 Welcome everyone. Would all of you but the graduates please be seated? We'd like to begin by taking a photo of the Honors College scholars. Family members, you will have the opportunity to take photos as well, but please wait until the university photographer takes their photo from the balcony, and it's finished, otherwise the picture will be spoiled because of too many flashes going off. So would the graduates please turn and face the balcony? Thank you, students. You may be seated now. And for the parents who didn't take photos but just jumped up and waved, I love you. You're the best in the balcony. While my attention is toward the balcony, I'd like to recognize and thank University Organist Amy Short of the Music Department, who has been playing for us during the processional. I would also like to thank Honors College senior Belana Driscoll, who sang Laurie's song from The Tender Land by Aaron Copeland. Thank you, Amy and Belana. Welcome once again to all of you who have come here to celebrate the accomplishments of the graduating class of the University of Vermont Honors College. Thank you for coming to this celebration, which will mark and commemorate the achievement of our students and confer upon them the title of Honors College Scholar. I am David Geneman, Dean of the Honors College. I've had the great pleasure and privilege of working with these students for a long time, and I know how much they've relied on the help of you and so many others, teachers, mentors, family members, and friends, to allow them to reach the point where they arrive today. Thank you all for your support of these remarkable students. Let me mention, sure, parents, give yourselves a round of applause. Let me mention the others who are with me on the platform, beginning with the person farthest to my left, Provost Patti Prelock, next to her are President Suresh Garamella, who will be presenting our opening address shortly. Next, Senator Patrick Leahy, our recognition speaker. Next to him, someone who deserves an even bigger round of applause, Marcel Leahy, longtime supporter of UVM and Honorary Doctor of Laws 2019. Next to her, Professor of Philosophy and our faculty Marshal, Randall Harp. Finally, next to Professor Harp and the person who carried the Honors College Mace, Dean of the Honors College, Ian Grimmer, our processional Marshal. I should say a little something about our college Mace. It's the Buxton Dewey Mace, which was given to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of John Dewey, UVM Class of 1879, by J. Brooks Buxton, Class of 1956. John Dewey's legacy inspires the Honors College's ideals of promoting inquiry, service, and leadership. Mr. Buxton was a patron of the arts and a public servant, who in 2018 was named Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by UVM. I'd also like to recognize our student speaker and our banner bearers for today's ceremony. Emma Allen is our student speaker. Emma, could you please stand? Thank you, Emma. Ginny DeFrancis and Evan Chiquette are today's banner bearers. Ginny and Evan, could you please stand? Finally, would our banner bearer for tomorrow's university commencement ceremony, Peyton McNulty, also please stand. Our banner bearers are outstanding students from an outstanding class, chosen for their leadership and their academic accomplishments. They represent the very fine work that all Honors College students have done over the past four years. These scholars share, by our count, over 50 departmental and college awards and numerous other national and international honors. Thank you, Ginny, Evan, and Peyton, for representing your very accomplished classmates as banner bearers. One thing I know our students have appreciated is the supportive community of the Honors College. This wouldn't be a reality without our wonderful staff. Assisting us today are Genevieve Anthony, Simone Blaise, Scott Clark, Martha Lance, Ann Kroll Lerner, Jen Ha, Marisa Miles, and Miriam Luca-Rosita. Genevieve, Simone, Scott, Martha, Ann, Jen, Marisa, Miriam, please make yourselves known. All the students recognize how helpful and instrumental you've been to their Honors College experience. Thank you. I also want to recognize other important members of the UVM community that have joined us on this auspicious occasion. Board of Trustees members, to my right, members of Senators Leahy's staff, Vice Provost, and a former Leahy intern, former Honors College recognition speaker, and current Mayor of Burlington, Mero Weinberger. And of course our faculty members. They are sitting near the front of the chapel to my left. I know that we all, in particular the students, want to acknowledge the teaching, mentoring, and counsel of the faculty members who have supported and challenged them throughout their four years here. I'll take a special moment to acknowledge three, in particular, President Dan Fogel, Professor Lisa Schnell, and Professor Bob Pepperman Taylor. President Fogel was president when the Honors College was founded, and Bob and Lisa both served as dean of the Honors College and are important members of our history. Thank you, all three of you. Usually, at this point in the recognition ceremony, I offer a few words of reflection and hopefully a pearl of wisdom about what the students have experienced and what lies ahead. I promise to get to that in a minute, but before I do, I have a confession to make. For the past 10 minutes or so, I have been using the wrong name for our college and our scholars. You see, yesterday, at the Board of Trustees meeting, in acknowledgement of Senator Leahy's