My daughter, Raebekkah, graduated from the University of Illinois at age 19, in 2018 with a 3.98 GPA, and was top 3% of her graduating class, earning the coveted and exclusive Bronze Tablet.
She was selected to deliver the student address for her college. It was so wonderful and inspiring (Yes, I know I’m biased), but perhaps it can inspire others. To watch the speech, click below:
https://www.facebook.com/menah.pratt/videos/2159813914047188
College of AHS 2018 Commencement Speech
Introduction
Good afternoon everyone! I stand before you today honored and humbled to be the student speaker for this year’s convocation ceremony. I have tremendously enjoyed my time at Illinois and greatly appreciate the opportunity to represent the Class of 2018. Before I begin to impart my words of encouragement, I would like to thank some people who played a key part in making this day possible. First, to all of the faculty and staff in the College of Applied Health Sciences, thank you. Without your patience, guidance, and willingness to teach and mentor us every day, we literally would not be here. To my fellow students, thanks for the friendships and the memories. I think we can all say we’ve made friends for life. To our families, thank you for the support day in and day out from our first day of Kindergarten to now. And finally, to all the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and all other motherly figures in the room, Happy Mother’s Day. As much as this day is a celebration of our accomplishments, it is a celebration of you as well. I would like to take a moment on behalf of the class of 2018 to recognize all that you have done and continue to do for us. *begin clapping*
Dominate the Field
I have three messages to share today. The first is dominate the field. We as humans tend to underestimate ourselves. It’s important to remember that though we are powerful beyond measure, it’s what we do with that power that matters. Tomorrow we will officially be college graduates and on the path to pursue whatever career we desire. The education we’ve received in the College of Applied Health Science has been vast and varied. We’ve learned everything from healthcare policy to sport management and are on our way to becoming experts in our chosen field. As we take the next steps, whether it be more school or our first jobs, our mindset should be to dominate the field. Our work should be in an area that we have a passion for and where we can see continual growth. Success should always be a priority and we should want to be the best in whatever we do. We should have an “I can, and I will” attitude in everything related to both our professional careers but also personal lives. Dominating the field requires special ingredients like determination, sacrifice, humility, and strength. These are traits that we’ve gained with our time at Illinois.
A good friend of mine once told me, “there will be many road blocks in life, don’t let yourself be one of them.” In the moment, I wasn’t really asking for his advice, so I didn’t fully take it to heart, but I have a list of my favorite quotes and his sounded profound, so I wrote it down. As I was preparing for this speech, it seemed fitting that I pass his advice on. I’ve been told over and over how life isn’t easy. I’m sure some of you have been told the same too. If our goal is to dominate the field, then we must remember to not get in our own way. We must stay positive and purposeful. Let’s set our goals high, reach them, set new ones, and repeat the process like clockwork.
Never Stop Toiling
So, first message: dominate the field; second message: never stop toiling. Growing up, my mother made me memorize and frequently recite back to her this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It goes like this: “The heights that great men reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight. But they while their companions slept were toiling upwards through the night.” It’s such a simple poem and yet so deep at the same time. When I was a kid I never fully understood its meaning I just got really good at reciting it. Years later and on the brink of graduating from college I think I finally understand. No matter what our goals are, no matter what stage of life we’re in, and no matter how successful or unsuccessful we think we are, we can always toil a little bit more. To toil is to work extremely hard and diligently in efforts to achieve our goals.
There’s no doubt that we’ve toiled incredibly hard for the past 16 years that we’ve been in school. Going to lecture, studying for exams, balancing a social life, engaging in extracurriculars, applying for jobs or grad school, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, all while trying to keep our sanity hasn’t been easy by any means. That said, there’s always more. There’s always a next step and a greater purpose that we’re working for.
I spent the end of the semester in the Bahamas and while there got to see Regatta. Regatta is the annual sailing tournament on the island of Exuma. Boats from islands all across the country compete with hopes to be the best in their class. On this particular day of races, I was watching the Class A boats; the biggest boats in the competition. There were seven boats in the race and the first to finish three laps around the Harbour would win. Once the starting gun was fired the boats took off. From the beginning, three boats had pulled ahead of everyone else. On the first lap, boat #18 was decisively in first with boats #24 and #5 tied for second. On the second lap, #18 fell into a hole, a hole is an area with no wind, and had fallen significantly behind while #5 took the lead. And on the last half of the final lap, #18 made the comeback and ended up tying #5 for first. The lesson should be evident: when you’re in a hole and the wind isn’t to your back, never stop toiling. It would have been so easy for #18 to hit the roadblock and accept that they weren’t going to win the race. Just like they didn’t give up we can’t either. Never stop pushing yourself, never become complacent, and never stop toiling.
Go Illini Go
Dominate the field; never stop toiling, and my third message is GO ILLINI GO! We’ve spent our time in college bleeding orange and blue, we’ve supported our sports teams through their ups and downs, and I need one more thing here…As we prepare to walk across this stage and go out into the world as Illini, there are a few things that we should do. Go Illini. Go and strive for greatness. Once you hit that greatness, be proud and celebrate your accomplishments. Today for example is a day to celebrate. Graduating from college is an impressive feat and is worth the utmost praise. Go Illini. Go and embrace the hardships along the way. Ignore the naysayers and understand that we must first weather the storm to get to the rainbow. There will be lots of rainy seasons in life — periods of doubt, stress, anxiety, and a slew of other negative factors. When the rainy seasons come, we just need to make sure we have our umbrellas with us. Our umbrellas are the things we learned here: confidence courage, and the determination to push through. We might get a little wet, but we won’t get soaked because we’re prepared and know we can move forward. And finally, Go Illini. Go and build a legacy. Our time in college is only the beginning of our lives. The memories, life lessons, and education we’ve received will serve as the foundation for our future. Go Illini go. Dominate the field. Go Illini Go. Never stop toiling. Go Illini Go.
Conclusion
As I close, I would like to leave you all with a final call and response. “I-L-L (leave crowd to answer “I-N-I”) x 2 Thank you and Congratulations Class of 2018!
Photo with University of Illinois chancellor, Robert Jones, and Raebekkah, with all her cords!