 We've heard it said that it takes a village to raise a child, and I think tonight we would all agree that it takes the commitment of a very large, powerful, dedicated, and loving village of educators to educate a child. Yes, and when these children become the leaders of tomorrow, this world will be forever changed. So we are ending our celebration this evening with hope. Hope for a better tomorrow through education. Hope, one syllable, four letters, H-O-P-E. Noun, a feeling of expectation and desire, derived from old English hapa or hapean, meaning to wish, to expect, to look forward to. A word of German origin connected as well to the Dutch language. Hope, a word with so many sounds, so many souls. It can't get by on just one syllable. It's the words of a man, a king with a dream. It's attached to every face that screamed for freedom. Four letters? More like six, and it's spelled like this, V-I-S-I-O-N. And do you see now what I mean? Where there is no vision, the people perish. We are a species defined by our progress. From the moment we climbed up off our knees and onto our feet, and we've been doing it ever since, off our knees and onto our feet. Hope, a noun in action. And whether we are shuffling, mumbling, or running at breakneck speed, it makes sure that we are moving. Hope, derived from the one who makes all things new. A spirit that lives on the inside, like a wish, waiting to come true. It's true. We are made of stardust. So the next time you see a shooting star, turn around and look inside you. You're on fire. Know that the only things that burn are the things that last forever. Know that fire ignites, and we're called to leave this world in ashes more beautiful than the icebergs before. Hope, a word which has its origins in the smile of a newborn child, of the spark of a newborn mind which has the power to change a generation. And if there's one thing important enough to remember about what hope is, it's that H-O-P-E stands for one thing, and that is W-E. We. We are hope.