Thanks, Dr. Griffin. As Governor, I've done a lot of these commencement addresses in my day. I've given lofty speeches to hundreds of really bored graduates at just about every major university in the state.
This may be the smallest graduation I've done...but it definitely means the most.
Because this graduation gives me the rare opportunity to say to each one of you face to face: Congratulations Brenda, Cindy, Kate...all ten of you.
Congratulations on showing the heart and courage it took to make this step and change the course of your family's future.
From here, you're ready to take on a whole new way of life...one filled with all the hope and prosperity that you never had before.
Now you have that hope, thanks to what you've learned here at O-C Tech...and thanks to a great teacher like Ed Neal.
Mr. Neal is one of those teachers who changes your whole outlook on who you are and what you can do.
I think one of the most striking things about his class is how you'd spend every morning over coffee and the newspaper, talking about current events.
Through those discussions, you started making a connection with the world. You started feeling a part of something bigger...like you're making a contribution.
That's a basic human need, and that's the real value of work.
So now not only will you have the income to support your families, but you'll have the confidence and skills to stand on your own two feet. And that's got to be the best feeling in the world.
I want to thank everyone involved for helping these women know what that kind of hope can feel like.
O-C Tech, DSS, and JTPA, thanks for working together to get this program off the ground.
Ed, Keith Blanton, Jim White and Dr. Griffin, we thank you for offering these ladies the chance to learn.
And we thank our corporate sponsors who actively support the training here.
This graduation is a reminder that what you're doing here leaves a lasting mark.
These ten women represent ten families who will be better off because of you.
And from those ten families will be born generations of families who we hope will never know poverty because of the example they saw at home and the opportunity they were provided.
Families all across this state are gaining that new opportunity every day. In fact, the welfare rolls of clients who are able to work have dropped by 63 percent since the Family Independence Act passed.
But behind those numbers are lots of hard-fought victories by parents who have sacrificed much to declare their independence...women like your own Norma Davis.
Norma, I love what you wrote to me in your biography.
She was brutally honest. She had the same serious doubts about this class that a lot of you probably shared.
Norma writes, "When I first begun this class, I had no intentions of completing the class. Now I realize that taking this class was the best thing I've done. With hopes, now I'm getting ready to graduate. There are going to be opportunities thrown at me. I'm ready.
The question is, 'Will they be ready for me?' "
What a great outlook. And what a difference 16 weeks can make.
You've come a long way, and today you've reached a huge milestone. But I can assure you, this is just the first of many.
Because when you leave here, you'll take that box of tools with you. And you'll know how to use them and build things with them.
But best of all, you'll know how to use those tools to build a new life. And like Norma said, I just hope the world's ready for you.
Good luck and God bless. y tNyou'dThrough your discussionsthoseto stand on your own two feet that kind of that kind ofyou because of the example they saw at home and the opportunity they were provided.thatfor change newut beserioudserious you can bet And yut beand God bless.You've come a long way, and today you've . I can assure you, it'llIndependence Butthis isto you all
And in recognition of your achievement today, I'm proud to proclaim May 29, 1998 Mechanical Trades Technician Day throughout the great state of South Carolina.
Good luck to you all and God bless.
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