Bernell DorroughIt is that time of year when the reality of it all finally hits. We are graduating. Although I have known this for a while, I guess I had kept myself too busy to let it sink in. With all the fun senior week activities going on around us, it is hard to avoid the inevitable – we will be leaving the place we have called home for the past four years. I find myself asking, what do I remember when I think of my past four years here? The truth is I remember the faces – the faces which were at times happy, which were at times sad and even at times pretty wild and crazy. The faces that I saw everyday in the many facets of my experience here at Washington University are what will stay with me as I move on with my life. Behind those faces are the people that I grew to know and love and the people who made my time at college a great learning experience.
The great thing about college life is that everyone gets to have a unique experience. Each person decides to dedicate their time to what they find to be the most exciting for them, whether it be academics, research, extracurricular activities, fraternities and sororities, religious groups, a group of friends or anything else that drives you. Most of the time, we are able to find a combination of things that define our experience and that strengthen us throughout our journey. I was lucky enough to find true friends and was able to dedicate my time to things that I felt passionate about.
My past four years here may have been very different from yours, but there is one thing we have in common…the community that is WU. Was it just me, or did you get the feeling of a great community when you came to visit as a PF or when you came for the first time as a freshman and met your freshman floor and RA. There is something about this place that just makes you feel at home and there is something about the people here that builds the atmosphere of a true community. What is it that gave me and possibly you this feeling? I think it is the fact that we constantly learn from each other. Every person that we meet teaches us something new not only about themselves but about the world beyond WU. The diversity of cultures and personalities that comes together at a university is phenomenal, and I hope that each of you has taken the opportunity to expand your horizons.
As we continue on and move forward with our lives, we will each take with us fragments of those around us. Even though we may not immediately realize it, we have each left significant impressions on each other. I know that there are so many people here who have impacted my life and have taught me valuable lessons…these are the treasures that we take with us. It is these treasures that will help define who we are and will allow our time at WU to live on forever. This will always be a community that is close to our hearts and we will always have that bond that is WU. The university will also have a piece of us because we have all left our marks in the many things we have excelled in. I wish each of you fond remembrances of your times here, and I wish each of you best of luck in all that you do.