Convocation Essays
Finalists’ essays
Keynote Speaker: Kim Roberts
Class: Junior
Hometown: Wrexham, Wales
Major: Political science and women’s studies
It’s a strange experience when you take your first few steps around your new home. College. You tell yourself over that you are now a college student and as hard as it is to believe, it is true. Daunting, exciting; your stomach doing back flips. That time when you just want your parents to finally leave but you don’t really want to face life without them there. You count down days until class, anticipation for your first frat party, lazy day at Starbucks, a walk along the terrace, the thrill of a camp Randall jump around, cramming for exams at memorial, you can’t wait for them, to forge your own way in this big wide world.
UW, what does it mean to be a student in Madison? Frankly I had no idea, and I’d like to think that I’m still learning. I’m not an American, I attended high school in a small British town with eight hundred people who all looked and acted like me. I’d never even seen a Chevy and I certainly didn’t know what a non-fat caramel macchiato was. Studying for me meant a quick glimpse at the cover of my book; badgers were annoying creatures that roamed the garden; I couldn’t tell you one single rule of basketball, or football, or baseball, or volleyball or hockey or softball; Mcdreamy and Mcsteamy were not yet words in my vocabulary; Halloween was not a celebration; I thought a GPA was some kind of navigation system; and quite honestly I did not have any idea that Wisconsin existed, apart from that small mention in Love Actually and even then I thought it was made up.
It didn’t take me long, a week maybe, to realize that I had no idea how to be a college student. Everything was new; food, friends, class, TV, sports, drinks, newspapers landscape, a whole new life. So, there was nothing else for it. I jumped straight in, head first, and never looked back. My first game at Camp Randall I sat amongst seventy thousand die-hard badger fans all clad in red and doing the Mexican wave like seasoned pros. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. You are part of something so much bigger than yourself. You’re only a speck in the sea of red but you make a difference. I fell in love with college sports that day.
Sat at the terrace, Memorial Union lit up by the burning sun, the fall colors outlined the buildings, softened the skyline. Boats drifted by, their passengers catching the last rays of the day before night fell. Wisconsin crew working hard in the distance; ice cream; the calm sound of the lapping water and one of Madison’s finest musical groups playing away. Everything new but everything equally wonderful. I fell in love with UW-Madison that day.
An early Sunday morning run chasing the path in front of me. Capitol Square heaving with the farmer’s market crowd; bread, vegetables and cheese curds. Every last person with a smile on their face. The meandering walk home, strolling along State Street and wandering into store from time to time. A leisurely walk through library mall, past the Kohl center, home to so many Wisconsin dreams, along the bike path and home. I fell in love with Madison that day.
Then life crashes. Sick and alone with no parent to fetch you a cup of tea you start to realize what the real world is like and you don’t like it. A bad grade after so much hard work, obviously the professor’s fault. You miss home, more than you thought you would, but that’s only because you miss your grandma’s pot roast and your kid sister that you can’t fight with anymore. Then they appear. People to make it all go away, disappear. They brought me ice cream and knew exactly the right time to stop and give me a hug. They studied with me even when they had no work to do just so I wouldn’t be in Memorial alone and sent me a facebook bumper sticker every hour for a day just to make me laugh. I fell in love with my friends that day.
And that’s when it was all worthwhile. Classes became second nature; basketball at the SERF became a weekly thing. Coffee became a staple of my diet; I learned all the words of the American national anthem and Varsity; Pulling on my badger uniform was a privilege and I couldn’t walk down State without stopping to think how lucky I was to have found this. That was when I fell in love with college.
A new life is hard. Strange, scary and so unexpected. Second guessing yourself is second nature and it’s hard to break out of that box you’re so comfortable in. But believe me when I say it’s the first step that’s the hardest. You need to beat your way out of that box, throw caution to the wind and do things you’ve never done before. Because if you don’t let Madison into your heart, if you don’t let UW pump through your veins, then you may just miss out on one of the best experiences you will ever have.
