Senior Class Response: Sarah Ali ’22

Good Morning everyone,

First things first, I’d like to say thank you to all my last-minute warriors who turned in all of their assignments last second. Channeling your energy is what helped me get on this podium today.

The theme of my speech here today is Gratitude. Our class of 2022 has a lot to be thankful for, and there are so many people on this campus that have contributed to our academic journey, our personal growth, and our undeniable success.

Thank you professors for welcoming us to Centre on the first day of classes our freshman year. Thank you for endless nights of conscientious yet necessary intellectual thoughts… Oh, and thank you for all of the assignments, the exams, and the essays, too.

Thank you to all of our custodians and maintenance who cleaned up after us and all of our weekend shenanigans over the years.

Thank you tears for always pulling through to moisturize our skin in our driest moments. Self-care is the best care.

Thank you late nights for our continuous caffeine relapses.

Thank you anxiety, for never leaving us alone. Especially in quarantine. You were always there for us. They told us only 2 people to a dorm, but with you there by our sides, we always broke capacity.

Thank you to our CFO, Brian Hutzley, aka Uncle Money Bags, and his beautiful partner, auntie money bags, Kristina. Even when he had a heart attack, he came back to work a week later. He pulled through in his recovery so that he could come back as soon as possible and pay all of our expenses, like the true uncle he is.

Thank you to P.Milly and his beautiful wife Dina, especially you Dina, we love you. We  especially loved seeing you on your walks with our beloved Blue, you know our dog. I’d tell you that you better take care of her but I know she’s a strong independent woman who can take care of herself. Which is what makes you an incredible role model for all of us Dina. Oh and you too P.Milly. Anyways.

Thank you to our Dean of Students, Kendrick Durham, aka our dad. In case you think that’s weird, dad is one of Kendricks many roles. Just like Kendrick we have multiple roles, but unlike Kendrick, we like to show expressions on our faces. So today I encourage you to smile, smile at the face of adversity, smile when you walk into work tomorrow, smile when you go back home tomorrow, smile at the unknowns and the might be’s, smile at the can be’s and then smile until they become the will be’s.

Thank you to our VP of the office of diversity and inclusion, Andrea Abrams. Thank you for always empowering us with the ability to promote a safe and loving environment within our Centre community.

Thank you family and friends for joining us here today. Thank you for picking up the phone to talk us through our breakdowns. Thank you for coming out to our sports games, our musical ensembles, our theatre plays, and any and all events in between. You may not have been with us physically throughout these last 4 years, but you were always here in spirit and in our hearts.

And now, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge a dear friend from our grade, James Luke McGee. Under different circumstances, he would be here today with us. James Luke was an incredible friend, student, son, and brother. He ate an apple a day, every day. Which is why we have added an apple tree memorial in his honor behind Breck on our campus. So that he will never be forgotten as a member of our dear class. His memorial will be accompanied by a plaque in his honor. His family chose a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson to be engraved onto it. I will read the quote now.

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God’s handwriting—a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing”

Now if we could all take a moment of silence to honor James Luke.

James Luke had a perfect 4.0 GPA at Centre. He was insanely smart like that. He was kind, humble, and incredibly hard working. But he was by no means perfect. He dealt with an intense amount of anxiety and emotional turmoil. He put the weight of the world on his shoulders. That’s a heavy weight to bear for one person. It’s a weight that none of us should have to carry.

Many of us may be nervous about the future. About what our next steps are. Or whether or not we will be successful. Being the Centre students that we all are, a lot of us are probably in a rush to prove ourselves. To prove our worth and value to the world. As young adults, that’s a lot of pressure for us to carry. And if you are carrying that pressure, then you may be feeling a lot of anxiety right now, just as James did.

I want to remind you all to breathe, and to never forget that you’re not in this alone. That weight, that anxiety that you feel, it is not for you to carry on your shoulders alone.