advocacy for the university, as a measurably transformed and improved the lives of countless UVM students, faculty, and staff, and his efforts to secure programmatic funding for UVM, including a $30 million federal appropriation for the Honors College and for student success. The Board unanimously agreed the Honors College be known hereafter as the Patrick Leahy Honors College. We recognize the senator's support to the university throughout his exemplary and distinguished career of service to our state and to our nation. And so I revise my previous introductory remarks to welcome you to the Patrick Leahy Honors College Recognition Ceremony, where, for the first time today, we will confer upon these amazing students the title of Leahy Honors College Scholar. Please join me once again in expressing my gratitude, heartfelt appreciation, and genuine affection to Senator Leahy and his wife Marcel for their lifelong dedication, advocacy, and support of Vermont's flagship university and to the college, which now bears his name. Now to the pearls of wisdom, which aren't my own, but which come from the senator. When I knew that we would be recognizing Senator Leahy as part of our ceremony today, I started researching some of the many things he said during his nearly 50-year career in the Senate to mine something inspiring to share with you all. There was a lot to choose from. Much of it related to issues he championed over the course of his career, promoting the environment, gender equity, sound immigration policy, the banning of landmines, and other issues. There was even a shocking, truly shocking, number of quotes about the Grateful Dead. Just keep trucking, Senator. And of course, you can't have followed the senator's career without recognizing how strongly he feels about the judiciary. But I figured if I led with his seemingly simple assertion, that, quote, the American people deserve to have a fully functioning Supreme Court, unquote, we might not get anything else to done at today's ceremony. So, the one thing everyone knows about Senator Leahy is that he loves Batman. And what he loves about Batman, he says, and here is the quote, is that Batman doesn't have any superpowers. He has to use his brain and his courage. That's what always has appealed to me. That's it. That's what the Patrick Leahy Honors College is all about. And that, it turns out, is the superpower of the Leahy Honors College scholars. You've already demonstrated your brains through your amazing academic achievements, the theses you've completed, and the awards you've earned. And you've certainly demonstrated your courage. You have a lot of courage to complete the Honors College thesis under the best of circumstances. To take a leap into that project, to develop something all your own from scratch, cultivate it and defend it with your peers and your faculty mentors looking on. This requires a lot of intellectual fearlessness and fortitude. But to see that through when the whole world turns upside down, when everything you've known and everything you've expected about the college experience changes just as you're getting started, shows an incredible amount of bravery, intelligence and perseverance that you should all be proud of. And which will serve you well in the years ahead. They are qualities you share with the senator, whose name now graces our college. And yes, qualities that make you kind of like Batman. I can't tell you how proud I am of each of you, what you've accomplished, and the brains and courage you've shown to get here. I can't imagine a group of students who would serve as a better example than you of what the Leahy Honors College is all about. And who will carry the senator and Marcel's legacies of intelligence, bravery and service. You're all superheroes to me. It is now my great pleasure to introduce our first speaker, President Suresh Garamella, the 27th president of the University of Vermont. We have been fortunate, very fortunate to have President Garamella lead our university. He joined us in 2019 from Purdue University, where he was Goodson Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Executive Vice President of Research and Partnerships. He is the co-author of over 600 referred publications and holds numerous patents. I used to list the number from stage, but he would always tell me he had invented a few more things in between, like when we walked up the stage. So I just say he's invented a lot of stuff. He has applied his expertise to national international policy issues, having served as a Jefferson Science Fellow at the U.S. Department of State and a Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate Partnerships of the Americas. And since 2022, I've had the great pleasure of being his partner in the annual Presidential Leadership Conversations, the first of whose fellows are graduating this weekend, some of them as Leahy Honors College scholars. I am so grateful to President Garamella for all he has done for UVM throughout the last four years, particularly for his generous and unwavering support for the Patrick Leahy Honors College. President Garamella will present the opening address. Thank you, Dean Geneman, what a day. Good afternoon to everyone here. It's a privilege to stand here today, along with Dean Geneman and the rest of our distinguished faculty, staff, guests, family and friends, our trustees, the staff of Senator Leahy's office, Mr. Mayor, it's just a wonderful gathering here and we're all here to help celebrate the best and brightest of UVM upon the culmination of their scholarly journey here. For