Weekly Column: Celebrating Idaho Graduates And Those Who Helped Them Reach Their Goals

As spring turns to summer, graduation ceremonies are marking rites of passage in communities across our great state.

To students, congratulations on your graduation.  I commend you for your hard work in reaching this important milestone.  You have proven you have the ability to prepare for the challenges ahead and maximize opportunities.  Congratulations on building a strong foundation.  You have so many great things ahead of you.  I wish you all the best in reaching the goals you have set and those yet imagined.

To parents, grandparents and other guardians, who are seeing their children embark on their next chapters, my heart is with you.  You have poured the best of your life’s work into the person your child is becoming.  They carry your influence and love with them.  We all have people in our lives who have helped us along the way.  Some of their lessons are clear and some are yet to be realized at the right time.  Their words stay with us, encouraging us and providing insight, based on their experiences and reinforced by ours.  You are no doubt shaping and influencing beyond the time your child is at home with you.  I commend you for raising and guiding the future of our great country.

To teachers, we cannot fully congratulate graduates without considering the hard work and talent of the teachers who helped them grow.  U.S. Senators disagree on many things, but the Senate recently came together to unanimously pass a resolution recognizing the roles and contributions of the teachers of the U.S. in building and enhancing the civic, cultural and economic well-being of our country.  In the resolution, the Senate acknowledged that education and knowledge are the foundation of the current and future strength of the U.S., and teachers and other education staff deserve the respect of their students and communities for the selfless dedication of teachers and staff to community service and the future of the children of the U.S. 

This graduation season and all year, I thank Idaho teachers for your remarkable contributions to the future of Idaho students and our country.  And congratulations, students and your loved ones, on meeting your goals as you embark on reaching your next objectives on your roads to success.

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