<\/p>\n
Hello, everyone. I\u2019ll be honest, full disclosure, off-script: When I was walking in here, you don\u2019t realize how many people this stadium can hold until you\u2019re standing right here. And it\u2019s a lot.<\/p>\n
But thank you for being here, and welcome to Furman\u2019s Commencement for its 197th graduating class. I am honored to have the opportunity to speak with you all on this monumental day as we celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2023.<\/p>\n
At 6 months of age, I was adopted in Bucharest, Romania, given birth from a woman younger than I am today, who knew she couldn\u2019t give a child a good life. My adoption was never a secret, I knew this as early as I could comprehend it. Growing up, it wasn\u2019t just that I had darker features compared to my family, it was not knowing a part of me that affected me the most. I could never look at my family and say, \u201cThat\u2019s where I got the shape of my nose,\u201d or \u201cThat\u2019s where I got the color of my eyes.\u201d Though I couldn\u2019t articulate it as a child, these internalized differences made me feel lonely and at times, like I didn\u2019t belong.<\/p>\n
I had a fortunate upbringing in many ways, and that<\/em> I never want to dismiss. My family is here today, and I<\/em> would not be if it weren\u2019t for them. But it was and is hard to not know something. When you know, you can be who you are without question. When you know, and when you are sure of something, that is when you can undoubtedly thrive. But many times we don\u2019t know, and many times we aren\u2019t sure.<\/p>\n Belonging has been at the core of who I am for as long as I can remember. And it\u2019s uncomfortable to talk about \u2013 so why am I?<\/p>\n Because Furman is a place where I know I\u2019ve belonged. Take a moment to think about that sport, club, sorority, fraternity, class, professor, friend, who helped get you here today. Consider the moments, big or small, that you felt seen, where you felt known, and hold them especially close this evening.<\/p>\n Consider the moments, big or small, that you felt seen, where you felt known.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Belonging is essential to the well-being of all humans: every single one of you sitting out here today. Yet it isn\u2019t something that can be purchased, forced or earned. It is not a right.<\/p>\n And this school cultivates it unlike any other. It\u2019s a place so unique that we can walk into the dining hall, say hello to staff like Billy and Miss Robin and be greeted back by name. It\u2019s a place where employees like Mr. Jim \u2013 we love you, Mr. Jim! \u2013 come to every single Furman event to support his Paladins, win, lose or draw. It\u2019s a place I can ask any professor in any department for help at any time, never doubting that I will in fact receive that help, not because I pay tuition, but because I am a learning human being, who belongs here at Furman.<\/p>\n Even though I may not be able to refer to the person who gave me my eyes, I look at you, class of 2023, and I know something for sure. Even if you have never met me, you contributed to Furman being a home. You know how to make people feel like they belong. So my message for you is to go out there, into the world, wherever you plan to go, whatever you plan to do, and continue to make people feel like they belong. Take every moment you had here at Furman where you may have felt you belonged and pass it on to the next set of people in your life as best you can. You are capable of it; I can attest to it.<\/p>\n Thank you for making this a place where people can belong.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And to my family who is sitting out there today, I may not be able to look at you and know where I got the shape of my nose or the curls in my hair, but I look at you and I know where I got my support, my love and my strength.<\/p>\n I look at you, Furman, and know where I got my passion, my confidence, and where I found myself.<\/p>\n Thank you for that. Thank you for making this a place where people can belong. Congratulations, Class of 2023. We did it!<\/p>\n Furman University Student Commencement Address Mary Elizabeth Morrison \u201923 May 6, 2023 Hello, everyone. I\u2019ll be honest, full disclosure, off-script: When I was walking in here, you don\u2019t realize […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":25449,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,27],"tags":[2071],"class_list":["post-25343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-student-life","tag-commencement-2023"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
<< Commencement 2023<\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"