the past 19 years, the Honors College has served as a shining example of academic excellence, uniting extraordinary students, outstanding faculty and dedicated staff around a shared commitment to success. Its culture of research, scholarly exploration and achievement has complimented and enriched the university immeasurably. Consistently higher grade point averages and graduation rates, national and international awards and scholarships, acceptance to graduate programs and prime job placements in the most desirable fields all established norms for the Honors College, for the Patrick Leahy Honors College. The achievements of its students are indeed remarkable. The Honors College represents the best of UVM because its success encompasses the full spectrum of our academic programs here. Yet, even as all of you have excelled in your specific areas of study, you've also worked together to harness the collective power of experiential learning through inclusive collaboration. The Honors College is so much more than just the sum of its parts. It's a unique educational community rooted in a common drive to explore and achieve. Even within the tradition of excellence, that is the Honors College, this is a special group. You're four years at UVM, my first four years too, or marked by the challenges imposed by the pandemic, which you transcended with great care for each other and for our university community as a whole. What distinguishes you as students, indeed as people, is your ability to maintain focus and hold high standards for yourselves, no matter what the circumstances. Those qualities were profoundly evident during your time here at UVM. You spent four years cultivating ideas and honing skills in research and discovery, and now it is time for you to take them out into the world and put them to their greatest use. The road to success has been well trodden by those who preceded you in the Honors College, including I understand our mayor, and now it's your turn. As you know, and as Dean Geneman mentioned, we have a very special guest with us here today. Just as the Honors College is synonymous with academic excellence here at UVM, Senator Patrick Leahy is synonymous with exemplary leadership and advocacy for the state of Vermont. It is only natural for this man and this college, both of whom represent the highest standards of merit and achievement to be united henceforth in name as they are in spirit. The Patrick Leahy Honors College will serve as a steward and standard bearer for Senator Leahy's living legacy, promoting excellence here at Vermont's flagship university, spotlighting the issues that the senator has championed and training the next generation of engaged scholars and informed leaders. And so, I ask all gathered here to please join me in congratulating the Patrick Leahy Honors College Class of 2023 and wishing them all the very best of success and happiness in the future. Congratulations. Thank you so much, President Caramella. It's now a great pleasure for me to introduce Emma Allen, our student speaker. Emma is from a small town outside of Brattleboro, Vermont. She's a political science major, double minoring in Spanish and critical race and ethnic studies. Emma is recognized as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Delta Pi, the National Hispanic Honors Society, as well as Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honors Society. Emma has received awards through the Mosaic Center for Students of Color on the behalf of the Patrick Leahy Honors College. She's worked as an intern in Senator Leahy and Senator Peter Welch's office and her thesis on the proliferation of reactionary sentiment in Vermont newspapers during the Civil Union debate was awarded, just yesterday, the best political science thesis of the year. After graduation, Emma plans to remain here in Burlington and while we would love to keep her here forever, wherever her path ends up taking her, we know that amazing things are in store for her. It's truly a privilege for me to welcome her to the podium. Thank you, Professor Grimmer. You know, I was going to say something about being Senator Leahy's favorite intern, but Mayor Weinberger is here, so I probably shouldn't see that. Fellow graduates, esteemed faculty, families and friends, it is my honor to stand before you all today. Congratulations to the graduating class of 2023. We made it. As we gathered here today to celebrate our achievements, I want to take a moment to reflect on our experiences in the Honors College. You may have asked yourself before applying, what is the Honors College truly about? Is it a place for students who have excelled academically in their high school careers? Is it for students who have done well on standardized tests? Or instead, is it a place of inquiry? An environment built to foster questions or to tackle difficult problems? The students sitting before you and beside you today will show you the Honors College places great importance on community, hard work and the genuine dedication to learning. The Honors College has provided each of us with unique experiences that will aid us throughout the rest of our lives. The people sitting in front of me, my classmates, my friends and fellow graduates are all extraordinary people who have done and will continue to do extraordinary things. During our time here, our classmates have assisted in federal criminal investigations, crewed Team USA hot air balloons in flight from Switzerland to Bulgaria and even emerged victorious in Harry Potter trivia at RERAS. We have experienced things out of our control. You