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After four years of soaking up the magic of this place, at an institution of learning, full of passionate and driven people, where do you go outside of this bubble and who will you become? I encourage you to keep in mind one very influential member of our class while you make these transitions.

I consider myself enormously privileged to have known and worked with Eve Carson, our beloved class member, student body president and friend. I like to imagine her quirky little movements as she would so “incredibly and excitably” describe why she was so honored to represent UNC students and why we were, why we are, a generation of change agents. Eve’s drive to include people and to love people well astounded me. Eve’s passion for this place – for the color Carolina Blue, for the basketball team, for the students, for learning, for the quad, for all things Carolina – was overpowering and so infectious that you could not help but be more excited about life’s possibilities in her presence.

In the brave words of Mr. Bob Carson, “I see a stunningly beautiful convergence of talent and caring in this, our children’s generation. It is the most fantastic realization … but I must tell you – even with an aching heart, and yet with such hope and love – that the friends of Eve, and their generation, will not be denied. They’ve got miles to go, and missions to keep, and we will be so much better for their undaunted perseverance!”

I encourage you to remember these words, remember Eve, remember the Carolina Way, and go!

Go. Be that generation of change agents that Eve saw, that generation that Eve got giddily flustered over when trying to explain her passion for UNC students. Go. Be excited about the endless possibilities that your diploma grants you. Go. Use that power for good, for hope, for change. Your journey has not ended, it has only just begun. Set forth today and go.