I am so honored to be graduating with such an amazing class, who has given so much to this college. While I know we like to claim that we are a community of individuals, none of us made it to this point, under this tent alone. This day is a testament to the endless support of our families (who eventually learned to stop asking what we were majoring in) and of our friends, the staff, and our brilliant professors (who challenged us constantly and patiently let us cry in their offices). I want to shout out my twin, Iz—I am beyond blessed to graduate with you today, and also my parents for their endless love and support.
This day is also a testament to this community. This college is uplifted by us, the students, through our art, our activism, and our academics. We are a community unlike any I’ve ever known, or probably ever will know. We all came to Sarah Lawrence because we saw the value in a nontraditional education that would help us grow not only as students, but as individuals.
Our education is based upon the idea that we are not set against one another as competitors for grades, but that we are bound together as a community of scholars who learn from one another. As we enter into an uncertain and often challenging world, we have a responsibility to use that education to create a kinder and more just world. Let it fuel not only your fire, but the fire of the people around you as well. Through this gift, by giving back to Sarah Lawrence, we are creating opportunities for future students to gain access to that education; because education is not meant to be locked behind institution walls, but shared in effort to build something better than what has existed before.
In that spirit, I am proud to present this check of $89,237.08 that the Class of 2018 and our families have raised toward student scholarships at Sarah Lawrence College.
Thank you.
Remarks as prepared for delivery
Senior Class Gift Committee 2018
- Genevieve Lamont '18, Chair
- Arianna Cooper '18
- Danielle Dyen-Shapiro '18
- Rachel Hochberger '18
- Venika Menon '18
- Samuel C. O'Brient '18