The Class of 2009- “A Commitment to Service”
Blake Hammond-Senior Class President
Good morning. I would like to start by thanking the class of 2009 for giving me the opportunity to be your class president. It has been truly an honor to be of service to this class.
I would like to recognize the work and dedication of our vice president Sarah Davidson, Treasurer Spencer Hoffman, and promotional communications officer Eric Corliss. Thanks to this amazing trio, we were able to successfully complete all twelve scheduled Senior Year Experience events amidst both budget restraints and busy schedules.
On behalf of the Class of 2009, I would like to thank all of our families, friends and faculty members for the encouragement, guidance, and wisdom they provided over the course of our time at Colorado College. Without your support, we would not be in front of you today receiving our diplomas. Thank you.
Class of 2009, I ask you to look back to 2005 when we stepped onto this campus for the first time. Like me, I am sure you were filled with a degree of uncertainty as you entered this new, exciting, and unique community. It was hard to know if we had made the right decision by choosing Colorado College as our home and institution of higher learning for the next four years.
Do you remember being told that Colorado College provides a unique intellectual adventure in which the block plan challenges the individual on a personal level? Small class sizes foster rigorous discussion, collaboration and solutions to unusual problems?
After four years, we came to know the meaning of all these fancy phrases. The intellectual adventure we were promised translated into many sleepless nights. Hours of cramming, and reliance on coffee became the norm, because you knew Professor Cronin would hound you on the American presidency or Claire Garcia was going to ask you a question pertaining to the Harlem renaissance from your assigned reading.
We became able to balance class, labs, work, games of intramural basketball or water polo, reading assignments, and a 10 page paper all in one day. Impressive.
We became strong, outspoken, and thoughtful. As we all know, 2008 was a very politically charged atmosphere when thousands of students found a new or renewed interest in politics. Whether or not you held campaign signs reading “country first” or echoed the shouts of “yes we can”, this campus’s energy was focused on political decisions that will ultimately affect us all.
We became stronger athletes. Many of us competed on the varsity collegiate level while others of us demonstrated our athletic abilities through pickup games of flag football, broomball and softball held on the quad. Not to mention our competitive intramural games where friends occasionally fought, only to forgive each other an hour later. We even made an athletic pursuit out of two sturdy trees: Connect the two with a rope and slack line. Well… some of us did anyway.
We became more mature artists. Dance workshop created award winning interpretive pieces from a variety of different backgrounds and genres. And other students made paintings and decorations that lit up our campus center to promote events and causes.
And while these aspects of life have been important to us, it is not only these activities that have defined us. Indira Gandhi once said “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
I believe that as a class we have shaped our own intellectual adventure into one that positively impacts our college, local and national community. Over the past four years, we have exhibited our intellectual capabilities and our energy and commitment to making a change for the better.
We have placed our mark in the history books as a class that is relentless in its pursuit for what we feel is right, optimistic that we can improve the world around us.
We are willing to not only speak of what we feel should be changed but we are actually willing to spend our own time and resources to actively go out into the world and foster the notion of change.
President Obama stated “that change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek”.
Today, I hear the words of President Obama echoing before me. Class of 2009, you are the change we seek. You are the change that we need.
Embodying a commitment to service reflects selflessness; giving all that can be given without regard for personal gain. What makes CC students stand out from others is that we not only fund a cause, but we actively participate in making a positive impact on those who we can personally reach. We help others by providing our young spirit, time and effort. No matter what newspaper articles or the media say, we love our college and we love the community that surrounds it.
Our work and dedication to CC and this community is testament to our conscious effort and commitment to helping others. As Robert F. Kennedy said, "history will judge you, and as the years pass, you will ultimately judge yourself, in the extent to which you have used your gifts and talents to lighten and enrich the lives of your fellow men. In your hands lies the future of your world and the fulfillment of the best qualities of your own spirit." Let us remember these words.
So what have we done? How have we demonstrated our commitment to service?
Our commitment to service has been shown through service trips to New Orleans, to help rebuild a city ravaged by hurricane Katrina by aiding in the restoration of once-flooded houses and buildings.
Our commitment to service has been shown at Helen Hunt Elementary School during Read Across America Day as we read and interacted with children to show them that no matter what misfortune you have been dealt, you have the ability to succeed through hard work and education.
Our commitment to service has been shown through our involvement in Relay for Life, as we have honored those who lost their fight to cancer and have encouraged those who are continuing their fight at this very moment in the goal of one day finding a cure.
Our commitment to service has been shown overseas, where in Tanzania, we taught the importance of HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. And in Honduras, where we led women's empowerment clinics and dealt with issues of self esteem and self confidence.
And our commitment to service has been shown here, in our own Colorado Springs community, where we mentored and served as positive role models to “at risk” children through North Boys Enrichment and Volunteer Action.
Our commitment to service has been no better demonstrated than through those of us who have put lifelong dreams and aspirations on hold to actively work in our communities, in an effort to put the interests of others before our own.
Civil rights activist Dorothy Height acknowledges that, “without community service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It's important to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It's the way in which we ourselves grow and develop.”
Class of 2009, do not veer from the path that you have walked here at CC. Continue to embrace the commitment to service that you have shown. Embrace dedication, activism, and compassion.
Lastly, I ask you to not be uncertain about your future. CC has taught you how to fully dedicate yourself for the task at hand. You have the skills. Go forward with confidence.
And hey, if all else fails, polls show that 90 percent of all parents with graduating college students would openly welcome their precious sons and daughters home to live for a couple of years. 90% percent gives you a pretty good shot seniors!
On behalf of your 2009 Class Officers, Thank you and Congratulations!