Harper valedictorian Jordan White takes a selfie of herself and many of her classmates during Friday night’s commencement ceremonies held in the high school gymnasium. — Photo courtesy Jordan White
By Danny Hirt —
When Harper High School class valedictorian Jordan White gave each of her fellow graduating seniors a fortune cookie at Friday’s commencement program in the gymnasium, most couldn’t wait to break it open to see what messages they’d find.
But there was a twist — the fortunes were blank.
“It isn’t that I think you are all destined for emptiness or that I pulled a Taylor Swift by giving you a blank space,” White explained. “These blank fortunes are the best blessing we could ever hope for! Neither I nor anyone else can write out what our tomorrows will bring, but that’s the beauty of life.”
She added that “all of our fortunes are up to us to write. We do not have to be defined by our hardships or accept hatever
future we get.”
White encouraged her classmates to “embrace this power triumphantly and get comfortable being uncomfortable as you determine the rest of your life.”
The valedictorian pointed out how things have changed while the Class of 2015 has been in school since kindergarten. She mentioned such items as cell phones, selfie sticks, GPS, iPads, Wi-Fi and social media as examples of changes
through the years.
Years ago, “the idea of taking a picture with a phone would have seemed crazy.”
But White also pointed out that “we, too, have evolved from Barbie Band-Aids and scrunchies to skinny jeans and manicures, from a love for all things Barney, Cheetah Girls and Power Rangers to a love for Channing Tatum, Taylor Swift and The Bachelorette.”
As members of the Harper graduating class have changed, White pointed out that the members of the Class of 2015 have much going for them.
“Our class is full of potential. We have talented artists, athletes, musicians, mathematicians, scientists, chefs, welders and ag experts,” she added. “Luckily, the rest of the world is about to see all the brilliance that Harper has been keeping
to itself since we all have been around.”
At the end of her address, White took selfie pictures of herself and the audience, as well as with students in her graduating class.
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