The following text is Adrian’s 8th grade graduation speech from May 19, 2011.

Even though I have only been here one year…this has been the best school I have ever attended. I will really miss not going to this school. I have made a lot of great friends while I’ve been here. When I first heard about this school I was really excited. Yet on my first day here I was extremely nervous, mostly because I shadowed…with Kilbey… on one of his ‘hyper-days’! But still, after that day, I continued to make friends very quickly, with Zach, Tyler, Seabass, and last and but not least…Kilbey. When I first started out here I was totally lost…but as the school year went on, I got used to the daily schedule. I really like the LOTC’s, mostly because I have never been to a school that has done anything like that before. Some of my favorite LOTC’S were the trip to the U.S.S. Yorktown, UEC, SPAWAR, and the Spirit of South Carolina.

One of my fondest memories was when the middle school went to New Orleans. That was an
amazing trip!

I have also learned a lot since I came to this school. I would like to say… to all my teachers “thank you for all that you have taught me this year”.

I’d like to say thank you to Mr. B… for the amazing Latin and PE programs he has created for me and my fellow students.

I would like to thank Mrs. Logan for all the interesting history information and lessons she has taught us…and also, thank you for all the projects and interesting papers you have given me.

Thank you to Ms. Brown for the Math you’ve taught me. I really enjoyed the math projects you let us do this year!

And thank you (I mean ‘Gracias!’) to Mrs. Rowland for all the Spanish you have taught me this year. I have really enjoyed it…and my Mom is very proud of me!

Also thank you (Che che…) to Mrs. Ma for the Mandarin class you have provided this year. Learning Mandarin was a big surprise and very unique.

So to all the teachers, thank you for everything you have taught my fellow classmates and me. You have helped us grow and given us a stepping stone to our future.

Thank you to all the parents for being chaperones on our field trips, for providing food for parties and mentor nights. Thank you in general for helping us feel special

And last, but not least…thank you to Mr. Kreutner. Thank you for everything you have done this year. Thank you for all the LOTC’s you have created for my classmates and for me. Thank you for all the fun in-school activities you have done for us, and thank you for allowing me to come to this wonderful school.

Even though I have only been here for one year I will miss everyone and everything about this school. BUT…I will also, never forget what I have learned here, and I will take USL with me for the rest of my life. Good night.

Adrian McKinney
University School of the Lowcountry – Class of 2011