Retiring High School Custodian Delivers Graduation Speech

Schools often ask a valued teacher or staff member to deliver a speech to graduates and a Massachusetts school is no exception. Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School in Rochester, Massachusetts chose a retiring high school custodian to deliver the invocation speech for this year’s graduating class, WBSM radio reports.

Dolores Furtado, who retired after spending 34 years at the high school, is affectionately known as “Dolly” by students and staff. Principal Mike Parker decided she was the ideal person to deliver the commencement invocation speech for this year’s graduates.

“Every year we try to come up with somebody we think made an impact here at Old Colony, and she brought a great message for the students,” Parker told WBSM.

Furtado said she was “honored” and “nervous” when Parker asked her to give the speech. Although Furtado admitted that she first declined the honor “because I had never given a speech in my life,” she later changed her mind. “I was emotional, and I ended up agreeing to it,” she said.

Furtado’s graduation speech consisted of advice for the graduating seniors and concluded with, “Now take what you have learned, and kick some [butt]!”

Furtado told WBSM that she plans on doing “absolutely nothing” now that she is retired. “I’ll do some camping and traveling later on, but for right now, I’m just going to relax,” she said.