Sruthi Srinivasan spoke at the 52nd high school commencement ceremony on June 15
When Washington Township High School valedictorian Sruthi Srinivasan was 10 years old, she had a dream of becoming a scientist. Soon after making this decision, she was met with a teacher who told her she would never be smart enough to succeed. Srinivasan said she was honored to stand before her peers as valedictorian because she never thought she would.
“I had always defined myself by my intelligence,” Srinivasan said in her speech at the 52nd high school commencement ceremony. “If I didn’t have that, what did I have? Who would I be?”
Srinivasan overcame many obstacles during her time at Washington Township High School, spending long hours, day-by-day, putting time and effort into her hard work. Sometimes, she said, it was even kind of painful.
“Life is rife with uncertainties and complications,” Srinivasan said in her speech. “Right now, the lens pointed out toward the future seems blurred, but we must remember that just four year ago, we felt the same way, unsure and unprepared. Yet, through these four years, we have managed to focus our lens, and if we hadn’t, we wouldn’t be out here ready to graduate today.”
Srinivasan told her fellow classmates that she too felt nervous, excited and scared for what’s to come. However, the future is yet to unravel what is to come for everyone.
“While the past will persist, the future is flexible,” Srinivasan said.
Srinivasan said looking back, there were a number of teachers who influenced her success, specifically biology teacher Karen Nowicki, who inspired Srinivasan to have confidence and gave her guidance for public speaking. Srinivasan told her fellow students at the graduation ceremony to share their pride with the ones who supported them, who inspired them and who mentored them.
“This day may feel like ours and ours alone, but we all must share the spotlight with the people who raised and supported us,” Srinivasan said.
Washington Township High School prepared Srinivasan for the competition she expects to face upon entering college and when she is applying for jobs, she said. The environment taught her how to take criticism and to never give up.
“We had a big class of really smart kids,” Srinivasan said. “You won’t always be the best, but you still have to keep working.”
What she’ll miss the most as she makes her way to Cornell University, majoring in electrical and computer engineering, is being around the people she has spent almost every day with since she was a little girl, from Hurffville Elementary School, to Chestnut Ridge Middle School and finally the high school.
Srinivasan hopes to someday work for Google, having her hand in apps or robotics.
