 Whether it's through their financial support that allows us to provide all of you with the many opportunities that you have day in and day out here at NCSSM, or whether it's by giving of their time and talent like Dr. Bennett does through his service as a trustee on the NCSSM Board of Trustees, or as he's doing tonight by sharing his story and providing you with a chance to dream about the possibilities that are yours to achieve in the years that lay ahead. As you will hear in his introduction, Dr. Bennett is not only a distinguished scientist, but a leader in helping great institutions like Brown University and now Northwestern University create inclusive communities that value and respect the rich diversity on their campuses and become stronger by doing so. Certainly when an event such as the tragedy in Charlottesville is so fresh and painfully on our minds, having seen the unconscionable display of racism, bigotry, and hatred on display in the streets by white supremacists there, we understand how challenging the work Dr. Bennett does can be. Making sure we have a campus community that exemplifies the shared beliefs of our institution, which state. Everyone is unique and has an intrinsic value, and diversity enriches and strengthens lives and communities. This is all of our work. The greatest thing about NCSSM is the people. The people make the place. It is your, it is our diversity of thought and experience that makes this place special. By living this, embracing this, and celebrating this at NCSSM, we can show that hatred, intolerance, racism, and bigotry in whatever form does not belong, not only not here, but not anywhere. Dr. Bennett, thank you for your leadership. Students this evening marks the beginning of NCSSM's 38th year. About this time in 1980, the very first class of 150 students was on the campus preparing for what they and the faculty and staff were not exactly sure. But what they hoped would be a time to explore the infinite possibilities of what this new idea, this new opportunity, this school might offer them. Fast forward 37 years and hear you all sit, the 680 students of the classes of 2017 and 2018, with the many possibilities that lay ahead for you this year at NCSSM. Much has changed over 37 years, many of the people, many of the things. But what has not changed is that you are all here with talented students from across North Carolina. You're all here with outstanding faculty and staff. You're here with tremendous support of our state and the many friends of our school. And as was the case for students 37 years ago, you will find that these are the key ingredients of which infinite possibilities are made. To this point in your life, you've worked very hard to achieve success and lay the foundation for your future. Every student in this auditorium has a success story to tell, or you would not be here. Not all of your stories are the same. You come from all over this great state, representing 85 of North Carolina's 100 counties. And you bring with you a diversity of experiences that make you all different people. And as I said earlier, that's the beauty of this place. You're different in many ways and you will learn so much from each other because of that. But you also share much in common. You all share a commitment to learning, to being successful in school. You all have big dreams and a desire to accept the greater challenge. NCSSM is the place where each of you will write the next chapter in your story. And collectively, we will all help write the 38th chapter in NCSSM's story. Class of 2019, I know that you've been provided with a lot of information over the past few days. And I'll bet you might be a little bit overwhelmed at this point. As you begin your time at NCSSM, I hope you're excited for what lies ahead and ready to take advantage of all the next two years has to offer you. Let me tell you that you not only have wonderful guides in the amazing faculty and staff who work here at NCSSM, but in your seniors. The Class of 2018 are fantastic people, and I know that they will play a large part in the story of your success. Class of 2018, I know that you're also excited about what lies ahead this year. I'm sure you're not happy that you're not juniors. And as I'm sure you know, senior year is a busy one as you live and learn at NCSSM while working on college applications over the next few months and laying the foundation for your next chapter. I encourage you to make the most of every minute of your next nine months while as come late May, I'll bet you wish you had a little more time here. Students, with that in mind, just how fast your two years at NCSSM goes, I hope each of you enjoys the year ahead. And I want you to know that we are all here to help make sure that you do that. At this time, I'd like to call on Dr. Katie O'Connor to introduce Dr. Bennett. Thank you. Good evening, students, faculty, staff, parents, and friends of NCSSM. We are delighted to have Dr. Jabbar Bennett with us this evening as our 38th convocation speaker. He has some special guests, family, and friends with us tonight, and I'd like to recognize his sister Belinda and her husband Forrest for being here. They traveled from Wilmington and her sister Felicia and her children are here as well. And also a godmother, goddaughter, and the entire Bennett, team Bennett, if you'd like to stand to be recognized, please. 