Seniors, you have three and a half weeks left of your college careers, this is it. You will officially be University of Wisconsin-La Crosse alumni.
I know what you are thinking about right now, that if you don’t think about it then it is not real. But it is real, don’t take these last moments for granted. Spend this remaining time writing a love letter to the city that’s been your home for four years. All good things must come to an end.
For now, I wanted to offer a personal take on a commencement speech for the class of 2025. From one senior to another.
You know, it’s funny how life is made up of moments. Some moments felt pretty small, like waking up for your 7:45 a.m. lecture when it was freezing out, or the Friday nights you spent with your friends or waiting to see if you passed that exam that you spent so long studying for. Other moments felt bigger, like the day you stepped foot on campus as a first-year, as we all crammed into our dorm rooms praying our roommates were going to be normal and that we would survive long enough to make it till Christmas break. Well, you did survive, and it went by faster than you probably thought it would.
But all those moments led to the biggest moment we’ve all been waiting for: graduation.
May 17 will be one of those moments, one you will remember. This is a moment that marks the end of your academic journey, but it is also the beginning of something new. The university has supported those moments, and the relationships fostered here have made saying goodbye bittersweet. UWL has provided us with a strong foundation. The environment on this campus has been our home, but it’s time to leave the eagle’s nest.
You are living in the middle of what you used to look forward to. Recognize and celebrate that.
As we enter the world, we are entering a world unfamiliar to us and ever-changing. One that is very different from what we know now.
Although I do not see myself in a position to give you wisdom because I also have not lived in what’s to come, I will offer you two mottos that I try and follow that I feel everyone can learn from.
The first is this: time will pass anyway. Whether you spend it how you want or let it slip by. The question is, when you look back, will you be proud of how you spent it—or will you wonder where it all went?
This can be looked at in two ways. First, if you have a goal or something you want to accomplish, and it feels like it will take a long time—remember, time will pass regardless. It is what you do with that time that will lead you to accomplish that goal.
As a student, you’re familiar with the feeling of just wanting to get to the end of the week. I am guilty of it too—saying things like “if I can just get past this exam” or, “if I can just get through this essay or project.” Whatever it is that is causing stress, we often convince ourselves that once we’re past it, everything will be fine.
I love this saying because even when things are really hard, whether I’m grieving a loved one, dealing with an illness or recovering from an injury, it always makes me look back and think, “Wow, I didn’t think I was going to get through that.” But I did always make it through. With time, comes ease.
The second motto I live by is a story my mother instilled in me for years.
For a moment, think about an animal other than an eagle. There is an unlikely animal we can learn something from: the buffalo. When most animals, like the deer, see a storm coming they run away from it. When they run away the storm continues to follow them. But not buffalo. When they see the storm coming they go towards it. By approaching it head-on they get through it faster.
As students, we have all faced storms. But we all made it though because we showed up, pushed through and because of that we have become stronger.
After May 17 there will be situations we want to run from, times when the easiest thing to do is to avoid something hard. However I challenge you all to be buffalo and face your challenges head-on. Doing so, you will become stronger for it. Because we’ve all been buffalos we are all here today.
As we leave UWL, remember to appreciate this moment, recognizing that that is all this is. Know that time will pass, use it wisely. And lastly, be the buffalo, or well the eagle.
We are united by our shared community. We are the legacy of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. We are carrying the torch of knowledge that has been passed down by alumni before us. Remember the values you have learned here, and what the University stands for. You have what it takes to make a positive impact.
Our moment is now.
With all that being said, congratulations to the class of 2025, and as always go Eagles!
