Congratulations! You鈥檝e successfully made it to the finish line of what was likely the most challenging academic year in your undergraduate journey at CU. I want to commend you for your determination, tenacity and resilience as you persisted through the pandemic, multiple transitions between in-person and hybrid teaching modalities, reduced face-to-face engagement with your instructors and peers, spring pause, and the tragedies at the King Soopers grocery store.听听
Whether you are a first-year student or graduating senior, you have proven, quite masterfully, the skill of adaptability. Adaptability is a soft skill that means rapidly learning new skills and behaviors in response to changing circumstances. With the myriad of unexpected challenges that this year brought, you demonstrated creative thinking and the ability to think strategically to be productive in your virtual engineering courses.听
Given the enormity of this year, you have overcome these challenges smarter, more innovative, and having greater empathy and perseverance. These life-sustaining attributes have served you well and will help to propel you forward in your future academic and professional endeavors. Suffice it to say, you made lemonade out of lemons, and if you don鈥檛 give up, you will reap the rewards of your labor.听
Over the summer, I invite you to reflect frequently on this quote: 鈥漇uccess is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all love what you are doing, or learning to do.鈥� -Pel茅听
Best wishes on your final exams!
Congratulations to the graduating class of 2021!
Terri D. Wright, PhD
Assistant Dean of Access, Inclusion and Student Programs