$72,655.61
We did that y’all.
I am so proud to be graduating amongst such good company.
Let's be real though, it takes a village. The kind of education we receive here would not be possible without our families, both literal and chosen. Shout out to my mom, our incredible educators, the staff and the wider SLC community.
This gift is a testament to our commitment to this particular education.
But for real though, this country needs to get it together on accessible higher ed.
That’s my one moment of explicit politics, let me have it.
Sarah Lawrence taught me the difference between finding your place and creating it. I don’t think SLC was prepared for someone like me. Seriously. I don’t. But here I had the agency to demand better of the institution, of my peers and of myself. That kind of trust—that is so central to our pedagogy—is what makes this education so valuable and so necessary in this moment. We have a responsibility to carry that capacity of self-advocacy everywhere we go.
I feel like there's something a little impossible about standing here today, but I don’t think that feeling is unique to just me. We all have stories about the weird coincidences that got us here, and the even stranger combination of things that made us stay. Sarah Lawrence taught me to find comfort in the absurdity of this situation and also hopefully how to find comfort in the absurdity of the next.
Thank you all and congratulations again class of ‘17.
President Lawrence, we are proud to present you with the Class of 2017 Senior Gift.
