Graduation

On Saturday, the 10th of May, I graduated from Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College. Technically I graduated in December of 2013, but my school has one commencement. I graduated with a dual major: an Associate in Art and and Associate in Science. I was given the honor of being the student speaker to represent the graduates of December 2013. ( It doesn't necessarily feel like an honor while you're doing it. ;) I was pretty nervous). Anyway, here is my speech, and some pictures to go with it.

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Greetings on behalf of the graduating class of 2013.

Usually, graduation speeches are full of thank you’s; don’t worry, mine will be too. Dr. T. told me to make this speech personal, to say what Eastern has meant to me. I thought long and hard about this. What, after all, do you put into a graduation speech to make it personal? I still don’t really know, but here goes.

I’ll start out by saying a few thank you’s. First and foremost, I need to give God all the glory for his abundant blessings in my life. Without his help, I wouldn’t be standing here. All the credit goes to him. Secondly, I want to thank my mom: she has done so much for me. She is the one I relied on constantly to help me reach this milestone. Thanks to her feeding me, praying for me, and doing laundry (or reminding me to do my laundry); I managed to stay away from malnutrition, came to school in clean clothing and, for the most part, remained well rested, thanks to her reminding me to go to bed. Apparently, just because you are in college, you are never too old to be sent to bed by your mother. To any professor that had me write papers, the only reason I’m ok at writing is because mom was an English teacher, and she drilled it into my head from the time she taught me to read. It also helps that she is a great proofreader. In addition to my mother, my siblings have been invaluable to my learning process: acting as sounding boards for ideas, listening to me stress about projects, offering advice, proofreading papers, moral support, the list could go on and on. 

My wonderful Mother and I

Lana and I, photobombed by Martha

Pete and I

I want to extend a huge thank you to the faculty of Eastern. You are all so supportive; I wouldn’t have gotten here without you. From meetings with my advisor that stretched into hours as she graciously helped me figure out exactly how to work everything into my busy schedule, to the faculty that helped get me involved in student activities. And, obviously, thanks to all of my teachers, I learned so much from all of you! Thanks to your efforts, the friends I’ve made, and all the things I’ve learned both in class and out of class, I can honestly say that the past two years have been the best of my life.

One of the many things that Eastern has taught me is this: to appreciate my roots. Now, I realize I’m a Math major, but undeniably, my favorite class, was Appalachian culture. In order to succeed in “the real world,” it is essential to understand where you come from and how that affects you. I’ve lived my entire life in West Virginia; I’ve always had that classic West Virginia pride. I didn’t perhaps understand exactly how my background affected me. As Khaled Hosseini says “It is important to know this, to know your roots, to know where you started as a person. If not, your own life seems unreal to you. Like a puzzle… Like you have missed the beginning of a story and now you are in the middle of it, trying to understand.” It is as Hosseini says, in order to understand ourselves; we need to understand our roots. Otherwise we aren’t going to find our place in the world. I would say that the most important thing I learned during my time at the college is the understanding of where I come from, how living in Appalachia affects my future, and where I fit in this big, big world. That spot isn’t necessarily where I always expected it to be, but I guess you could say I’ve found myself.  It is not just the state I come from that defines me as a person, my faith in God also defines me. Being raised in the tradition of faith is a huge part of understanding my roots; faith is, after all, where I truly started as a person. The classes I’ve taken have given me multiple reasons to examine and re-examine my faith. After all, I did sit through a few class periods dedicated to evolution. You know those surveys we have to fill out for every class? The one that asks us if we are learning to think critically, whether the classes are helping us to develop ideas and personal values? My answer to that question, almost every time, was a definitive yes.

In the fall I’m planning to attend George Mason University, in Fairfax, VA. I’m going to miss this place. I’m going to miss seeing my best friends multiple times a week. I’m going to miss the way I feel like I’m home when I enter school, I’ll miss being greeted by receptionists who know my name. I’ll miss the classes where I basically know everyone’s names, I’ll miss going into a new class, but not feeling shy because I will definitely know at least one person there.  It will be different going to such a big school, and I know that I’ll miss it here. However, I believe, thanks to Eastern, I am prepared to face the challenges ahead. And, although it’s bittersweet, I’m excited to embark on this new chapter of my life.

Emily and I

I was privileged to graduate with 3 of my best friends!

A rather awkward group photo :)

Taylor and I

Nikki, Emily, and I at the park one evening

To my fellow graduates, I hope that this is not the end of our learning. Learning is the essence of life. When we stop learning, I think that we stop living. So, I encourage you all to go out and keep learning, explore your world, never stop being curious. Ed Helms said “So long as your desire to explore is greater than your desire to not screw up, you’re on the right track. A life oriented toward discovery is infinitely more rewarding than a life oriented toward not blowing it…Don’t be afraid of fear. Because it sharpens you, it challenges you, it makes you stronger; and when you run away from fear, you also run away from the opportunity to be your best possible self.” You guys: Go out and keep learning, do not be afraid to mess up, get in there and get your hands dirty, work hard, play hard, enjoy each moment, and expect great things, because you all deserve to have the best life possible!  I wish every one of you the very best in your endeavors. May God bless your futures and give you strength as you follow your dreams.