Meet Jose from Wisconsin Institutions Literacy Council
Graduation Speech
“A Journey of a Thousand Miles begins with a Single Step”
Jose Ciprian-Ramirez
July 26, 2018
On September 18, 2017, I started as a student in school at KMCI. I really didn’t know what to expect, but mostly at that point I didn’t care. I went through the motion of going to school doing little and getting little out of it. The first steps of my journey were not very productive. After a few months that changed. I passed the Reading test and then the Math. Momentum was on my side at that point. Soon, I had passed the other two GED tests as well as completing Employability, Citizenship and Health. I earned my HSED on July 5th. Looking back at my journey, I realized that the struggles and the effect have helped me. It helped me build skills gain confidence and mature. It also gave me hope for my future. Now, I can work on learning for a career.
Getting my education completed means the world to my future. I didn’t graduate just to say that I have a high school diploma. I graduated so I can have a better future for my family and me. Also it proves that no matter how bad it gets in life, I should never give up. I can succeed and do the impossible. It just takes that one step to get started.
Finally, I would like to end with this quote by Francis Assisi that perfectly sums up my journey:
“Start by doing what’s necessary then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
