By AARON MUELLER
Niles Daily Star

The phrase “actions speak louder than words” has become a cliche, but Donald Curtis, president of Children’s International Lifeline and the speaker for the Niles High School baccalaureate service on Wednesday night, tried to give a fresh perspective on the old adage.

Curtis showed the students photos of starving children in Haiti near his mission base, telling them, “these little kids need you. The people in this community need you.

“You can make a tremendous difference. You can let your life speak,” he continued.
“You don’t have to go to Haiti, but sometimes it’s just going across the street or across the town to make a difference in a nursing home or a hospital.”

Curtis encouraged the students of faith in the class of 2010 to “let your life speak.”

He told them not to go after money or fame but to “find your mission in life” from God.

“Make an impact in the world you live in,” he said. “That’s worth more than all the money you can make in your life, than any position you can hold.”

Graduating senior Chelsea Powers also spoke to her fellow classmates.

“John 1:5 says that ‘the light shines through the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it,'” she said. “No matter what our legacy is in the past 18 years or what we plan or legacy to be in the next 18, it’s up to us to follow the light. Even the dimmest light can help us through anything.”

Commencement takes place today at 7 p.m. at the high school football field.