Moriah Brock
2015 Commencement Speech
Being the youngest of a very large family I was blessed to have attended not one but six additional SUNY Orange commencements before today. My father and my 5 older siblings walked across this very stage to honor their accomplishments and I am very thankful to be standing up here today to honor my own. When I was first assigned to be student commencement speaker, I turned to my loved ones for their advice on what to speak about. They told me to make it inspirational and to maybe start with a quote or a story. My dad told me to begin with a cliché saying like the famous quote from Forest Gump, “Life is like a box of chocolates. “ I’m sure many of you know the ending to that that line. My sister told me to begin with an important memory of mine and then of course my brother in law Vincent contradicted my father like most son in laws would and told be that no matter what I should not base by speech on a cheesy metaphor. So instead of boring you all with a quote I found online or from a distant memory, I decided to let SUNY Orange speak for itself with all the amazing and inspirational things it has to offer. Many of you may already know but Orange County Community College was established in 1950 and its main purpose was to provide education for returning veterans from World War II. The original class consisted of 13 students, now over 5000 students are enrolled. With over 30 associate degrees to chose from, SUNY Orange provides its community with accessible education and enhanced leaning opportunities. Everyday walking across campus, students have the opportunity to learn hands on. How many students across the nation are able to say they walk past a fully restored mastodon over 10,000years old, we know him as Sugar. This piece of history is just one of many that have enhanced our experience and learning. But, perhaps the most important thing that SUNY Orange has to offer isn’t a thing at all it’s the Facility and Staff that we all hold so dear to our hearts. With a fifteen to one ratio between students and teacher, we were not only able to really learn from our professors but create a lasting bond with them.At this time, I would like to sincerely thank them for their mentoring, expertise and for the quick email responses at 4 in the morning. Through their patience, compassion and undivided support, they have contributed to all of us in being here today. In the past two years, under the guidance of my professors and perhaps way to much coffee, I have watched myself grow not only in my abilities in my studies but also in my passion for what I was learning and most importantly in my perseverance to keep on going even when I felt that I was trying to conquer the impossible. After looking back at the past four semesters, I can stand here in front of you, proud of all I’ve accomplished, all those late night study sessions followed by a test at eight in the morning, all those 10 page papers that I probably should of started a week before yet through a whole lot of hard work and just a little bit of luck they turned out to be amazing and of course I’m proud of all the incredible friendships that I made and no matter where my life takes me, they will forever be in my heart. My experience at SUNY Orange started just as it might have for many of you, I came here my first semester after high school, excited and a little nervous to now be studying courses that will one day be incorporated into a career. As an engineering major, I took specific classes designed to assist me in the future, just as many of us did, but it took me three whole semesters to see all my classes come together as one. During this semester, in my Dynamics class with Professor Wolbeck, I was able to use all the tools I had stored away in my toolbox. While many students complained about whenthey’ll ever have to use this math again, I sat in my dynamics class and I had to remember three semesters of math, calc one, two, and three. We were even solving problems with math from my current class that I haven’t even learned yet. This class brought all my classes together into one course and it showed me just a glimpse of what it would be like to be an Engineer. This is just one example of the many opportunities given to me from SUNY Orange both inside and outside the classroom. In the past two years I was lucky enough to be apart of the Engineering club, Math club, Board of Activities, student member of the Foundation Board of Directors, and president of Student Senate. Though these clubs, I found a drive in myself that I never knew I had and a passion to continually give all that I had to my fellow peers and to the school that has given back more then I ever expected. Being active in both the classroom and outside of it with my professors and peers is want made my college experience so memorable and I can’t wait to continue with the same excitement and just a little bit of nerves when I transfer next year to RPI. This school will always be extremely important to me because it was my beginning of education in a field that I will forever love and through my growth here at SUNY Orange, I am now ready to move onto another school and continue my passion in the classroom that began and blossomed on these grounds. Choosing to come to SUNY Orange my senior year of high school was the best decision I could of made because of the lasting memories, lessons and friendships. I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity and beginning to my journey. Thank you again to the faculty, administration, and staff and to all of you for allowing to share my story at SUNY Orange and perhaps with it bring a little inspiration.