Murray: Good morning everyone, and welcome to all the friends and family with us on campus and watching us on zoom, in true pandemic fashion.
Katherine: Hi Gram!
Murray: We are honored to be speaking with you today as representatives of the senior class.
Katherine: As any one of today’s graduates can tell you, it has been no small feat getting to this stage. It seems that at times the universe was dead set against us finishing our undergraduate degrees. I assume it’s never been easy to finish college, but doing so between the years of 2018 and 2022 was like playing the game of life on expert mode.
Murray: But we’re not here to lament our misfortune. We don’t feel unfortunate. If you get in the habit of scoring your life against the expectation, you’re in danger of missing all the good parts. Was college exactly what I expected? No. I spent nearly a year of it at my parent’s house. But I spent the other three with my friends.
Katherine: Just because this college experience was different doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. It has been surprisingly easy to find moments of joy within the hardship; we have our friends, classmates, and professors to thank for that.
Murray: So we’d like to take a moment to say to our friends, thank you for the endless laughter and unrelenting support, we will cherish our time together forever.
Katherine: And to our professors, thank you for sharing your knowledge, your candor, and your time with us. It’s the people that make this school unique and worthwhile.
Murray: Over the last four years, this has become our home, and you, our family. Like any family, we’re different but we love each other, not in spite but because of our differences. We’ll miss watching your devised theater pieces and your open mic comedy specials.
Katherine: We’ll miss watching the stage combat kids sword fight on the south lawn, Basketball games against Yeshiva, and bonding while attempting to write an entire conference paper during those iconic 24-hour library sessions.
Murray: The New York Times reports that members of generation z – that’s us – will over the course of their lifetimes work 18 jobs spanning 6 careers and live in 15 residence. That sounds like a lot of work, to me.
Katherine: It also sounds like exactly what Sarah Lawrence has prepared us to do: adapting, following our passions, and never confining ourselves to one idea of who we are or could be.
Murray: Whatever the future holds, there is no doubt in my mind that the people in this audience will be okay. Good luck. We wish you every happiness and success.
Katherine: And if you win an Oscar, remember to thank us.
Remarks as prepared for delivery