all know what I'm hinting at here. And yet we persevered. I mean, who can imagine that we would have been sent home indefinitely in just our second semester of college? Return online, come back to campus but be confined to our rooms? As individuals and collectively, we found a way to thrive in an environment that seemed against us at every turn. And when difficulties arose, as they so often do, we overcame them again and again. I remember how daunting it felt when I first joined the Honors College. I could never write a thesis. There's so much work I thought. How am I supposed to defend my thesis in front of a committee that seems so stressful? Hell, how do I even come up with a topic? Well, four years later, and here we are. Our theses have been written, submitted, and successfully defended. And all on incredible, unique topics. I had the opportunity to attend a few defenses and to learn about the topics of others. My fellow graduates, I need you all to recognize how proud you should be of yourselves. I know I sure am. I can only imagine that for many of you, this process was challenging to say the least. My experience was particularly tumultuous. Some of you already know this story, but for those of you who don't, I thought I had an advisor in a worthwhile project in April of last year. Fast forward a month and I had no advisor and no concept of what I wanted to pursue in a thesis. I even had well-intentioned faculty advise me that I didn't need to pursue a thesis. But for all of those who don't know me, I am very stubborn. I decided early on that I would finish a thesis and graduate from the Patrick Leahy Honors College. So that's what I did. I found an incredible faculty member to advise me, albeit not one from the political science department, but we made it work, and I dedicated the past year or so to this project. It was crazy to say the least, but I do believe that it made me a stronger person in the long run, just as it has done for each of you. The passion that each of us has for our individual projects and our desire to contribute to our fields of knowledge is nothing short of tangible, and I truly think this is something unique to the Honors College. As I stand here now, I would recently say that it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made to continue my work in the Honors College and to pursue my thesis to its completion. Our experiences here have challenged us, taught us, and allowed us to grow in ways we never have imagined. Was it difficult? Of course. Were tears shed? Yep. But now is the time to celebrate this achievement, which, speaking for myself here, is definitely one of the coolest things I have completed in my life thus far. Our achievements, both individually and collectively, are a testament to our hard work and dedication. We have successfully completed rigorous coursework, taken on research projects, and balanced all that with our personal lives, which are just as full of trial and tribulation, if not more so. During our time here, each of us has demonstrated that we are not just intellectually capable, but also compassionate and socially responsible individuals. I would be remiss to leave out any mention of the connections that I've made as a member of the Honors College. Lifelong friendships. That's what I have found with many of you and what you have found with each other. I cannot stress enough what incredible individuals each of you are. I know that we'll be busy running businesses or campaigning for president, but don't forget to set aside a bit of time for a few Duff-hour reunions in the near future. I expect to see you all there. With that in mind, let us also remember that this is not the end of our journey, but merely the beginning of a new chapter. I heard a quote recently that I'd like to share with you all as a means of encouragement for the future. You didn't come this far to only come this far. In other words, there is only more to come from here. The work that we have accomplished over the past four years has been informative and important, and I know that many of you will continue to contribute to our broader understanding of the world as you take the next steps of your lives. I know that each of us will be leaving here today with the potential to create positive change in the world, to make a difference in the lives of those around us, and to inspire others to do the same. So, let us go forth from here with confidence, with courage, and with pride. Let us make the most of the opportunities that lie ahead of us, and let us never forget the lessons we have learned and the friendships we have made during our time in the Honors College. In closing, I want to thank our families, friends, and faculty who have supported us throughout this journey. Your encouragement, guidance, and unwavering belief in us have been invaluable. And to my fellow graduates, I am honored to have shared this experience with you, and I cannot wait to see what we will accomplish in the future. Congratulations again, and best of luck to each and every one of you in all of your future endeavors. Thank you. Thank you so much, Emma. As the Patrick Leahy Honors College processional marshal, I now have the pleasure of presiding over the presentation of medallions. Students will be receiving medallions from Dean Geneman and President Garamella and Provost Prelock will be congratulating the Leahy Honors College Scholars. Dr. Prelock was named University Provost after serving Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences for 10 years, as Department Chair in the College of Arts and