Valedictorian Reveals He's Autistic During Speech

I'm excited to introduce this year's valedictorian in order to receive this honor the student must have the highest GPA and has to have attended at least two years and issue a the 2019 saluted to valedictorian came to success in the ninth grade he has a perfect 4.0 grade point average and plans to attend Auburn University in Montgomery in the fall where he will major and accounting this young man has held numerous honors since attending issue a is a member of the National Honor Society and was voted most likely to succeed by a senior class he was also a senior attendant for homecoming when the most noteworthy accomplishments that can be said of this young man is his perfect attendance record he has not missed one day of school since 9th grade this young man is also a member of the Black team Chess Club Art Club and h2o devotional Bible Club in his spare time he enjoys doing volunteer work at his church st. James United Methodist Church he also participates in all school related service projects including supporting the Montgomery area Food Bank and Montgomery Humane Society there are many positive characteristics that come to mind when I think of the student is kind he's loving and he strives to do his very best he's a strong advocate for his peers and he's not afraid to stand up for what he believes in this senior soon to be graduate has been awarded over $80,000 in scholarship monies from various universities with a career goal of accounting I have no doubt you it excelled in this profession the Bible verse that comes to mind when I think of this year's valedictorian is first Timothy 4:12 which says let no one despise your youth but set the believers an example in speech and conduct in love and faith and impurity please help me welcome to the stage this year's valedictorian mr. Andrew Dunham [Applause] thank you mrs. element for that introduction good evening parents faculty fellow students friends and family those of you who already know me know that I can be quiet and reserved sometimes so please excuse me if I come across as a bit nervous up here because I'm extremely nervous up there it's the largest crowd I had ever spoken and the only crowd however it is a great honor to be speaking to all of you tonight as a valedictorian for successful eliminate Academy's class of 2019 four years ago like many of you I began my high school career at anyway now that knowing what to expect honestly I was terrified of what high school would be like I was a new student having transferred from my old school having attended since kindergarten and I only knew one other person at this school but I began to talk to other students and I was able to make many new friends everyone was genuinely nice and caring your kindness and friendships are a large part of what propelled me to stand here before all of you today my fellow classmates and I have worked hard I was in and out of school these last four years not just in academics but also extracurricular and community service we have worked together praying together laugh together and love together we have forged many memories over the years that will stay with us for a lifetime and from what I have been told by many people older than myself there will come a day when we look back on this and on all the time we've spent at UA and truly realize these were some of the best days our lives speaking for myself I have been fortunate to learn countless lessons over my entire school career but there is one lesson above all lessons that I would like to share with all of you it is a very simple lesson that applies to everyone here and it is in my mantra for the majority of my life I want to tell you all that no matter how hard life can be for us has been move into a new unknown portion of our lives we should never ever give up there are times where all of us probably feel like something is truly impossible to conquer a wall that we cannot get past just remember there is always a solution to every problem sometimes it's a very easy solution that's right in the open but sometimes you will have to search long and hard for that solution and it's one of my personal heroes Winston Churchill once said success is not fatal a leader is not final it be courage to continue that counts do you want to know something there are no guarantees in life nobody is born without lies perfectly laid out in front of them with everything falling into place year after year with ease for me it was being diagnosed on the autism spectrum at the age of five I'm still autistic today i'ma be able to stick for the rest of my life and that is an uphill battle that I and several of you out there will out there tonight will have to deal with for our entire lives for me I'm always recognized jokes happy or angry or said just by their facial reactions and I have finally realized that after all these years I will never win an award for the best icon [Laughter] [Applause] but I owe my autism my autism is not [Music] and it's not just me that has obstacles in their lives every single one of us in here face obstacles on a daily basis but I stand here today before all of you as an example that all of us can achieve any goal so long as we put our mind to it and we don't give up there is a Bible verse that relates to this that some of you may know Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me every single student here tonight is reminded of this verse every time we step through the front doors of that's you na but this is not just a verb or applied to me this is a way of life those 10 simple words but in that particular order ring loudly in my soul every single day it was ten simple words or what already decided to face the entire concept of sua around when she first began to dream of this rule and I cannot think of 10 better words to live your lifetime I knew all things through Christ who strengthens me what in the simplest of terms you can do anything anything so long as you have Christ in your I would be remiss if I did not seize this opportunity that thank some people who have helped me here tonight thank you to each and every one of the staff and faculty at SU a your faith and support in each of your students and the world to me even if I didn't always express it I want to send a special thank you mrs. Julie beard who encouraged me to join the flight team in my freshman year by doing that she helped me socialize at school and that helped me come out of my shell also I would like to thank mr. Joseph cheb who taught me how to embrace math which I plan to be pursuing in college do all of my classmates and friends again I humbly thank you I know I can be difficult in stuck in my ways at times but your support has done so much for me and I hope that I've had some small impact on you as well thank you to my grandma Janet knees who believed in me since I was a baby and last but not least my parents on my very first day you a and as my dad wrote me to school he tell I was nervous he is as we drove down bone road he casually said you know if you work hard enough for the next four years you might stand a chance at becoming valedictorian someday I took that random stab at trying to calm my nerves to heart and I never looked back and finally to my mother Susie [Music] no matter how all of a day she had worked or how busy she was after work she always took the time to help me study whenever I needed it without her Karen guidance every day or these past four years there is no way I could've ever achieved this dream geez my mentor my best friend and my biggest cheerleader I love you mom [Applause] okay I'm spoken for long enough those of you I would think as we leave here tonight a class of 2019 we in forging new paths ahead and will continue to shape us for the rest of our lives there will be more obstacles more failures more successes and more happiness I wish you all the best as we begin our journey on these paths and I sincerely hope and pray that your time at success has proven to be as memorable and spiritually rewarding as mine and it huh well there's always other school [Applause] [Music] thank you - way that was very inspiring I'm sure the next speaker second this year's commencement address paper

Channel: Jim Dunham

Views: 202,059

Rating: 4.9439836 out of 5

Keywords: Autism, Valedictorian, Inspirational, Autistic, Shocking, Good Teenager, Teenage, Speech, Funny, Eye Contact, Montgomery Alabama, Montgomery, Alabama, Success, Unlimited, Academy, Success Unlimited Academy, Academics, Triumphant

Id: GtPGrLoU5Uk

Length: 13min 8sec (788 seconds)

Published: Thu May 16 2019