[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16263-16264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




COMMENDING THE FIRST GRADUATING CLASS OF THE CONNECTICUT INTERNATIONAL 
                         BACCALAUREATE ACADEMY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN B. LARSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 25, 2003

  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute 
to a group of young constituents of mine in the First Congressional 
District. They are the first graduating class of the Connecticut 
International Baccalaureate Academy in my hometown of East Hartford. I 
would also like to specifically recognize one of the graduates, Alix 
Prinstil, for the extraordinary speech he gave at the graduation 
exercises, which I also had the honor of attending. Alix's words and 
the sentiments he expressed are of lasting value to the school and 
indeed to our entire education system in Connecticut. I am proud to 
insert his remarks into the Record today and again offer my sincerest 
congratulations to the Class of 2003.

                          Graduation Exercises

                       (Oration by Alix Prinstil)

       So we've finally arrived at this day: Our High School 
     Graduation Ceremony. Since I was in about 3rd grade, I 
     dreamed about what it would be like at my high school 
     graduation. This speech, as a matter of fact, was for the 
     most part written in my mind for the past . . . let's see, 
     12th grade-4th grade = 8 years! I always pictured what the 
     audience's reaction would be when I'd start off with:
       ``Many graduation speeches begin with, Graduation, 
     Webster's Dictionary defines it as--the award or acceptance 
     of an academic degree or diploma. But you won't hear such a 
     definition in this speech.''
       In light of what this program has brought to our attention, 
     however, this definition that was probably established 
     centuries ago barely skims the threshold of what 
     ``graduation'' really means, especially for this C.I.B.A. 
     class.
       Ever since we were freshmen, I don't have to remind us how 
     we've constantly been asked by not only friends, but parents 
     and even strangers, the question: ``What is I.B.?'' But how 
     many of us, except maybe Mr. Abelon, can even now give a 
     detailed (or even correct) answer? If, at this point though, 
     we were asked: What does IB do for a student?'', I think we 
     could all give an appropriate response. To make a long 
     explanation short, I'll partially quote the words of Mr. 
     Abelon almost 4 years ago: ``It's a rigorous program 
     established to produce a well-rounded-out individual.'' Well 
     when he said ``rigorous'' that day, not only did I not know 
     what I was in for, but I apparently didn't know what 
     ``rigorous'' really meant.
       We all walked in the first day with our middle school work 
     ethic, bags that we'd soon discover weren't big enough, and 
     among the presence of a group of approximately 50 people, 
     most we never seen in our lives, and probably never would 
     have. Never did I think that someone my age from towns like 
     Marlborough and Ellington would be in the same classroom. It 
     was through this school that every single one of us was able 
     to see and experience diverse personalities and people from 
     various towns of Connecticut. This diverse group of young 
     people is one of the things within the Academy that I'll 
     probably remember the most. And we've all grown along the 
     way, now looking forward to this summer so we can catch up on 
     the sleep we've lost.
       But we can't just think about what we the students went 
     through. Let me remind you, the audience: this is the first 
     school in New England governed by the International 
     Baccalaureate Organization. Our teachers were just as new and 
     in for a treat just as much as we were. Those countless hours 
     of homework that we received every night was put right back 
     into the hands of our teachers who would sometimes experience 
     countless hours of grading, whether it be watching our 
     Chinese characters develop as we got older, reading how 
     students explained why a dog isn't a cat, or grading a couple 
     of derivative and integral problems. At this point, I'd 
     really like to give a round of applause to the teachers who 
     have gone through this alongside their students for the first 
     4 years of this school's establishment, to those who we've 
     recently had, and to those we have had and lost.
       Now after all of this reminiscing, we must examine what 
     this graduation really means for us now and what it will mean 
     for us in the future. When we go home this evening (whatever 
     time that may be), what will we all think about? Parents: is 
     the first thing that occurs to you going to be what color 
     your child's room will be painted for that office or gym you 
     always wanted after they go to college? Graduates: will you 
     be wondering what you're going to do for fun tomorrow . . . 
     if we can wake up for tomorrow? With 4 years of such great 
     education behind us, I think we should all go home and take 
     some time to reflect on the advantages we have gained over 
     the majority of students in this state; country; and even the 
     world.
       Now for the backbone of this delivery; what I've been 
     trying to lead into for the past 687 words . . .
       I need to refer back to the beginning of this speech when I 
     said that graduation means more than just receiving a 
     diploma; more than just moving a tassel from one side of our 
     hat to the other and officially ending the part of our lives 
     as high school students. Graduation is what you make of it. 
     And after experiencing life under the wings of the IBO, I 
     should be correct when I say that the lives of each and every 
     one of us will be successful ones, no matter where we go. 
     When we have our 5 or 10-year reunion, or whenever Allison 
     wants to organize it, I strongly doubt that my statement will 
     be false. After 4 years of seeing the same exact faces 
     everyday all day, we're finally each going our separate ways. 
     College life is going to be much different from what we have 
     had. Let's not forget exactly where we came from. We've put 
     up with each other for what seemed forever. But I have to say 
     something I realized just two days ago and that I got a 
     little emotional when typing this: friends aren't always 
     people you talk to everyday. There are a lot of people in the 
     world that you may call a friend and could be one of the 
     worst individuals to be involved with. But being with you 
     guys for 4 years has showed me that there's

[[Page 16264]]

     greatness in every single one of you, things unmentionable to 
     the mind's recollection, and that I really have to say I love 
     you all. There was apparently a part in my heart that was 
     being saved to be filled by a group of people, and I realized 
     that the 21 of you, in each of your own ways, filled that 
     void with a better feeling than I've had in a long time. The 
     feeling I'll have for you next year is beyond the word 
     ``miss''. I just hope the person I've been will be imprinted 
     into your hearts as well. Please remember that this isn't 
     goodbye, it's just '`see you later.''
       Once again, I would like to thank Mr. Abelon for being 
     patient with this class, the Governing Committee, the East 
     Hartford Board of Education, Mr. Jordan, especially Dr. 
     Fallon, our Guidance Counselor Mr. Spiller for being there 
     almost everyday for not only being a Guidance Counselor who 
     organized our schedules, but a friend to talk to, teachers 
     who made our high school transition the easiest and wonderful 
     four years to look back on (I'd love to mention every single 
     one but it would make this speech longer than it is), East 
     Hartford High School staff but most importantly, the parents, 
     who brought us onto this Earth, gave us life, and raised us 
     to the best of their ability. And when I say best, I mean 
     BEST. Whether they show it or not, every second we're alive 
     on this Earth, they love us in a way we may not understand. 
     We wouldn't be here today if it weren't for them. To this 
     first CIBA graduating Class of 2003: The programs and tickets 
     call this a Commencement of the Class of 2003. This means 
     we're just starting where our lives will begin to pick up. 
     Make this graduation one of dignity and remembrance; and 
     treat today as your first big step into the real world.
       Thank you.

                          ____________________