When Tai I. Um wandered the halls as a junior at Freedom High School, he said he did not know what to expect. But the valedictorian of the first class to graduate the South Riding school, said it was the best ride of his life.
Um began his speech the night of Tuesday, June 19, with "Thank you."
"We, as a Class of 007, have also helped each other get through busy days and difficult times, like finding a date for homecoming."
Former Broad Run High School English teacher Jason Bryant began his commencement speech, June 20, recalling a defining moment in his life.
Referring to a job he had prior to teaching at Broad Run, he spoke of a student named Leon, who seemed completely disengaged in the classroom. Each day Bryant tried to get through to this student, but to no avail. One day, Leon told Bryant that he had to quit school, that sometimes you have to do what you have to do. He introduced his girlfriend, their 2-year-old child and a newborn baby. Handing Bryant a sketch he had made, Leon said, "Thanks for never giving up on me."
Bryant still has the sketch. "Leon left his imprint on my heart," he said. Describing the 293 Broad Run graduates as the best class of his seven years of teaching, he said that they too had left their imprint.
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Laughter yoga leader appears on OprahJeffrey Briar, founder of the Laguna Laughter Club, was recently flown to Chicago to appear on the Oprah Winfrey television show."I was very proud to represent Laguna Beach and Laughter Clubs on this acclaimed TV show," Briar said. "The Laughter Exercise system allows anyone to become free of stress in a matter of minutes. We don't need to feel good first, or even have a sense of humor, in order to laugh."The Laguna Laughter Club celebrated its two-year anniv...
The Chicago Sun-Times reports construction has begun on an Oprah Winfrey store. Located near her Harpo Studios in Chicago, the store will sell Oprah tchotchkes, including African baskets, spirituality-infused outfits and a $14 iPod cover with the Oprah logo.
She's got a talk show, a book club and a magazine - and now Oprah Winfrey is opening her own store.
The store will be located kitty-cornered from Harpo Studios, where Winfrey's talk show is taped, a spokeswoman for Harpo Productions Inc. said Wednesday.
Construction already is under way on the one-story, 4,500-square-foot store, the spokeswoman said.
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