By Ali G.

19 months ago, I climbed the stairs of the Family Foundation School, scantily clad in a short skirt and high heels. It was a Monday morning, but I didn’t plan on staying in school for long. I came in spitting venom, with my head down and my claws out.

Now I’ll be walking down those same stairs. I’ll have my family and friends around me and I’ll be wearing the requisite deep blue cap and gown. It’s possible that I will stumble—I’ve learned many things over the course of my stay here, but how to walk in high heels was not one of them. The knowledge I gained less tangible, maybe a bit harder to quantify. Yet,  I’ve grown up.

As I type this, I’m sitting at a desk in the Main Office. The desk is placed on the floor I once laid on, refusing to move until the school switched me out of Spanish class. I remained until I got hungry. When I was sixteen, I was at once six years old, impetuous, selfish and entitled, and sixty-six, jaded, exhausted and (I thought) completely finished with what life had to give me. I learned to tame my destructive passions, and not fight battles that were beyond, not to fight the hand that fed me, and listen to those who knew more than I. I learned to nurture my constructive passions, rejoining Chorus for the first time since middle school, connecting with my peers in a very real way, and voraciously reading all the books that I finally had time for. I found me.

Soon, I’ll take it all with me, and I’ll be leaving, but I will not be gone. I’ll be leaving in Binghamton, at the off-campus Bridge Program. It’s possible that I will stumble, but I’ve learned so many things. I can’t wait to live another day, and that alone is my miracle.

Commencement Address by Dr. Gerald Janauer, Academic Dean

It is again time for good-byes.  Another senior class is ready to make their journey home.

The path each of these students has taken was long and difficult.  Parents will clearly remember the fear, the anguish and the desperate search for help.  Today, these same young people have accomplished what most young men and women of their age would find difficult to understand.

All of our students that are sitting before you on this stage have earned an academic diploma.  The Family Foundation School program graduation, however, means much more than the diploma that these students are about to receive.  Program graduation from The Family Foundation School means that these young men and women have worked hard to embody the principles of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, and have practiced them not only in their daily lives at the school, but also when away with their families and on home visits.  These young men and women have shown a willingness to be honest in all of their affairs, and to be of service to others as they grew to trust God as they understood Him. This required firm faith on the part of students as well as parents.  The level of work that our students and their families have invested in this graduation is remarkable – ordinary high school students cannot lay claim to this achievement.

So graduating from FFS is not easy.  But Life will also bring temptation, life will bring trials, and there may be slips.  Our students have gained the tools to overcome such difficulties in their lives.  These tools are now there whenever they need to reach for them.  Our students have also gained a new extended family – The Family Foundation School teachers, staff, and their fellow alumni.  Many of our students continue to stay in touch with us and with their fellow graduates.  Even after leaving us they know where to turn for support.  Graduates, probably the most important advice I can give you today is to stick with the winners.  Your success and your sobriety depends on it.

As we do at all of our graduations, we have alumni that are here today to support our graduates. We look forward to seeing YOU support the next generation as well!  Your support will give courage to students who are struggling and help them to realize that the light at the end of the tunnel is not the train, after all!

And, as you leave here today, remember what Abraham Lincoln once said:

“You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.”

So, continue the path of growth that you started here.  Growth and learning are a lifelong process, a lifelong journey.  This is the journey that you’ve really packed for!  Make it a good one.

Congratulations graduates!