Graduation Reflection

We had a special little graduation reception/ceremony for us four sailor seniors who would not be able to make the real graduation due to Nationals. Here are my notes for the little talk:

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Hello everybody, and for those of you who don’t know me, my name is Mike. First, I’d like to take the time to thank you all for coming to celebrate our graduation, especially on this Tuesday afternoon. 

For me, the story is a little bit different than Tommy’s (the other senior reflect-er), but it ends in the same place.

Now, I am graduating as the only really science-y guy in the group, but I think the thing is that academics play such a small factor in my memories of the past four years. I think what my time at Brown boils down to is chance — the people you meet, the things you do all by the power of chance.

We’re all here in part to celebrate the success of our sailing team, but when I came to Brown, I barely knew how to sail. The only reason I learned was because my mother by some stroke of genius decided to sign my brother up for sailing lessons — and drag me along. My first sailing practice at Brown, then, was understandably intimidating. I’m not going to lie — the first time I met Colin, Tommy, and Ashley, I thought they were crazy. 

As cliche as it sounds, the past couple of years have truly flown by. It is by sheer luck I stumbled into such a great group of guys. From going down to V15 Midwinters with Colin and Drew; to the random trips to the Virgin Islands, New York, skiing, and sailing parties all over; to that ABC party at the Rog; to the always-fun Spring Training Trips; to, of course, the marathon van ride back from Hampton just a couple of weeks ago. 

It is by chance that I’ve become a part of this craziness, and I’m truly going to miss everyone.

We’ll be headed down as a team to Florida in two days — hopefully to win a National Championship or two — and there is no better way I can imagine spending my last days at Brown. 

Thank you.