Essay finalists
Richard Duffy
Class: Senior
Hometown: Minneapolis, Minn.
Majors: Majoring in Operations Management and Economics
Entering your first year of college, I know you’ve got advice coming out your ears, so I’ll spare you the typical: get some sleep, study, eat right, and all of that. Instead, I’m going to tell you the one thing that you won’t hear anywhere else, but will have the biggest impact on your freshman year: go back to your dorm room today and bunk your beds. That’s right; stack them right on top of each other-tonight you’ll be sleeping three feet above or below somebody who, right now, is a stranger. This simple trick will instantly double your space and eliminate those pesky bumps on the head from crawling in and out of your “personal” loft.
This idea is so good, in fact, that I’m amazed it took my freshman roommate and me seven months to figure it out. I sure it was because he and I, who by the way are the best of friends and still live together over on State Street, just didn’t feel comfortable giving up our personal space. My friends, that’s college.
It’s all about going outside your comfort zone to try something different and discovering you’re actually better off when you take chances, instead of doing what seems safest or easiest. University life, at its core, is about sharpening and expanding your mind, and when you look around the 12’ by 12’ room that you now call home, your sharp and expanded mind is going to tell I’m right.
Now I’m not saying that every time you take initiative and try something new you are going to be met with success. On the contrary, some of your biggest disappointments and most embarrassing moments are going to happen right here in Madison, WI. I’m saying take the chances anyway. You can’t obsess about keeping that 4.0, and making sure you’re the smartest, coolest, most-liked person on campus, because there’s 5,500 people just like that sitting right next to you. When you make mistakes, don’t sulk around thinking you’re the most foolish, weirdest, biggest loser in the whole university, because there’s 5,500 of those people sitting next to you as well.
Believe me; every one of you is going to make some mistakes. Though this first year will undoubtedly be fun and memorable, it will be difficult. It is going to require a good measure of resolve and perseverance (you’ll learn about perseverance this winter when you have to walk up a certain rugged and unforgiving hill). Every great story here at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, whether it’s the walk-on who finally makes the basketball team, or world changing breakthroughs in stem cell research, has one common theme: relentless pursuit of a difficult goal.
You might not have your goals all figured out yet, but I’ll tell you something that I know simply because you’re lucky enough to be sitting in the Kohl Center right now: if you work hard and keep an open mind during your years here, you will be successful. You just don’t know what success is yet.
How did this speech go from furniture arrangement to life lessons? The point is you don’t need to be afraid. Don’t be afraid to get cozy with your new roommate, and don’t be afraid to try something new or different, even if there’s a good chance you’ll fail. Don’t be afraid to take a class that seems over your head, and don’t be afraid to miss a Friday-After-Class party when you really need to get your work done. You don’t need to be afraid because you’re at one of the world’s finest institutions of higher education, one that just so happens to be located in the most fun city in North America. Along with being one of the best university’s in the country, Wisconsin is also one of the biggest. Though it can seem daunting, the size of UW is one of its greatest assets. In a school of over 40,000, you don’t need to be anything other than yourself to find activities that interest you, and friends that care about you.
There will be times when you are going to feel overwhelmed, and that’s when you need to take advantage of the hundreds of support services that the university has to help you, both academically and socially. Yet the biggest source of support you will find is going to come from the people sitting in this building right now.
You’ve got to look out for each other, and help each other out. You’re all in the same place, especially now that you’ll all be sleeping in bunk beds thanks to my little pearl of wisdom-you’re welcome. Though this is one the most competitive schools, don’t get caught up in trying to one-up each other; remember that you’re here to achieve things together. Don’t expect to get a free ride, don’t expect anyone to do your work other than you, but when you need it, do not be afraid to ask for help.