Sciences for eight years, and as a Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders. In addition to all of these responsibilities, she continues to mentor Leahy Honors College Scholars through their thesis process, and she has been an outstanding supporter of the Patrick Leahy Honors College. For this part of the ceremony, I'll be asking students to come up to receive medallions and faculty marshal, Professor Randall Harp will recite student names. In addition, he'll be mentioning whether students are graduating Phi Beta Kappa and or Latin Honors. There are many other awards and honors that these students have earned and you will find these listed in tomorrow's commencement program. As I will guide the students onto the stage, we ask that you hold your applause until the end. Holly Abrams, College of Arts and Sciences. Rowan Adrian, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Cum Laude. Ashley Lynn Angle, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Jack Baker, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Jackson Alan Baker, College of Arts and Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Zoe Buoy Barton, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude Phi Beta Kappa. Sarah DiAnna Bowman, College of Arts and Sciences. Fosca Maria Beshtol, College of Arts and Sciences. Phi Beta Kappa. Max Barronz, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude Phi Beta Kappa. Virginia Austin, DeFrancis, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude. Emma Nualani-Allen, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Evan Scott Shokit, College of Arts and Sciences. Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Alice Dennett Blake, College of Arts and Sciences, Phi Beta Kappa. Trevor Blanchard, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Sadie Wolf Block, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Isabel Wagner Bhutan, College of Arts and Sciences. Marcelete E. Bukite, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Olivia Ann Buddington, College of Arts and Sciences. Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Jasper Evan Birask, College of Arts and Sciences. Phi Beta Kappa. Samuel August Buswell, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Aiman C. Caffrey, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Elizabeth Marshall Chadwick, College of Arts and Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Wing Yin Elizabeth Chung, College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Irene Choi, College of Arts and Sciences. Eleanor Churchill, College of Arts and Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Finley Thomas Clark, College of Arts and Sciences. Summa Cum Laude. Geneva Koti, College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Lauren Crissanti, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Emma Forrest Crypts, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and College of Arts and Sciences. Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Andrew J. Crompton, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Charlotte Frances Crum, College of Arts and Sciences. Summa Cum Laude. Tendju Karihir, College of Arts and Sciences. Isabel Juliet Curtin, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Emily Dean, College of Arts and Sciences. Hannah Decker, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Russell Docherty, College of Arts and Sciences. Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Belana Driscoll, College of Arts and Sciences. Mariel Dunn, College of Arts and Sciences. Cecilia Eggler, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Magna Cum Laude. Rachel Elliott, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Natalie Erstad, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Cum Laude. Patrick Faust, Grossman School of Business. Magna Cum Laude. Ava Isabel Foyer, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Ryan James Fitzpatrick, College of Arts and Sciences. Patrick Flaherty, College of Arts and Sciences. Emery Flavin, College of Arts and Sciences. Frankie Lynn Frazee, College of Arts and Sciences. Noah Fritzhand, College of Arts and Sciences. Phi Beta Kappa. Elise Furr, College of Arts and Sciences. Phi Beta Kappa. Jessica Eileen Gagne, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Summa Cum Laude. Maxwell Jacob Gailey, College of Arts and Sciences. Taylor Catherine Gelinas, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude. Anne Laurie Gilland, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Stephanie Jeanette Godis, College of Arts and Sciences. Claire Ann Golder, College of Arts and Sciences. Ryan Jeffrey Goodale, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Julia M. Gorenstein, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Alexandra E. Greer, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Caleb Thomas Hale, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude. Courtney Hales, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Kelly Rose Harding, College of Arts and Sciences. Ryan Chiara Hart, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Elise Claire Hassett, College of Arts and Sciences. Maxwell James Gravelin Heath, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Eamon Heaney, College of Arts and Sciences. Phi Beta Kappa. Kelly Samantha Herron, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Kieran R. Hogan, College of Arts and Sciences. Molly Broderick Hoppe, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Tria Yoshir Shia Lewis, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Brady