“Apply to the dream career, we’ve earned the right
To emerge with a punctilious sunrise, of renewed vigor
The world has waited, desperately seeking our light
So let it shine enduringly bright
We’ll wait
Congratulations!”
Each year, commencement offers us the profound opportunity to celebrate corporately. The Class of 2022 is unique because many of its members started their degree programs prior to the unforeseeable events that have shaped our socio-political discourse. Yet with endurance and affinity, the Class of 2022 met the moment. Class of 2022, welcome to the Tribe.
The Class of 2022 must be remembered
For our patience
We have waited
We waded, through the amniotic birth pangs of our dreams,
Yet they survive
Before we could talk, we knew
Of golden rhapsody
Hewn from time passed in pastures green
Our Tribe, the strength
In our knuckles
We bore this burden
Refusing to buckle
By belonging to one another
We began as clipped eagles, a grounded convocation
Boxed in by Covidic isolation
As weeks and months breezed brutally by,
Against unforeseeable headwinds, we learned how to fly, together
Shaken by current events beyond our control
With endurance, we rose above the storm
Soaring, together
From the ground, we appeared as distant stars
A constellation, hidden in the heavens
Yet, it was then,
As the world blinked its forty winks
In the dim recesses, where knowledge is formed
We ventured
In the Swem catacombs, where masks were worn
Uncensored
We read
We waited
We waded through pools of papers
We have waited on Amazon Prime packages delayed
We have waited through uncanny weather
We have worked through scheduled breaks
When others rushed, we waited
They sparkled
While we sat at our desks
They serenaded
While we searched databases
We waded through waters of worry
Took our time in the tempest of testing
We argued our oral defenses – successfully
Patiently
With poise, to prove we were good enough,
& The Tribe welcomes us!
Yet we continue waiting…
Waiting for who?
Are you waiting for me?
Am I waiting on you?
Yes, we have waded together
Through late nights, sacrificing sleep
Through daylight, relinquishing rhythms with family, friends, fun… vacations missed
All of this
Has brought us to this even larger waiting room
Where we must wait to realize
What comes next for you
Yet this is what we do
Class of 2022
We are expertly imperturbable without becoming resigned
We are surefooted and composed, and this is by design
We have been trained and specialized,
This is why we are quite refined
But deadlines, blah who needs ‘em
This is our time, take it
And shine!
Apply to the dream career, we’ve earned the right
To emerge with a punctilious sunrise
Of renewed vigor
The world has waited
Desperately seeking our light
So let it shine enduringly bright
We’ll wait
Congratulations!
——————————————————————————————————————–

Dr. Derek Porter is a graduating member of W&M’s Class of 2022 earning a doctorate in the Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership program. A versatile licensed teacher with 10 years of experience, he is creating knowledge on effective teacher professional development as a pathway to student success. Further Dr. Porter launched Tutor Oasis, a digital academic support service, in 2020 to combat the inequitable impact of COVID-19.