Transcript: Karen G. Borsetti, student speaker

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Welcome and Happy Birthday to the Class of 2001! We will remember today as our graduation day, but this one day does not represent the entirety of our personal evolutions. Our college diplomas say to many that we have become someone, but in reality we’ve been someone all along. The years we’ve committed to our education at the University of Massachusetts have allowed us to develop essential tools to get along in the outside world, the most essential tool being the ability to relate to other people. We are about to enter the world, kicking and screaming. Now what?

Start by answering this question: What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? If the element of risk was eliminated and you were guaranteed success, what would you do? Having been asked this question less than one year ago, I started a list of answers. By writing the list I forced myself to recognize the negative effects of fear–fear of failure and fear of success.

In his 1994 inaugural speech, Nelson Mandela stated, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frighten us. ” Don’t question your right to excel. Release yourself from your fears and let your brightness shine through. I dare you to take a risk. Tell someone of your aspirations and you’ll be surprised at how much potential other people see in you. Don’t lose your nerve, don’t fail by default, and don’t ignore your dreams. When you acknowledge and accomplish what you felt too afraid to attempt, the feeling is intense. I can tell you this because writing the UMass graduation speech was on my list.

[cheers]

When we first came to UMass, it was as unique individuals. From there, the experience was shaped by little things such as who your randomly selected roommate was freshman year, or your sophomore neighbors who took you to a party on your first night. After just a few weeks, UMass didn’t feel so big anymore. Surprisingly, by my sophomore year, it was feeling small and I began to crave change. Armed with my favorite quote, which reads, “If you’re not riding the wave of change, you’ll find yourself beneath it,” I decided to take advantage of the National Student Exchange program. I approached my skeptical parents about studying at the University of Hawaii for a semester

[cheers]

– yes, I did study, and yes, it took extreme discipline not to surf every day at Waikiki Beach.

[laughter]

hen I left Amherst, it was to experience life on the other side of the world. I was shocked to discover that among the variety of people I met, my most intense connections were with people from my own backyard. That’s you, Kathy. These UMass students were unknown to me before Hawaii, and they became my closest friends. I also discovered I treasured Amherst and my life at UMass. The little things – like getting a coffee between my first and second classes from the Blue Wall and reading the Daily Collegian horoscopes.

[laughter]

I missed the change of seasons, walking through campus by the Old Chapel in the fall with the leaves a million shades of red, orange, and yellow.

In reflecting on my four years here, I keep coming back to certain moments – small instances, little pockets of time where memories were created. These moments don’t happen often, but when they do, you’re finally at home within your life. I chased a sunset with three friends with the windows rolled down and Pearl Jam exploding from the radio. Another night, a friend and I parked in front of my dorm after a chicken burrito from Bueno Y Sano.

[cheers]

It was raining so hard, we stayed in the car listening to the sound of the pelting rain. We fell into a conversation that changed the way we saw each other and our individual potential to relate to other people.

[cheers]

My strongest experience is what created in me that first feeling of “Knowledge is Power.” Second semester sophomore year, I studied for one particular exam for so long and so hard, that I took my intellectual understanding to a new level. For the first time I walked into a test without that nervous edge. The calmness that I felt was surreal because I knew I would exceed even my own expectations. I finally understood the “power” and what it meant to grasp a concept so completely that I owned it. I also discovered that this power brings with it a responsibility to myself to do the things I fear the most.
There are so many things in this world to be passionate about, but oftentimes the passion is tempered by a fear that makes it difficult to include these passions in our everyday lives. Realistically, there will be hard times, dreams that go unrealized, and tragedies that leave us wondering why. Keep sight of what leaves you with that feeling of inner power. It will transport you through the challenging and routine in life.

We came to the University of Massachusetts – a community that embraces diversity and challenges thought – we contributed, received, showered in flip-flops, and emerged as a “Culture of One.” Now make your wishes and blow out your candles. Be thankful for the life you are building. Honor it by doing the things you are most afraid of and embrace your passions as you discover them. Mark Twain once stated, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

I want to thank the faculty, the School of Management,

[cheers]

the girls of 1136 old and new, and most importantly, my friends and family. Mom, Dad, and Jan, I love you as big as the sky!

Congratulations! Woo-hoo!

[cheers] [applause]

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