By Kevin Deutsch
President Joe Biden delivered a video address to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School graduates Tuesday night, saying they have “been tested in ways no young person should ever have to face,” telling them he is “so proud of each and every one of you.”
Members of the graduating class — freshman during the deadliest school shooting in American history on Feb. 14, 2018— have managed to turn their “pain into purpose and darkness to light” after surviving the killings, and later the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Three years ago, your lives and the lives of this community changed in an instant,” Biden said in a video recorded at the White House. “This class lost a piece of its soul. You’ve been tested in ways no young person should ever have to face – from a freshman year, a year of unspeakable loss, to a junior and senior year upended by a pandemic.”
“The story of this class and the Parkland community isn’t just a story of pain,” the President said.” It’s a story of resilience, turning pain to purpose and darkness to light. This is the legacy you’re building and the legacy you’ll continue to build.”
“No graduating class gets to choose the world into which they graduate,” Biden continued. “But every once in a while, every few generations, young people come along at a point in history with a chance to make real change.
“The world has already seen just how capable you are, how strong you are, how resilient you are. There’s no question you’re already changing the world.”
“I’m so proud of each and every one of you.”
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