Thank you all for being here today and let us honor those who were not able to be here.

Serendipity is an unintended, or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery and learning experience. That is what Guilford has brought us. 

Today, we are about to enter a new era. One might say, it’s rather serendipitous that we have each gathered here at this moment in time. We each chose this place. With these people. This college. And by doing so, we are now each linked and entwined. 

What I have learned while at Guilford is that one must push past the self-doubts, the fears, the what ifs to become the person you and I are meant to be. To boldly take risks. Like going to Seville to study abroad. Even when it feels uncomfortable and you feel like you want to jump out of your body. Get comfortable in the uncomfortable. You have to step-up and participate in the change you seek. 

We are not just students, we had the chance to grow into the people we are today by attending OSLE events like sip and paint, writing a 10-page research paper on the history of busing in the US, watching the men’s basketball team win ODAC, taking a walk in the woods, taking a study abroad 3-week shadowing doctors in Spain, serendipity with Wale, getting a midnight snack at Cookout, presenting research at GUS, volunteering at Bonner sites like Oakwood, laughing and learning with our beloved professors in Frank, watching the geese and squirrels take over the quad. Along the way we created memories… friendships… family. 

Not everything was serendipitous though: masks, COVID, protests, losing great professors, staff and coaches, major scares, storms taking out electricity, all-nighters in the library, missing the newly renovated Milner, the loss of our beloved omelet station. These challenges brought discovery that forced us to rise together as a community. 

Every day at Guilford I have witnessed our class encourage and cheer each other on, especially when things got hard at the beginning of the pandemic. This was really apparent when I got COVID not once, but three times and had to quarantine in Bryan. 

All our dreams, plans and hopes were instantaneously diverted. For a brief moment our lights dimmed. Momentarily we had no direction. 

We faced a singular moment that will define and guide our choices going forward. Then, we realized Guilford had prepared us for this precise moment. And, this. . . this is why we serendipitously are all gathered here today. As a class, we trudged through one curriculum change to the next, two years of the pandemic, hand sanitizers, quarantine, MASKS . . do I have to say any more about the masks? Our parting class gift should’ve been a framed mask. . . . three college presidents + interim president, Jim Hood, and we miraculously survived our four years at Guilford College. 

Like an hourglass, we came from all places, backgrounds and understandings. Each grain of sand contributes to the outflow of ideas and community here at Guilford. Our combined experiences taught us to dig deeper to find the motivation to keep going and dream big. Our time together has prepared us for those days that we don’t want to get up or just want to hide from the world under the covers and binge watch Euphoria and Ted Lasso, like I did earlier this semester. 

Get up anyway. Find the spark within you that propels you to make a difference. We only need to take one step to get started, so start somewhere. Wherever your path may lead you, make sure to fill up your soul and warm your heart. Remember to play. Have fun . . . dance, paint, sing, play, volunteer… 

It is our time to pass through the small passage of that hourglass and take what we’ve learned here to wherever we go next. To see someone on the DC metro wearing a Guilford shirt, to the future weddings and master’s graduations, to returning for homecoming as an alumni and more.

Life isn’t just about serendipitous encounters, but making choices and ones that help land you in serendipitous situations! In the end, as we embark upon this next journey, remember that all the doubts, fears and worries we have are nothing but mindless chatter meant to hold us back from realizing our potential . . .our dreams. Do not allow this nonsense to define you. Be okay with failure as it will lead you forward. 

At the end of the day and as we open this chapter, what matters are the friendships we have formed and the family we have found. We have built our foundation. It’s solid and strong. I challenge you to not worry about the things you cannot control, but take responsibility and action for the things you can. And, allow yourself to be vulnerable, to be kind to all people, to come from your heart and an amazing life will unfold for each of us to embrace.