27 years ago, Dr. Bennett was attending East Forsythe High School in Kernersville. He always looked for academic enrichment experiences, and he was also a star athlete. He won the state championship in tracks of several years in a row. On his way home one evening from an indoor track meet in Chapel Hill, he stopped to pick up the mail, and there was a flyer in his mailbox from NCSSM. He didn't look too carefully at it because he had heard about the Duke TIP programs and some other summer programs, so he thought it was a flyer for a summer enrichment program. He completed the application and submitted it. Dr. Bennett, it wasn't a summer program, was it? A long summer. It was an application to be here in Durham for a two-year residential experience at NCSSM. A lot has happened since his NCSSM application was accepted. His path took him to North Carolina A&T State University, where he received his BS in biology and minor in Spanish. Then he earned a PhD in biomedical sciences from Meharry College Medical College in Tennessee. While there, he was funded as a National Science Foundation Graduate Teaching Fellow and later as a postdoc research fellow while training in the Department of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. Since 2002, Dr. Bennett has held faculty appointments at Lesley University, Brown University, and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Bennett's time at NCSSM was formative. He was involved in issues related to social justice and diversity that helped shape him as a student and ultimately set him on his career path where he currently serves as associate provost for diversity and inclusion at Northwestern University and is an associate professor in Northwestern School of Medicine. One item you will learn about Dr. Bennett is that it's not all about him. Well, unless he's running and jumping hurdles and track, then it's all about him. But there are four people that I'd like to recognize that made a difference in his life while he attended NCSSM. Two of whom are not able to be with us tonight. One is Ms. Hagel McCallum, who was the administrative assistant in academic programs before her retirement in 2014. And another is Ms. Marlene Blakene, staff emeritus retiring in 2015. She was a resident advisor, student life instructor, and associate director of student contact and housing. Ms. Blakene or Ms. Marlene, as she was known to the students, worked to teach students about being fair, treating each other well, and creating a welcoming space. A third person who impacted Dr. Bennett's life is our director of admissions, Dr. Latita Mason. She has worked at NCSSM for 23 years. She has worked here for 23 years and has led the AE team with confidence and grace. She has been instrumental in growing the applicant pool of qualified candidates and coordinating a seamless review and selection process for over 1,400 applicants this past year. Dr. Mason has served as a mentor to numerous NCSSM students. She cares about each student as an individual and works tirelessly to support students even beyond the initial admissions process. Dr. Mason, you get to stand again. Please stand over here. The person that I'd like to acknowledge who influenced Dr. Bennett's life is Dr. Joanne Barber, faculty emeritus. She retired in 2014 as vice chancellor for student life after 28 years at NCSSM. She completed her postdoc assignment in the School of Medicine at UNC Chapel Hill and she joined the NCSSM team as the assistant principal. And here's a fact you may not know about Dr. Barber. At a very young age of 15, she went to college and graduated four years later with a degree in biology. She taught high school biology, physics, and chemistry. Dr. Barber built programs both within and outside NCSSM that have made her a well-known educator in North Carolina and beyond. Dr. Barber, please stand to receive our applause. It's critical to find mentors in your life, and clearly Dr. Bennett was influenced by positive legendary leaders while at NCSSM. After 27 years, Dr. Bennett still holds the NCSSM record for the 110 High Hurdles event in track. So do not challenge this man to high hurdles or you will lose. As he conquered high hurdles and track, he has also conquered them in life. Dr. Bennett brings a deep passion for diversity and works daily to coordinate efforts to create inclusive and welcoming environments to all community members. He will open your heart and your mind to the importance of dialogue and most essentially to civility. He will convince you to have courage and respect for each other. During this, his 25th NCSSM reunion year, please welcome our convocation speaker, Dr. Jabbar Bennett. Good evening. So thank you Chancellor Roberts for the invitation to come back and serve us this year's convocation speakers. Truly an honor and a pleasure for me to return home. Being from Winston-Salem but having left Winston to go to Greensboro to attend A&T, but then to graduate school in Nashville, it's nice to be back here and return to a place that has such a profound impact on me both in my academics, personally, professionally, and socially as well. I also want to thank Vice Chancellor O'Connor and her staff for their help during the preparation for my visit here. And you also heard her mention the names of several people who are really instrumental in my success in helping me to really make it through this time. So after 27 years, there are only two people who are still sort of around in the audience. And we mentioned Dr. Barber and we also mentioned Dr. Mason. And I'm truly grateful for both of them being here tonight. For number one, Dr. Barber is retired. So she doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to do. And she'll remind you of that. But I also just want to congratulate again to say how much I appreciate Dr. Mason because what I learned