The Indian Hill Class of 2020 had a very special surprise message from the President and CEO of McDonald’s Chris Kempczinski during a senior celebration video released Friday, May 29.
“I’m a very proud 1987 graduate of Indian Hill High School,” Kempczinski said in the recorded message. “You should really feel confident and grateful for the foundation that you’ve gotten from Indian Hill.”
The leader of the world’s largest restaurant company told the seniors he was proud of all they accomplished to achieve this significant milestone. Kempczinski shared important life lessons with the Brave graduates, including the importance of optimism, resiliency, and recognition of luck.
“I think it’s really important that we mark this moment, and that I tell you how proud that all of us as Indian Hill alumni are of your achievement, of the hard work, how much we appreciate the time and effort that teachers and administrators have really put into supporting you over the last four years.
“You have an opportunity to look at any situation from either a pessimistic or an optimistic lens, and what I’ve seen is the most successful people, the happiest people, really choose to be optimists.
“Continue to be resilient, continue to believe in yourself, and make sure that you know you have the opportunity to change the trajectory. If your life is going sideways, if your life is going backwards, that doesn’t have to be a permanent state.
“Recognize that luck matters, because if you recognize the role of luck in life, what it also does is it makes you humble.
“I want to tell you again, how proud all of us are as Indian Hill alumni to welcome you into our community. Go, Braves!”
Below, see a video of the complete speech which was presented on the originally scheduled graduation date of May 29. Indian Hill High School continues to work on planning for a commencement ceremony for the Class of 2020.
Photo caption: McDonald’s President and CEO Chris Kempczinski is a 1987 graduate of Indian Hill High School.