Dear Class of 2020,
I hope you are embracing your graduation as a moment of tremendous accomplishment and celebration. And my greatest hope for all of you is that the difficult months of this pandemic prove to be a footnote to a life full of meaning and joy.
I know it may not feel like it today, but I expect that when you look back on your time at Brown, 10, 20, 30 years from now, you will recall much more than the last fews months of your senior spring. You will recall the classes you struggled in and the classes you aced, and the professors who inspired you. You’ll reflect on the calls you missed from your parents or families because you were out living your lives, and of course the calls you wish you had taken from them at difficult times when they would have had precious advice to give. For some, you’ll remember protests and activism, and for others, you'll remember the difference that you made in the lives of your friends and your communities in other ways. Most of all, you will recall the deep friendships you made, many of which will endure for a lifetime.
What I hope you’ll remember most is that this was your Brown. It was what you made of it. And don't let the pandemic take that away from you.
None of us knows what the next several months or the next year will bring, but one thing I know with absolute certainty is that you will make your own marks in this world. And Brown will be here for you. We celebrate you, and we hope to see you back on campus in spring 2020 for Commencement. You are forever a part of the Brown community.
Ever true.
Christina H. Paxson
ADVERTISEMENT
