“Congratulations, you’ve been accepted to the University of Miami.” It is hard to believe it has been four-and in some cases five or six-years since we opened those acceptance letters, telling us of our futures as Hurricanes. For some it was a lifelong dream, for others a last resort, but either way we convened upon this Coral Gables campus. And we haven’t been the same since.
In our time at UM, we have seen tragedy and triumph. We have shed tears and screamed cheers. We’ve beat FSU in football five times in the past four years; we played host to the presidential debate, and we got a new president of our own. We’ve seen the Convocation Center and Pavia built, and we’ve seen patios spring up everywhere. We’ve seen the University grow and change, just as we have.
From the day that we showed up for our first class to the day we walk on stage to receive our diplomas, we will have done it all together. As graduation day looms in the not-so-distant future, remember that this is just the beginning. The years of school and studying are about to pay off. The future, no matter what it may hold, is bright for each and every one of us. Some of us will head home, others to law school; some will be serving the less fortunate through volunteering, while still others will enter the workforce. The future is endless. There is no stopping us. Some of us will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, teachers, CEOs, movie stars-but no matter where our paths may take us, the routes all went through the same place.
Never in a million years did we think, as we walked onto campus for the first time, that we would be leaving UM as the people that we are today. As graduation approaches, part of us still feels like that lost freshman miles away from home, but another part of us knows that we are as prepared as we’re ever going to be to face the “real world.”
There hasn’t been a single thing that has defined our UM experience, not one that stands out as the situation, the challenge, the moment that defined it all. After all, UM is so much more then a school that you took classes at. It is where we learned the real lessons of life-how to tailgate and survive hurricanes and finals, the importance of sunscreen and Starbucks, the art of all nighters and so much more It is where we realized that we are all just along for the ride, where we made our best friends and our share of enemies.
And while we all realize that there are few people that we will keep in touch with after graduation, don’t forget that it truly was the people who made our experience so memorable.
To all of the members of the Class of 2005, it wouldn’t have been UM without you. Thank you.
-Written by the graduating seniors of the editorial board: Deborah Block, Sara Miga and Leigha Taber.