Jalili, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Emerson Odom Jeffery, College of Arts and Sciences. Claire Rob Johnston, College of Arts and Sciences. Isabella Jones, College of Arts and Sciences. Parminder Kaur, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Cum Laude. Shauna Ashlyn Kelly, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Hannah Morgan Kometis, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Quinn Margaret Kirby, College of Arts and Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Naomi Young-Ning Kopser, College of Arts and Sciences. Lila Vivian Krugman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Summa Cum Laude. Taylor Mary Krupp, College of Education and Social Services. Hannah Christine Kubinski, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Summa Cum Laude. Sarah James Kubinski, College of Arts and Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Mary Leonard Kieser, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Julia Mariscal Lancero Hernandez, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Lindsay Rachel Lawrence, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude. Wen P. Lee, College of Arts and Sciences. Claire E. Lennon, College of Education and Social Services. Alexa Morgan Lewis, College of Arts and Sciences. Phi Beta Kappa. Sophie Lindy, College of Arts and Sciences. Eleanor Maeve Carlson Lowen, College of Arts and Sciences. Phi Beta Kappa. Kenneth McKenzie the Fifth, College of Arts and Sciences. Sean Magnifico, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude. Phi Beta Kappa. Sophia Catherine Mayorsk, College of Arts and Sciences. Livia Marquesi, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Cum Laude. Isabel Marion Martine, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude. Molly McDonald, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude. Shauna Margaret McGraw, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Jordan Laurel McGuire, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude. Payton A. McNulty, College of Arts and Sciences. Zachary David Miller, College of Arts and Sciences. Catherine Margaret Morrissey, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Justin Christopher Moyer, College of Arts and Sciences. Joanna Ellis Mullen, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Molly Margaret Meyers, College of Arts and Sciences. Remy Normand, College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Cum Laude. Lydia Grace O'Connor, College of Arts and Sciences. Abigail Elizabeth Palazza, College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Summa Cum Laude. Jacqueline Marie Palazza, College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Summa Cum Laude. Nicole Elizabeth Ann Paolo, College of Arts and Sciences. Emma Jane Parsek, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Cum Laude. Nina Pandia Pastore, College of Arts and Sciences. Michelle Palowski, College of Arts and Sciences. Isabel Eleanor Petrucci, College of Arts and Sciences. Summa Cum Laude. Sarah Brianna Plout, College of Arts and Sciences. Summa Cum Laude. Phi Beta Kappa. Casey John Pope, College of Arts and Sciences. Rachel Davy Pressman, College of Arts and Sciences. Levi Mitsuo Putman, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Summa Cum Laude. Kari Elizabeth Ring, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Nora Ripley Grant, College of Arts and Sciences. Summa Cum Laude. William Patrick Robinson, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Mayer B. Rogers, College of Arts and Sciences. Emma Shea Rosenau, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Olivia Beatrice Ruggiero, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Remy Aloysius Savard, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Summa Cum Laude. Katrina Seeberger, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Anna McKee Selen, College of Arts and Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Phi Beta Kappa. Amalia R Silverblatt, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Benjamin C. Simmons, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Cum Laude. Noah Michael Smith, College of Arts and Sciences. Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Olivia G. Stanley, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude. Ivy Stanton, College of Arts and Sciences. Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Eli Stein, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Cum Laude. Lydia Dora Steigers, College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Olivia Tang, College of Arts and Sciences. Chuck E. Georgia Ts, College of Arts and Sciences and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Mia Umali, College of Arts and Sciences. Sophie Grace Unger, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Magna Cum Laude. Rebecca Lee Vandenberg, College of Arts and Sciences. Nicholas Wendell, College of Arts and Sciences. Gabriella Alfaro White, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Julia Sam Wolfson-Williamson, College of Arts and Sciences. Phi Beta Kappa. Caroline Elizabeth Wolfe, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Anne Twente Wong, College of Arts and Sciences. Summa Cum Laude. William Allen Hyunmaw Wright, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Grace M. Yaris, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Logan David Yance, College of Arts and Sciences. So this is the moment you've all been waiting for. Let's have a round of applause for the Patrick Leahy Honors College Scholars. It's now