In the world, everything that marks an end, also marks a beginning. The end of one day is the commencement of another. The end of one task is the beginning of a new one. The tree blossoms, bears fruit, sheds its foliage, and immediately begins preparation for another crop.

Today means different things for each of us. To some it is the commencement of higher education to others it is a career in the world of work.

Select a goal and work earnestly toward it. Know what you want and shape your course of study toward that end. We as graduating students, must not only achieve our goals but bring our honors and awards back to our community, not limiting our help, but to help others help themselves, bridging the gap between one another.

Our parents, teachers, and others have attempted to equip us well. They have tried to instill in us the principle of hard work, honesty, and ambition that would lead to better standards. These are qualities that are essential for us to achieve our respective goals.

We have enjoyed that blessing, which Tennessee has bestowed upon us – free education. To us has been given freely that which great men of the past have obtained only with many sacrifices and much labor.

The future holds a promise. I wonder just what that promise may be. Your future of the next generation is in our hands. It matters little where we were born, or if our parents were rich or poor, but whether we live an honest life and hold our integrity firm in our clutch, I tell you my brother, it matters much.

The late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was one of the greatest men that lived in our time. He had a dream that we should further our educational capacities in order to build a better community and to have a brighter tomorrow. If not here, where, if not now, when if not you who. Remember the future of the world is limited by ourselves.