the speech (and photos)

The four roommates and their adviser.

giving his speech




The Speech

The first sentence of a graduation speech is meant to elicit feelings of nostalgia and hope for the future as well as set the tone for this celebration. But now that I have wasted it, perhaps that will lower everyone's expectations and make it go much more smoothly, but I'll tr to make it quick and painless.

We have spent the past 4 years spending time with small groups of the whole of us, well 3 years for J. We have been working or not working on homework sets, drowning our sorrows after finals or GREs or graduate school or job applications with our own drink of choice, working for the weekends and day-dreaming about the next break to come.

But now that its over, the last has been graded (Thanks Professor H. for not keeping us here another semester!) Such power you held over us.

Some of us are leaving, some are staying. We will meet other people, enjoy the new experiences, reminisce about the old and most likely again convene to say goodbye as we are today in life's next big turn. We form relationships with those around us and build ever expanding circles, always introducing ourselves, waving goodbye or finding a brief time to pause and notice where we are.

It took me a bit longer than I wished, but on a few of the drives back from visiting the parents back home I felt nostalgic to come back here. I won't get to see the seasons change here, or enjoy that god awful wind tunnel of an entrance to the physics building (you would think that an engineering school would have better architecture or layout to prevent such things!) I won't get to see fall come early and leave too soon, enjoy the practically daily dusting of snow in the winter, the sudden and welcome arrival of spring, and the deep green of summer. I won't see frantic people in the physics lounge working on homework hours before its due, have absolutely ridiculous conversations that give way more thought on topics than necessary, like higher or versions of rock paper scissors lizard Spock games. But I think I will miss the closeness that I felt to the lot of you. We might not have spent our spare time with each and every one of the other, but we all related as a tight-nit community, had laughs together, helped each other out with homework or mild frustrations, or just listened and consoled in one another.

I didn't come here initially wanting to stay, but after my first year I couldn't leave. I had met too many people that I didn't care to leave behind, students and professors. As many of you already know I'm heading overseas so to speak to do graduate work in H. But I hope to come back and find an open spot on a couch. There will be one open for anyone on mine.

I just want to add a congratulations to all the seniors of 2010, and a deep thanks to all of the professors. Thank you.