my privilege to ask Senator Patrick Leahy to present the recognition address. Senator Leahy represented Vermont for 48 years as a US Senator. He served as President Pro Temporal of the Senate on two occasions from 2012 to 2015 and from 2021 to 2023. He chaired three different committees, Appropriations, Judiciary and Agriculture at various points during a tenure that began in 1975. He retired in 2023 as the third longest serving senator in our nation's history. Senator Leahy's legacy in the Senate was defined largely by his support for agriculture, environmental protection, and natural preservation, much of which benefited Vermont directly. A native of Montpelier, he introduced into the budget bills small state minimums that effectively channeled billions of dollars of additional funding to his home state. During his time in the Senate, Senator Leahy helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for UVM through appropriations bills, awards, and other support mechanisms. The culmination of his work is the inclusion of a $30 million in Congressional Directed Spending for an endowment to support the Honors College and Academic Excellence at UVM. An additional $50 million in Vermont-focused programmatic funding in the annual appropriations bill was signed into law on December 29, 2022. Senator Leahy was the driving force behind the $9.3 million award from the US Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture that funds the Institute for Rural Partnerships at UVM due to be unveiled this summer. A separate $9.5 million USDA grant secured by Senator Leahy is allowing UVM to renovate the Joseph L. Hill's Agricultural Science Building on the UVM campus, where the Institute for Rural Partnerships will be located once work is completed this year. Senator Leahy also secured $11 million of federal funding in 2021 to support UVM's Food Systems Research Center, a collaboration between UVM and the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, which will also be located in the Hill's building. In October of 2019, UVM unveiled a $3.3 million fund in tribute to Senator Leahy and his wife. The Patrick and Marcel Leahy Scholars Initiative benefits undergraduate, doctoral, and postdoctoral students in two signature programs at the university, the Honors College and the Gund Institute for Environment. With research funding and tuition for students whose work includes the environment, infectious diseases, Alzheimer's, and Vermont's agricultural issues, all are causes championed by Senator Leahy during his political career. Please welcome Senator Patrick Leahy. Thank you very much. Thank you. Marcel and I were, say, one impressive group of graduates. And congratulations to all of you. Now, I'm pleased to share this day with you. I know Marcel is, and we're honored that our name will now be associated with you and the Honors College, because you've demonstrated the highest level of academic excellence. And yet, you distinguish yourselves even further by electing to take additional courses across disciplines at the Honors College. And that is amazing. I ask you gentlemen to share the titles of your thesis papers. Marcel and I were impressed, very, very impressed, with a wide variety and complexities of your topics, the theories you subsequently had to successfully defend. We enjoyed, if you haven't seen them, the short videos from Jasper, Noah, Calvin, and Zoe. And I'm glad you took a few moments to introduce yourself and put a face and name behind the person. And of course, Emma Allen, who is a wonderful intern at my office. These are amazing things. I wish everywhere in the country people would set such a high standard for critical thinking and research and leadership. Now, as I sit here in retirement, I think about the good fortune I had representing Vermont for 48 years in the Senate, casting over 17,000 roll call votes, chairing the Agriculture and then the Judiciary and Finally Appropriations Committee, being President Pro Tem, which made me the third line to the presidency. As I tell the presidents, I always prayed for their safety, especially by sharing that time. And then finding out that I really got known for something appearing in five Batman movies is supposed to give you some kind of wisdom to walk away from. But if you'd allow me, I'd like to instead turn to another Vermonter for that wisdom. And as John Dewey, he is a philosopher who was born here in Burlington. He attended Burlington High School. He graduated from UVM in 1879. Now, he lived nearly 150 years ago. But it's philosophy that education is not preparation for life. Education is life itself. That every single graduate should be able to think of. After all, look at your college years. We had an unprecedented pandemic. It came together during a time of unfortunate and terrible social upheaval in our country, which makes Dewey's philosophy so poignant today that life itself is education. But you've learned what you've lived. The class and your generation are taken on life and issues hands-on head-first and showing your peers and those who've nurtured you that you learned from living. You've participated in thoughtful dialogue and hands-on activism, marching against racism, addressing economic injustice, gun violence, and standing up for the environment. You already know there was a different kind of pandemic that was going on in our country. Our country had a justice system that was historically biased against people of color. And while our nation has prospered, the economic divide in our society has grown wider again, often along lines of