After that long list of “don’ts”, I want to tell you a couple of things you should do. Do go to class (no matter how early or far away it is), do go to football games, Halloween, and Mifflin (no matter tired or busy you are), do meet you professors and TA’s, because, aside from you, they are going to have the biggest impact on your education. Do meet as many of your classmates as you can, because they’re the people who are going to have the biggest impact on your life. Do consider yourselves very lucky, even though we won’t treat you like it, you are the envy of all the other students at UW; you’ve got four years of Madison left! So do take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself, do enjoy ever single minute of your short time here, and please do, for your sake, for your roommate’s sake, for efficiency’s sake, go back to the dorm and bunk your beds. Welcome to Wisconsin.
Emily Piehl
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Poynette, Wis.
Major: Spanish, Portuguese, and English as a Second Language
Almost exactly one year ago, I was sitting amid a crowd of incoming freshman much like all of you are today. I watched the crowds of new students enter the Kohl Center and tried to imagine all of the possible backgrounds that my fellow classmates were coming from. It was a daunting thought, especially to me, coming from a town of less than three thousand. I remember thinking to myself, “These students are all really a lot like me. They have all worked incredibly hard in school, participated in school activities, been athletes, been volunteers, and earned their way into UW-Madison with the same drive and persistence that I had learned to adapt.” I started to get really nervous. Surrounded by thousands of talented individuals, I began to question my own abilities and chance for success in Madison. As one of nearly forty thousand on campus, would I have any chance to accomplish my goals and pursue my dreams? Or would I become just a number, just another name on a student roster?
To be honest, these questions bothered me for quite awhile. In the first few weeks of school I met so many other talented students with ideas, hopes, plans, and dreams that were similar to mine and I continued to wonder if this really was the best place for me to be. Don’t get me wrong, I love Madison and I really love student life on campus, but for as much as I care about UW-Madison I couldn’t help but to wonder, does UW-Madison really care about me?
As the school year progressed I came to be more and more comfortable in my surroundings and the classroom setting. I became a conversational English tutor for GUTS and joined the BRIDGE program which pairs US students with international students for the semester. I used my love of languages to become a volunteer for the UW Language Institute. I took smaller classes and got to know my professors on a first name basis. Finally, about halfway through my second semester last year, I came to one of the most important realizations of my life. The resources and assistance that I needed for accomplishing my goals at Madison were all there. They had always been there, but they weren’t going to come find me. At that point, I absolutely had to seek them out myself.
From then on, this concept became my entire philosophy here at college. I kept telling myself, “If people haven’t yet learned to take interest in you or haven’t yet learned your name, give them a reason to.” This is my advice to all of you. I know what most of you are feeling right now. I know exactly what it’s like to be surrounded by hundreds of other intelligent, talented, and motivated students, each with his or her plans for their future at UW-Madison. I remember feeling intimidated by the crowd at the Chancellor’s Convocation at the Kohl Center. I believe that it’s important to remember however, that college is not a competition among students but rather a challenge for individuals to seek out the tools they need and use them to accomplish their personal aspirations in the years ahead.
Madison features hundreds of student organizations, programs, academic resources, and ways to have fun. Embrace them. There is truly no better time than now to explore new options and figure out what you want to do and who you want to be. Getting involved with campus life is one of the best ways of deciding what your personal interests are and sometimes ends up taking you to the best places, even if they are not where you intended to end up. If it takes you awhile to find out what aspects you want to be part of, it’s okay. In the words of my own personal favorite songwriter Bob Dylan, “A lot of the time, you have to go down many roads to get where you are going. The important thing is to keep moving.”
I personally want to wish each and every one of you the greatest success here at UW-Madison. I hope that throughout this year, you will remember this advice if you start to feel overwhelmed with the various challenges of college life. Fifteen or twenty years down the road, you all will be in different places and doing different things with your lives but I can assure you that your involvement and experiences as a student here will be carried with you wherever you may end up. Have a wonderful year finding your place in this amazing university.