Senior Speaker: Landscape Architecture

A message from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences:

Each year, our graduating students in every major select a student to speak on behalf of their area of study. Because we are a large college, the time allotted to our ceremony does not allow for each speaker to appear on stage. However, these speeches have been recorded for your viewing pleasure. 

At its core, our College supports open and free inquiry and debate about the most weighty and consequential subjects that face us all. Each student was given a minute to speak on whatever topic they think will be meaningful to their peers. Some of the contributions are lighthearted, others are serious, and some may inspire some people and conflict with the values and beliefs of others. But that is the nature of free inquiry and debate: it should challenge us and make us think. We are proud of every one of our graduates, whether or not we agree with the views they express here. 

Transcript: 

Good afternoon! My name is Fiona, and I’m a proud graduate of the Landscape Architecture program here at UMass. I’d like to congratulate all the seniors here on reaching this extraordinary milestone, and thank everyone else for joining us in celebrating our achievements.

Landscape architecture is a profession where art, science, and community intersect to create the world that we live and work in every day. Yes, the parks and plazas designed by landscape architects give you a place to eat your lunch or walk your dog, but on a greater scale,  the built landscape defines our connections with each other and our surroundings, enhances community wellbeing and ecological health, and has the power to transform socially unjust and fragmented spaces.

Studying landscape architecture has given me and my peers the tools we need to have a tangible and positive impact on the world around us. We’ve spent the past four years in studio comparing notes on plant identification, sharing tips and tricks for site engineering, and encouraging each others’ design ideas; most of all, though, we spent those years together. Of all the experiences I’ve gained in this program, the most important by far has been the bond that our class has formed over years of working, stressing, celebrating, and just being together. I wouldn’t trade it for the world, and I couldn’t be more proud of the 22 people in this program with whom I am crossing the stage today.

In closing, I’d like to acknowledge the professors, mentors, parents, and friends that have made our past four years at UMass amazing. To my fellow seniors, I’ll leave you with Mahatma Gandhi’s famous words about your own impact on the world: if you want to see change, BE the change you wish to see. I have the utmost confidence in our ability to make that happen.

Congratulations, and thank you.