color. Those voices and truth local communities to the highest offices were being drowned out by voices taking us in the wrong direction, that there are inherent cultural biases built into our society against race or gender or sexual preferences. Along with others, I've fought my entire career against these injustices. I've worked side-by-side with great civil right leaders like Congressman John Lewis, who spoke here and brought it to just a few years ago. We moved our nation forward, of course, without question, but not far enough. Not far enough. We're counting on your generation to take up the mantle and continues to move us toward a more perfect union. To live is to learn. And to quote again from John Dewey, failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from their failures as from their successes. I'll give you a couple examples, because whenever you fail, you learn. Thomas Edison, he knew he was talking about it. He said, I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways it didn't work before I got those that did. You can't ignore mistakes. That's been formed instructed by that in the society. You know, as you move on from UVM, think of those who didn't make it first. That's OK. Oprah Winfrey was fired from her first job because she was too interested in her stories. Can you imagine the person who said that must be hiding somewhere from the, in 1966, Fred Smith got a lousy grade at his senior thesis. He had this crazy idea of providing overnight shipping. He turned that into a thing called FedEx. Again, I'd like to talk to the person. They gave him that grade. Lady Gaga was that dropped from her first record album after three months because you're never going to have a hit. Michael Jordan, that great athlete, had this perspective. He said, I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost 300 games. 25 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot that I missed. I've failed over and over again, and that's why I now succeed. We should learn from that. Failure made each of these individuals together, gave them tenacity, made them tougher, and made them extraordinary. Now, there's a parallel here to draw about failures by our society and turning them into progress of non-outright structural successes. Remember that women suffer jets fought for years, for years before women get the vote, something we take for granted. Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison before being released and becoming president of South Africa. He said, one of the most difficult things is not to change society, but to change ourselves. When I had the honor of meeting him and sitting with him, I said to him, Mr. President, you seem so optimistic you were in prison for 27 years unjustly. Why aren't you bitter? He said, Patrick, because I was in prison for 27 years. I was able to leave my country out of apartheid. He said, I'm not bitter. I rejoice. I will never forget that conversation. So we have a lot to get done that some people call impossible. But your generation, the ones who are going to do it. Three years ago, we lost a leader from another generation of Mark, who changed in progress, and America spoke to overflowing crowds here in Burlington just a few years ago, my dear friend and freedom fighter, John Lewis. His final act of activism, as he knew he was dying, he asked on the day of his death with the New York Times publish an essay. As John Lewis's casket rested in the US Capitol, I topped the catalog built for Abraham Lincoln. We read his parting words. He wrote, when historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say there was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last. And the peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression, war. Walk with the wind, brothers and sisters. Let the spirit of peace and the power everlasting love be your guide. So no matter what you see, class of 2023, there is hope on the horizon because we're counting on you. We know you can do it. I've been told if you can defend your thesis, you can do anything. It was a lot easier to get elected to the United States depending on any thesis I ever wrote. You know, judge, look and judge the exceptional quality of your work. To live is to learn. Be passionate. Learn from your mistakes. And as John Lewis said, walk with the wind. So thank you for inviting me to speak. Marcel and I again extend our congratulations. We all look forward to seeing where you are all taking us. And in a couple of months, you'll see me walking on my own. Please come up and tell me how you're doing. Thank you very, very much. Thank you, Senator, for those wonderful remarks. And let me thank you and Marcel once again for all you have done for the university and for the Leahy Honors College. As we come to the close of the ceremony, let me ask the platform party, faculty, that the faculty platform party and students recess out of the chapel that the audience will remain seated. Second, I want to invite you to a reception held immediately after the ceremony in the Grand Maple Ballroom of the Davis Center, where there will be food refreshments and a chance to take lots more pictures. There is also a gift for each graduate to commemorate both the day and our new name. I hope to see you all at the reception in a few short minutes. I want to thank the members of the platform party for their moving and memorable words. And thank you all for coming today. Now, let us mark the close of this ceremony with one more round of applause for the Patrick Leahy Honors College Scholars of 2023. Keep getting your pieces, Leahy.