My Rejected Saint Joseph's University Commencement Speech

Good morning family, friends, and about-to-be graduates. Over the past four years, we’ve made Hawk Hill our home. We found comfort in the friends we made and the communities we’ve been a part of. However, like most things, we must leave behind the people and places that we’ve come to love so much in order to pursue the dreams that we’ve been working towards.

During our time at Saint Joseph’s University, we’ve found and explored our identities, and even discovered new things that we didn’t even know about ourselves. Through our struggles, from studying until ungodly hours of the night and being a college student during a global pandemic, we can finally say that we did it. Four years, 8 semesters, and too many days to count, we spent thousands of hours of our time and energy working towards this exact moment; so look around, soak it in and be proud of yourself for being here today.

Even though we may feel like we’ve already learned everything we need to learn, we must remember why this is called commencement. The word commencement means beginning, so while it may feel like the end, we are actually right where we need to be, at the beginning of an incredible journey that will be filled with so much joy, confusion, stress, and most importantly, growth.

Growth starts when we decide to look inward and question our beliefs and explore our identity. Everyday we’re forced to challenge who we are in order to expand our worldview and broaden the spectrum of our empathy towards others who may differ in belief and identity. As we continue to strive towards a version of ourselves that we don’t yet know, we must remind ourselves that it’s okay if we go in a different direction than we expected or if we want to consider a life that doesn’t quite align with who we thought we were. Our growth begins when we decide who we want to be.

The life we had in college doesn’t define who we are but it does shape our perspective. Our awareness and knowledge of the world is not limited by what we learned in college. Instead, college provided us with just one lens to see the reality outside of what we’ve read in our textbooks and what we’ve been asked to reflect upon in our essays. The perspective that we share with those outside of our inner circles contributes to the diversity in thought that is critical to the connections that bring more courage, hope and love into our world. However, this is a two-way street. Not only must we share our own knowledge, but we must listen to those around us. We must listen to stories and opinions that are vastly different from our own in order to cultivate the open-mindedness and community that we have built here at St. Joe’s.

Despite the challenges that come with exploring and accepting our identity as well as broadening our worldview, it is important to keep in mind that this is a continual process. One that will encourage us to question what is possible and question what is true, for ourselves, but also within the communities that we belong in.

I hope that all of us here today can embrace ourselves for who we are while also considering how we can better contribute and push forth a world that grows through the open-mindedness that we extend to ourselves and others. Congratulations class of 2022, embrace today but also remain curious for tomorrow. It's written in our future to go forth and set the world on fire.

Student Address at the Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony