COMMENCEMENT
CELEBRATION AND JUBILATION
"Rejoice!" exclaimed commencement speaker and honorary degree
recipient Jessica Bertha Harris, a professor at Queens College, as she
greeted the crowd at the North Miami Campus commencement ceremony.
"Today is a day of celebration and jubilation … Today is also a time for re-
thinking and re-dedication and re-commitment, for indeed today is a day
of beginning as much as it is a day of ending," she said. "It is not without
reason that this ceremony is called a commencement, a beginning, a
starting place. For today, armed with your degrees and your knowledge,
you begin the rest of your lives."
Harris' remarks about courage resonated with the audience.
"As you go forth into the world, you must be courageous in whatever you
decide to do," she advised.
Student speaker Kelsey Carter '15, a culinary arts and food service
management major, also spoke about the need to be courageous.
Her remarks were inspired by a little white sticker on the doors of the
University Center— a Wildcat Way sticker, highlighting the attributes of
pride, courage, character and community.
"All of you have an immense amount of courage inside of you. I am not just
referring to the individuals who are ready on the frontline, fearless to face
any obstacle head on, but also referring to the quiet ones whose courage
comes from staying true to one's self," said Carter.
In a truly bold move, following graduation Carter is driving across
the country to Seattle, where she plans to land a job in the region's
burgeoning culinary scene.
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