 The MPP and MPA Class of 2016 elected Grace Evans to speak on their behalf. Grace earned a bachelor's degree, Magna Cum Laude, with a double major in mathematics and nonprofit leadership from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. After graduation, she served with AmeriCorps, working with at-risk youth in Pittsburgh and as a fellow in public affairs with the Coro Center for Civic Leadership. Here at the Ford School, Grace co-organized the annual joint student conference with the University of Toronto School of Public Policy and Governance. She completed her internship last summer in the deputy mayor's office for economic policy, planning and strategy in the city of Detroit. And in June, she'll join Harvard's Government Performance Lab as an innovation fellow advising state government leaders in Providence, Rhode Island. Grace, it is now a pleasure to welcome you to the podium. Thank you, Dean Collins, and thank you all for being here today. Class of 2016, you look pretty good out there. The Ford School's first female student graduated two years before the University of Michigan had a social gathering place that permitted women. Due to low enrollment, the Ford School's degree program was discontinued for two years during the Great Depression. The first dual degree program offered at Ford was with the School of Engineering and focused on public works administration. These are just a few of the things you learn if, like me, you've spent too much time learning about the Ford School's history or what is also known as speech writing procrastination. You'll also learn, however, that the Ford School has undergone an incredible transformation in its 102 years. Founded strictly as a municipal management program in 1914, the Ford School soon grew to prepare public administration professionals for all levels of government. And as the Dean mentioned earlier, in 1968, it became the first public policy program in the nation. Throughout this transformation, the Ford School's mission has remained the same, to prepare leaders who will advance and improve the world. But who those leaders are, and the variety of things that those leaders go on to do has changed dramatically. Today, Ford School graduates are future lawmakers, academics, entrepreneurs, executives, and activists. In this group, whom we join the ranks of today is differentiated by more than just what we go on to do. We hail from every corner of the world. We have different skills, experiences, and academic backgrounds, and we're different ages, different races, and different cultures. Unearthing some of the Ford School's history helped me realize how vastly different 40s are and have been for decades. And that, in fact, we really only may have one thing in common. And that is that we are here because we care about something and we wanna do something about it. That may seem pretty general, but I don't think that commonality is insignificant. I actually think it's anything but. While what we care about may range from voting rights to environmental policy, to healthcare, and everything in between, we all feel a drive to make change. And this passion existed long before any of us stepped foot in Wild Hall. This became apparent to me during my first semester when I met classmate Brenda Duvers. I mean, she was kinda cool. She seemed like a pretty interesting and intelligent person, but later I learned that prior to relocating to Ann Arbor, she co-founded Young Love, a Botswana-based nonprofit that connects young people to life-saving sexual health information. And throughout my time at Ford, I've been continually reminded of the passion of my peers. A few months into our first year, while many of my peers and I were struggling to find balance between classwork, internship searching, and staying plugged in to what was happening out there in the real world. But then there are also people like Pete Haviland-Adua. While learning his MPP, Pete has been serving as the National Policy and Communications Director of Million Hoodie's Movement for Justice, an organization within the Black Lives Matter movement working to end the marginalization and criminalization of communities of color. Can we clap for that? I'm actually just trying to raise my clap count above Mr. Views, so thank you. I think that's four, okay. And while our time at the Ford School has ended, alumni from the class of 2016 will go on to pursue their passion just like each class before us. Meg Blair, also out there in the crowd somewhere, is pursuing hers by launching a new organization that aims to tackle issues with school readiness through a game-based application. Now I know the methodology I used to select a few people I've highlighted did not yield a representative sample in the technical sense. But I can assure you that you can pluck any three 40s from the bunch and you'll be equally impressed by their hard work and dedication. I hope that 102 years from now, the commencement speaker for the class of 2118 will look up the history of the Ford School and be inspired by each of you sitting in this room right now as I have been in writing this speech today. Congratulations, thank you for indulging me. And let's get one more clap.