers would agree with me, a larger and more extended family outside of our own homes. Saint Luke’s family is quite large, but also very close. The teachers, principals, and staff are all dedicated to doing what is best for the boys and girls who spend their days here. With many who are so willing to provide additional classroom, reading, or tutoring time, that they often sacrifice their own free time to provide support to their students. Lee Iacocca, a prominent and successful businessman once said, “In a completely rational society, the best of us would aspire to be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less, because passing civilization along from one generation to the next ought to be the highest responsibility anyone could possibly have.” I firmly believe this to hold true. To be anything less than stellar as a teacher, and to dedicate less than 100% of your energy, effort, and passion toward learning would be not just a disservice to a child, but also to society. Thank you teachers and principals for taking the work that you do seriously; thank you also for preparing these graduates as they depart St. Luke and venture forth to new and unknown places where they will confidently overcome the challenges that come forward on the path toward accomplishing their dreams.

To the graduates of Saint Luke, you are at a crucial point in your lives right now. You have successfully completed your primary school education. For some of you, it has been a lot more difficult than it has been for others, but for all of you, this is the first, in a long series of steps that will lead you to the new, exciting, and sometimes challenging adventures you will face throughout your life. Although you will always be part of the Saint Luke family, you are each moving on from here. Some of you are heading in a similar direction, some even to the same schools, and others still have yet to determine where their next path in life may lead. This being said, and you can take this directly from someone who has been in your shoes many times, it’s okay to not always know which direction the road will lead, it’s okay to take a chance on something after carefully considering all of your options, and yes, the unknown can be a pretty scary place. When faced with a question or a problem, we can try to avoid making choices by doing nothing, but even that is a decision. In every single thing you do, you are choosing a direction. Your life is a product of choices. We alone are responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime. You will indeed be faced by adversity, challenge, heartbreak, and tough decisions, but you will also be granted moments, opportunities, and experiences that will be filled with such happiness and bliss that to dwell on the negative or bad experiences in life will seem pointless.

The theme that you have chosen for your graduation is very appropriate for the event. Our dreams and our aspirations are our invitations to set new goals, attempt new tasks, and dare to travel uncharted courses. We each have gifts to offer one another, but many, frequently need encouragement to recognize our own strengths and talents. Be proud of yourself, your talents, and all that you can offer. Do not be shy about offering help, support, and encouragement to those around you. Today’s successes and accomplishments were once yesterday’s struggles and challenges.

I have never heard of anyone dreaming of failure or aspiring to be unsuccessful. Failure does not play any part in dreaming. It is a dreamer that encourages failure, not the dream. History has proven to all of us that there were many very successful dreamers who failed numerous times before they experienced success. The difference is that their experience with failure was not going to end their dreams, but instead only motivate them to dream bigger. "If You Can Imagine It, You Can Achieve It, If You Can Dream It, You Can Become It.”

Over the last few years I’ve watched you grow from boys and girls to young men and women who will become the future of Belize. In the few years that I have worked with Saint Luke Primary School, I feel as though I have been blessed with many opportunities to get to know each and every one of you both individually, and as a collective group. You have made us smile each and every day; some of you have even made me laugh so hard that my sides hurt. Above all, you have all treated me like a member of your family, and I thank you for that. I know that no matter what path you choose to follow, you will forever be part of one another’s lives, and the experiences that you have had thus far will continue to mold each of you for many years to come. We love you all and wish you all the success in the world. I hope your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known. Congratulations and good luck.

3 December 2010

It’s just a day under 6 months away and it’s our final, official last day with Peace Corps Belize. It’s definitely for real this time! I know we talked a lot about finishing in July/August; we were planning on it – I mean, we’ve been exchanging Belize dollars, we’ve been clearing out items we don’t need, we’ve been telling people we were coming home, … . After great deliberation, many hours of conversations, pondering, and pro and con lists (and even attempts at PACA) we both came to the realization that it makes the most sense to be here through some major projects and activities we are committed to. While it means another 4 months beyond our anticipated completion date and longer until we are back among American family and friends, we know it’s just a very short time in the grand scheme of things. Really, what’s another 4 months after 3 years? Granted, it is hurricane season, but it’s okay.

Anthony is in the midst of a major project with the HIV/AIDS Committee, he’s coordinating a barrier analysis on the usage of Belize’s Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) curriculum in primary schools. This has been a major undertaking that started over a year ago with the creation and publication of a supplemental teacher’s manual that covers required curriculum items with new and engaging lessons and activities. The project is also taking place within the designing for behavior change (DBC) framework we were trained in last November by the PTO from Peru. It’s such an incredible and important approach to all the work we do as Peace Corps volunteers and really makes sense (I wish I’d known about it when I was working with the teachers, the kids, and the teen moms) and fit perfectly with the mission of the HIV/AIDS Committee. To be able to see through the entire project and subsequent training planning and implementation is important to each of us, as well as to the members of the committee. In addition to the behavior change project, we are also overseeing a number of initiatives that will help address the goals and objectives for PEPFAR. PEPFAR is the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Launched in 2003, PEPFAR holds a place in history as the largest effort by any nation to combat a single disease. Belize has been granted $2.5 million over the next three years, some of which has been allocated for our Peace Corps post to further the community development and health-related work that volunteers are involved with as we help to improve health and education services. Over the past couple of years we have partnered with a number of agencies and developed close working relationships with some that have really had an impact on the overall success of the committee’s initiatives. Most recently, we have met with and plan to collaborate with UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) on a number of common issues and concerns raised by multiple agencies and organizations country-wide. So, suffice to say, there is definitely a lot of excitement in the air as many of the projects and work from the last few years begin to show great promise and future success.

We also have a major initiative coming up in the programming department with a review of our four projects in order to reduce to three projects that will involve the activities of the fourth within all of them (we’d no longer have a stand-alone youth development project, but would instead have all volunteers include youth-focused work in their assignments). This will have major programming implications and we both want to be a part of making those reality. With my strong passion for youth development and service focused on youth (considering 70% of the population of Belize is under the age of 30), I would like to be here as we incorporate this into our project plans and make it an intentional focus of our site development and planning for the next class.

We also feel really good about being able to see and support the class of 2010 as they complete their service, the class of 2011 as they reach their one-year mark and the class of 2012 as they reach their 6-month mark. Since I trained the latter classes, I feel I will be able to continue that valuable support to their work throughout these coming months and look forward to being a part of the entry-into-site events for the new class and the mid-service check-ins with the 2011 class. Also, we have our second IST on DBC that we want to take part in since we’ll have completed the process with the HIV/AIDS Committee and have direct, relevant work in which to ground the theory. We are also looking forward to the other upcoming IST and AVC training activities we will continue to be involved with by staying through December.

Finally, it’s just not yet time to say goodbye to Belize. Though we’ll never truly say goodbye, we both feel these remaining 6 months will be the right length of time to have our work in the office become more institutionalized and enable us to share and hopefully implement more of our big ideas with the new staff on board (our fabulous new CD and the incoming PTO) to help in making the progress needed to help Belize become the strongest post it can be.

We guarantee that this time around, the date is set. We want to be home for the holidays and we both know that the time to move onto something new is with the start of a new year (although it would be pretty neat to be with Peace Corps for the 50th anniversary… ;) ). Thank you all once again for your encouragement, love, and continued support.

PEACE!