West Chester University Commencement Speech

I would like to take a moment to thank and recognize the faculty, staff, alumni, family, and friends that are here to support the West Chester University graduating class of 2022. It is an honor to be chosen to speak to you today.

When I learned that I was nominated to speak at our commencement ceremony, I found myself asking… “Why me?” “What impact have I left?” “Why should anyone listen to me?,” and most importantly, “What in the WORLD am I going to say?” As I scrambled to comprise the perfect speech, a professor of mine reminded me of the book Journey by Aaron Becker. In this book, told solely through pictures – the reader enters a whimsical world of beautiful landscapes, fairy tale forests, and charming villages, but… there are no words. Readers create their own stories to explain the imaginary world of pictures rather than following a predestined path.

As I reflected on Becker’s Journey and considered the world that was presented to me here at West Chester University, I thought about how our class has ventured through the landscapes of our last four years. I realized that we, too, have been able to write our own story. Here, my peers and I have explored and worked to craft our genuine identities, while adding our own vibrant colors, voices, and stories to a greater landscape.

Now, it took some time for me to embrace the journey. At the beginning of my collegiate life, I’ll admit…. I was frightened; at only eighteen years old, I had barely ever left my small, mile-long, suburban hometown. I struggled with the idea of leaving my family behind and that fear blocked me from imagining a future – let alone crafting one. If you ask my parents, they’ll blame my nerves on not wanting to do my own laundry, but I really was terrified of creating a world where my parents and hometown weren’t a part of my identity. I was afraid to find out what my next chapter as a first-generation college student may look like, and who I would become. For much of our adolescence we identify by what we know. Sports. Music. Hobbies. Family. Home. But at West Chester University, we are pushed to discover ourselves beyond the limits of outside identifiers.

When we first stepped on campus four years ago, there were no posters yet on dorm room walls, no friends that brought you coffee because they knew you would need it, no professors yet that were excited to hear of your successes. It took us time to find these things- it took time for us to find our place.

The more I entwined myself within the university and embraced what lay ahead, the more I was welcomed by my new community for who I was. Here, I could be the version of myself that I wanted to be, not continue to play as the character written for me. My professors engaged me with the passion they had for their jobs. My peers talked with me about the world we were a part of. The campus buildings standing tall sheltered me with a home outside of my past one-mile radius. A new community of people. A new routine. A new… normal. As I ventured into my classes, I soon found that my fears diminished. It was here, at West Chester University, that I not only gained knowledge, but like in the book Journey, began to write my own story.

My dad always says that “An opportunity is only what you make of it.” As we embark on the next chapter of our lives, as we color the next landscape with our experiences, I urge us all to take his advice. Surround yourself with knowledge. Be brave in your pursuits. Seek out new voices. Embrace new landscapes. And remember that West Chester University will always be your home.

Congratulations class of 2022, we made it!