The biggest thing I’ve learned throughout my time here at Centre is community. Each and every single one of you has a community. Look around you. Look around you right now. The people you see here today, are your community. So take a breath. And reassure yourself that no matter how many unknowns there are for your future, you are not in this alone. Lean on your community. That’s what we are here for. If you feel stressed, unsettled, anxious, or depressed, then let us know. Give us a chance to prove to you how much we care, how much we love you, and how we are your community.

The Centre community doesn’t end with the people you see before you today. All of our alumni and future alumni are here for you too. All you have to do is reach out. And ask for help.

Don’t forget to be true to yourself. To be fair to yourself. To be loving to yourself.

Don’t hyperfocus on your shortcomings here at Centre. You are more than that test or essay you failed, you are more than your GPA. Don’t ever let it define your worth because we’re all worth much more than a number. You are your community, you are your sports team, a sorority sister, a fraternity brother, you are a friend, lover, daughter, son, a super gremlin, and above all else, you are a Centre alumni.

Never fail to be consistent with your goals and passions. Take RJ Smiths basketball career as anecdotal evidence that as Centre students we have the capacity to continuously improve and excel. Looking at his career high his freshman year, he scored 7 points in 8 minutes. His senior year, he scored a career high of 31 points in 37 minutes. RJ Smith, we recognize you today on this stage as a true example of tenacity. And for that we thank you.

If you ever begin to doubt how much you can achieve as a female, then think of our deer peer, Gabrielle Gilkison. Gabby, our soccer all-star, left the CAAS with 4 awards, the most of any female athlete this year. She also maintained the highest GPA of a female student athlete at Centre. And she’s in my major and she’s super sweet. Gabby thank you for being a strong independent woman who never settles.

Don’t forget to open your eyes to the hardships around you. To the struggles of the world. Our friend, Maddy Jenkins, embodies the definition of giving back. Her stout involvement in endeavors promoting mental health, diversity, feminism, and care for the community have not gone unnoticed. Whether its organizing a mental health event on campus, or alleviating food insecurity in Boyle county and beyond, Maddy is a great example of how much just one person in our class can do for our community. Thank you Maddy.

Don’t forget to spread the love. Moving forward, always strive to create a safe space for the community around you. Be that leader who takes everyone for who they are and loves them for it. We all know that well dressed, long haired, empathetic, welcoming, kind, creative, understanding, and genuine person in the class of 2022. Kanbe Mao. The interpersonal care he has given to this class is inspiring and an aspiration for which to strive towards. Thank you Kanbe.

And if you’re ever faced with battles of adversity, then think of Britt O’Brien. It’s unlikely that we see someone with such resilience. Although going through a life changing predicament, Britt has shown us strength, will, and passion. He has taught us how to face adversity with a smile. With a positive attitude and support from his friends, he continues to push and finish his Centre career. Britt O’ Brien, I thank you, we thank you, we love you, and we’re rooting for you.

And don’t forget to share your passions with the world. Pay your passions forward.

Be like Sarah Locke, who uses music as a medium to connect with her community. Music changed her life which is why she wants to share that energy with today’s youth to help change their lives.

Move forward in your next steps with confidence, passion, and resilience . And do so with integrity. We may all be graduating from Centre today, but we will always represent what it means to be a Centre college student. As Centre alumni, we will be kind, nurturing, supportive, empathetic, diligent, and incredibly hard working. We will continue to embody all that it means to be a member of this Centre ohana. And we will all, one day, show the world the weight behind the Centre name and the strength behind being a member of this community.

To end, I’d like to remind you all of our class motto that we all voted on as first years. The motto is: “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”

So don’t shy away from tomorrows failures. Remember the first year version of yourself that saw the opportunity in failure. You continued to battle through each and every obstacle that was thrown your way these past four years. You didn’t deflect or shield yourself from those challenges. You faced them head on, with renewed intelligence and integrity.

See this diploma as a golden ticket to a chocolate factory full of opportunities, challenges, and new beginnings as you take the next steps into the future that lies before you.

Thank you for an incredible four years together. We’ll see each other soon. Homecoming 2022.

And again, we are all one big ohana. And ohana means nobody gets left behind.