Success is a structure that must be built carefully brick by brick if it is to stand the test of time. We the seniors of 1979 have gathered here tonight to celebrate the completion of the foundation of that structure.

        As underclassmen, we had but little knowledge of the trials to be faced in planning and building this foundation for success. Few of us had definite goals in mind then, but one desire pulsed within us: the need to excel, to better ourselves and our society.

        Fortunately, we found here at Bourgeois and in our homes, people who helped us to shape our dreams into concrete goals, people who became the architects and masterbuilders of the foundation we now stand proudly upon.

        From our administrators, we learned the challenge of leadership and the power of example. From the persistent efforts of our teachers: we learned skills that will stay with us forever. And from our parents, we learned the importance of values, of infinite love, and of understanding.

        We are grateful to all of these people and promise that the lessons we have learned from them will be carried close to our hearts in the years to come.

        Bidding farewell to our days here at Bourgeois is no easy task. When we leave here tonight, we will be saying goodbye to a world that is familiar to us. We have built new friendships here. We have been given time to grow and experience new sensations. We have learned to applaud victory and accept defeat. We have learned to react, not as part of a mob, but independently and individually.

        Beginning tonight, we will become part of a new world, a world of different challenges. Each of us will react differently to those challenges, of course, but none of us will turn from them. We will accept each of them as a building block to be added to that structure called success.

        The class of 1979 is ready to face tomorrow, no matter what it brings. While looking to our past experiences and memories for strength, we also look forward to tomorrow with confidence realizing that we cannot linger in the past. Our memories are only a beginning and will be added to by each day that we live. Therefore, we have chosen as our motto "Life is not measured by the time we spend, but by the memories we share."

        We will not, as we say goodbye tonight, look back longingly or regretfully. Rather we will look back proudly and with much satisfaction upon years well-spent and lessons well-learned.

        To everyone who played a part in making tonight possible for us, we express our sincere thanks and our promise to live lives worthy of the foundation you have helped us to lay. Thank you.

Nancy Simons
Senior Class President
May 28, 1979