(light music)
- When I was applying to Syracuse,
I had to respond to this question of like,
after the four years where do you see yourself?
What do you wanna be after you're a Syracuse grad?
- It became pretty clear that Syracuse University
was gonna be my best choice.
- I only applied to Syracuse University.
That is how much I liked it.
- And it was the first goal I say I really accomplished,
like, being accepted into the school.
- Syracuse was my dream school
so I did start sobbing hysterically.
- (laughs) And I was honestly so shocked.
- I just started freaking out 'cause I had just
got the call that I'd be going to Syracuse University.
- [Chancellor] I want everyone to know that this university
now belongs to these incoming students
as much as to anyone else who is Orange.
(upbeat percussive music)
[Chancellor] These students are going to ask things here,
and build things here, and prove things here,
and leave things behind here
that are really unique and enduring.
(chanting) Let's go Orange!
(cheering)
- I would say the future is hopeful.
Thanks to Syracuse, I felt very challenged
and I felt really pushed in a good way.
- Academically, Syracuse was a really good choice for me.
It was definitely tough.
- But no matter how tired we are, we always end
up getting up and going to class
and keeping it pushing.
- I think I was surprised by the freedom you have.
You have space to explore exactly what you want.
- Like the support that I've been given by my professors,
by all the faculty and staff,
anything that I've ever needed I've been able
to have access to.
- As a grad student, I felt very supported.
You're not lost in a crowd.
Your needs are met
and people question you out of genuine interest.
- The stories I've been able to tell
and the people that I've been able to meet
and the lessons that I've learned through my classes,
I'm really grateful for the experience.
(pop music)
- Okay, favorite on-campus experience?
Probably interviewing Martin Luther King III.
- Freshman year when we had Citrus in the City,
I feel like that's when I really bonded with my dorm floor
and those are still my best friends that I see every day.
- I'm gonna remember Otto just like randomly popping
up all throughout campus. (laughs)
- You know, the snow that we have here
and sledding down Crouse Hill.
I'm gonna miss that a lot.
- Working all night on a project, because at 4:00 AM
we were in a fit of giggles and I realized then
that they were gonna be like, my lifelong friends.
- The day I got elected as vice president
of our student government,
I just felt extremely fulfilled and proud of myself.
So, that might be the best day.
Aside from the Duke game, like two years ago.
(cheering)
- I guess, freshman year, I never thought I'd get a job.
(laughs) That seemed so far away at the time.
And now less than four years later
here I am with a full-time offer.
- After I graduate, I'll be starting a position
at Levi's as a designer.
- I'm working for Lockheed Martin as a systems engineer.
- I will be moving to New York City
to work in beauty public relations
before starting my own cosmetics line.
- After graduating from Syracuse University
I'm actually coming back to the graduate school.
- I'm gonna be going to medical school at SUNY Upstate.
- I'm running for local office.
- I'm gonna become a civil engineer in the Air Force.
- My biggest goal is to become
the President of the United States.
(applauding)
(inspiring music)
- [Chancellor] The robes, the regalia have a purpose.
They remind us, both when we start at a university
and when we finish, when you will be in robes as well,
that we have crossed an amazing milestone.
- I'm gonna feel like Neil Armstrong
stepping on to the moon for the first time.
- Probably a little nervous, there's way too many people
in the crowd, but (laughs)
I'm also gonna be really excited and really proud.
- Scared, I don't really want to grow up
but I guess this is the next stage in life.
- Yes, I will sob. (laughs)
- And I'm graduating right now.
- And I'm really excited of what this means for my family.
- It was not easy.
It was very hard, but we made it and we are here,
we survived!
- It's graduation!
- Woo-hoo!
- We did it!
- Thank God!
(laughs)
- I made it through.
So I think I can do anything now.
[soaring music]
- For me to be Orange means just general happiness.
I mean, orange is the happiest color.
- I used to think I bleed red, now I bleed Orange.
You know?
- I'm proud of myself and I don't think
I could have said that a couple years ago.
- As a graduate student, the opportunities that have come
to me because I'm from Syracuse, has changed my life.
- I have a lot of people to thank for it, but like,
I'm really proud to say I'm a student at Syracuse.
- Just to see what we've done in the past
and how we're about to take it further,
that's what makes me so excited
to be a Syracuse University student.
- I always want to be a student.
I don't want to leave (laughs)
'cause that means I'm leaving everyone here.
But the fact that I get to be alumni
with all of these other amazing people
really makes it something special.
- Syracuse University is really gonna stick
with me and just be part of me forever.
- To my fellow graduates in the room I say,
this experience is whatever you want it to be
and I don't just mean college,
I mean the rest of the life that you create.
So go forth.
Go change the world.
(calm music)