Graduation Speech: My First Day At Tarleton State University

We did it. Good morning. President Dottavio, Provost Murray, faculty, staff, family, friends, loved ones and fellow graduates. I am honored for the opportunity to address you because without your continued love and sacrifice we would not be here today. Today is not just about walking across a stage but demonstrating the fruition of all your support.

We all decided to pursue the road of higher education for different reasons. For some of us it was the next logical step towards a goal locked upon years before. Some of us came to here to continue playing the sports that drove our dreams. Some of us, let’s face it, accepted coming towards higher education because our parents told us we had to.

For me, however, there was another reason in which I am not alone. When I first came to Tarleton State University I was freshly home from a tour in Afghanistan. I was raw, angry, hurting, and lost. I had lost my vision for my future. My intention when I enrolled at Tarleton was not to pursue the next step or even to find the next step, but instead it was an effort to drown out what I had seen, done, and lost. I expected the classes to allow me to focus on something else for a little while, but I found something so much more. Tarleton gave me direction, and revived my passion
I sat in the furthest corner in the back and prayed that no one would sit by me, talk to me, or even look at me. I was so afraid, as I sat there watching all of these happy, laughing people filling the room around me, that they would see that I didn’t belong there. I wasn’t there to strive towards a goal, or even to simply please those around me. Instead I was there to hide from pain that wouldn’t leave me alone. Yet someone did sit beside me and smiled. I remember that smile, even if I don’t remember the person attached to it. It was that moment that I felt that I might have made the right choice in coming to