![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/142\/2026\/06\/furman-grad-sp26-kate-scaled.jpg\")
Good evening, everyone\u2014and congratulations to my fellow graduates.<\/p>\nNew Master in Advocacy and Social Policy graduate Kate Harrington was selected by her classmates to speak on their behalf at the Graduate Studies Hooding Ceremony on May 8, 2026. To follow is Kate\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Good evening, everyone\u2014and congratulations to my fellow graduates.<\/p>\n
A few years ago, I learned that advocacy isn\u2019t a theory.
\nIt\u2019s what you do when the system fails someone you love.<\/p>\n
My dad was diagnosed with Frontotemporal degeneration, an early-onset form of dementia,at age 57.
\nI was 25\u2014barely out of undergrad at Carolina\u2026UNC-Chapel Hill, to be clear\u2026and my younger brother had just finished high school.<\/p>\n
None of us understood how much our lives were about to change.<\/p>\n
And over time, I realized we weren\u2019t just dealing with a disease; we were dealing with a system that didn\u2019t know what to do with him\u2026or with us.<\/p>\n
I left a 12-year career as an English professor and moved across state lines to come to Furman because I needed to understand what had happened to my family and what could be done for families navigating the same realities.<\/p>\n
At 44, after earning a second graduate degree, I\u2019ll be moving in with my mom\u2014which was not part of the original plan, but turns out\u2026part of the process.<\/p>\n
Somewhere along the way, this stopped being just about my family. It became about understanding the systems that shape people\u2019s lives and what happens when those systems fail.<\/p>\n
When I came into the Master\u2019s in Advocacy and Social Policy program, I thought I was here to learn how systems work. What I actually learned\u2026 is how often they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
I learned how easy it is to blame individuals for outcomes shaped by policy, by access, by power.<\/p>\n
I learned how many gaps are built into the structures we rely on.<\/p>\n
And I learned that change is rarely fast and rarely clean, but it is necessary.<\/p>\n
This program was never just about coursework. The real education came from the people around me.
\nI\u2019ve spent the past few years alongside colleagues who are fighting for dignity, and safety for others.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve watched people working inside institutions push for accountability, fairness, and systems that actually protect the people they\u2019re meant to serve.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve asked hard questions, challenged assumptions, and stayed committed even when the work became deeply personal.<\/p>\n
And if there\u2019s one thing I carry forward from this program, it\u2019s not just what I\u2019ve learned\u2014it\u2019s who facilitated the learning. We were guided by professors who asked more of us than easy answers.<\/p>\n
I especially want to thank Dr. Shaniece Criss, whose guidance and belief in me helped shape this journey in ways I\u2019ll always carry with me.<\/p>\n
We were challenged to think more critically, question what we assumed, and stay engaged even when the work was uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
And in doing that, we were reminded that this kind of work isn\u2019t about having it all figured out\u2014it\u2019s about showing up, asking better questions, and staying committed to doing it well.<\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019ll be working in classrooms, in labs, in hospitals, in communities, or inside organizations, we\u2019re all stepping into systems that shape people\u2019s lives in real ways. And if you\u2019re paying attention, you already know those systems aren\u2019t perfect. And sooner or later, all of us will have to decide what we\u2019re willing to do about that.<\/p>\n
The question isn\u2019t whether these systems need to change. The question is what we\u2019re going to do when we\u2019re the ones inside systems.<\/p>\n
Now we don\u2019t just have degrees.<\/p>\n
We have perspective\u2014and with that, responsibility. We know how decisions get made.
\nWe know who gets left out. And we know that \u201cthe way things are\u201d is not the same as \u201cthe way things should be.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t come into this field because I had a perfect plan. I came into it because something felt wrong, and I couldn\u2019t ignore it anymore.<\/p>\n
And I think that\u2019s true for a lot of us.<\/p>\n
So as we leave here, I don\u2019t think the goal is to have all the answers. I think the goal is to stay close to the questions that brought us here in the first place.<\/p>\n
To notice what isn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n
To speak up when it matters.<\/p>\n
And to remember that the work doesn\u2019t start when everything is clear.<\/p>\n
It starts when we decide not to look away.<\/p>\n
And at some point, for all of us\u2026it becomes personal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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