Ring ceremony speech

Good morning Sister Francine, Mrs. Serrano, faculty, staff, family, friends, and my
fellow koalas. I am Starry Lai, an international student from China, and I am honored to
be here with you today during the ring ceremony. Juniors, I want to congratulate you for
reaching this milestone of becoming upper class women and I am sure that the journey
to this exciting day has been worth it.
When my fellow classmates nominated me to give this speech, I accepted
immediately. It is such an honor to stand up here and share my journey. However, soon
after saying yes, I started to get anxious and asked What kind of trouble have I gotten
myself into? What am I supposed to share?
I, then, pondered on how I have grown spiritually at Connelly and what my ring
means to me. Well, I can honestly tell you that I only grew half an inch in height in the
past couple of years, but spiritually? I was not sure about the answers. I googled and
hoped that the almighty internet could somehow inspire me, but it didnt. Everyones
journey is incredibly unique and the answers are too personal to even be similar. I do
not belong to or practice any particular religion, but I do believe in the existence of God.
And I believe God sets a path before every of us and leads us through.
On July 1st, 2012, in Shenzhen, China, my mom got a message stating that
there would be an American high school fair at the convention center. My initial plan was
not to come to America until later in high school, or even college. So my mom and I
went there, just to acquire information about American high schools. And Yes, one of
those schools was Cornelia Connelly. I met Sister Francine and Mrs. Serrano. We
started an official interview, although I did not realize that until it actually started. In

conclusion, Sister and Mrs Serrano said they were willing to accept me if I apply to
Connelly. Actually,some other high schools made the same offer. But my mom, for no
apparent reason whatsoever, really trusted Sister and Mrs. Serrano and truly wanted to
send me to Connelly. It was a difficult decision for my family to make. I mean, they are
sending their only child to the other side of the world ALONE. However, It took less than
an hour from my first hearing the name Connelly, to interview, to make the decision and
sign the contract. Looking back, I really cant find any logical reason to explain how all
that happened so smoothly. It was simply a God sent gift as part of my life journey.
Forty days later, I arrived at LAX and soon started my first day at Connelly as a
sophomore. I knew Connelly was a perfect fit for me when I found out our mascot was a
koala. But, the stereotype, all-girl school scared me. By that, I mean the movie Mean
Girls. However, I have met the nicest and sweetest girls here at Connelly and we share
so much in common. Connelly Koalas love food and everybody knows that as a fact!
Connelly Koalas are lazy, but in a good way. We are too lazy to do any harm or to hurt
others feelings. Connelly Koalas are loving, caring and respectful. Thats what I love
about Connelly and my ring represents this Koala spirit. God led me to Connelly from
the East to the West.
As a Sophomore, I was clueless about this beautiful and significant ring
ceremony that makes Connelly so special. It is not a popular tradition in my culture.
However, I knew I wanted a class ring that would symbolize something special and
remind me about my American high school years at Connelly. I wanted to remember all
the beautiful Koalas that made my high school years so unique.

Once I became a Junior, I ordered my class ring. I chose honors and cheer for
the two sides on the ring. For me, the two sides are like a balance. It is a balance
between academic and extracurricular activities. It is also a balance between selfachievement and team spirit. I am not ashamed to say that I was the perfect definition of
nerd in my sophomore year. I did nothing else but study. Of course, I received some
medals and honorable mentions at the honors assemblies. I got on the honor roll with
an attractive GPA. The results were all pretty good considering it was my first year in a
new environment and having to use English, my second language, to acquire all
academic knowledge. But I wasnt sure if that was all I wanted. Academic success is
definitely important, but it would make no difference for me to come to America or to
stay in China for that. I mean, I can still learn how to solve a function in China. I knew I
wanted an experience. I wanted it to be a different experience that merited me leaving
home. And then, I saw flyers for cheer tryouts. Like I said, God sets a path and His
hands were all over this part of my journey. I wanted a different experience and what
experience could be more American than being a cheerleader? Cheerleading turned out
to be more fun and meaningful than I had imagined. It taught me team spirit through
some amazing girls. They went out of their way to incorporate me into the team by using
their time and talent. I will always remember my fellow cheerleaders when I look at my
ring. Especially how we were dancing, stunting and cheering in the rain, All that
dressed-up like football players on Halloween.
Having shared the meaning of my ring and spiritual journey, I chose the two
words that meant the most to me for my ring-Cheer and Honors. Thus, there they are on
my ring eternally engraved.

Juniors, you have reached this significant and lovely ring ceremony. Being upper
class women sounds fun and exciting and it is. You are almost as cool as us seniors.
However, it also means more responsibilities. Upper class women should be noble role
models, courageous, and gracious young ladies. Always keep that in mind and I am
sure your ring will remind you of that every time you glance at it. At this time, I am
certain you are waiting with excitement to see your very special ring. Juniors Koalas,
YOUR rings. Congratulations and God bless.