is that today is her last day here at NCSSM. Dr. Mason will be leaving to move on to the next phase of her career at the South Carolina Governor's School of Science and Math. Both of these women are people of great integrity, strength, style, class, and grace which I and my classmates admire and will never forget. I've seen them both boldly stand in the face of challenges and triumph in adversity. So to both of you, Dr. Barber and Mason, I truly do honor you and appreciate you very much. So throughout life there are several things that make you, that you should always remember rather and things that you should always put into practice. And being grateful is at the top of the list. Because when you're not grateful, you often are dissatisfied, unhappy, and without joy. And I'll come back shortly and talk a little bit about joy. But first I want to acknowledge again my family who came here today who traveled from Winston-Salem, Fayetteville, and Wilmington. I have a nephew in Charlotte. He and his family aren't here. But I'm grateful that they could be here tonight. So over the past two and a half years my family has gotten smaller. We lost our mother a little over a year ago, about a year and a month ago. And my father a year and a half prior to that. And they have been married for over 51 and a half years when my father passed away. So it's nice to have my family here. And especially also my late mother's best friend, Juanita, and her daughter Catherine who were literally in the room with me and my family when my mother transitioned last year. So it means a lot for you all to be here today. So thank you again. So it's important to celebrate with the ones you love and acknowledge them for all the support they've given you. Which is what has allowed you to be students, members of the classes of 2018 and 2019, your true and authentic selves. As I stated, it's an honor and pleasure to return home and to talk about how this place really did impact me academically, personally, professionally, and socially. Academically I was challenged by the volume of information I was expected to retain and master. I was challenged by new instructors, many of which had PhDs, who spoken away and taught at a pace that was different than what I knew. And also I was challenged by the hot new, and yes I said new, TI-81 graphing calculator. Which in 1990 was the first generation that had been released. Personally I was confronted with making new friends while trying to maintain previous relationships. Managing my own expectations for academic performance and what I defined for myself to be success. And balancing my expectations with those of others. And recognizing when I needed help. Professionally I was enlightened by the courses that I took and the research I conducted which presented so many new and exciting opportunities. Peers who had my same scholarly interest and shared my own career goals. And I was encouraged by students who looked like me. And who came from similar family backgrounds, neighborhoods and schools and projected and reflected what success could look like and be for me. Socially I was awakened by local, national, and international events that shook me, my community, this campus, and the country. In January 1991, my junior year, Operation Desert Storm, also known as the first Gulf War, began. When U.S. military forces invaded Iraq and attempt to thwart Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from overwhelming neighboring Kuwait to seize their old oil fields. At that time there were not only many of us here at the School of Science and Method across the country who were not in support of that use of force. My classmates and I actually held a candlelight vigil outside in the main parking lot to help support the troops but also protest what we thought maybe was a conflict that we shouldn't have been involved in. In March 1991 that same year, my junior year, police in Los Angeles captured an unarmed black male motorist named Rotney King and they pulled him out of his car and brutally beat him. Amateur video captured officers pulling him out, brutally beating him and the four officers that were involved were indicted on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force by a police. But three months later, or after a three-month trial, a predominantly white jury acquitted those officers sparking the violent 1992 Los Angeles riots and inflamed citizens not only in L.A. but in Durham and around the country. In 1992, during my senior year, I experienced a political awakening and volunteered in the campaign office of soon-to-be elected U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 12th Congressional District male Watt during that first successful run. Watt, an African-American male member of the Democratic Party, went on to be reelected 10 more times and in 2013 was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as head of the federal housing or finance agency, a position he still holds today. It was experiences like these and others that really helped to inform my thinking, reinforce my beliefs, and further empower me to make decisions, take actions, and make contributions that I believe in. Recognizing that the world we live in is full of difference is imperative to our thinking, being, and survival. Not only as a school, but as a state, a nation, and a world. Diversity of thought, lifestyle, experience, and education are crucial in order for any institution, organization, or company to be successful. But beyond diversity, and that is establishing and acknowledging difference, we have to strive for inclusion and truly learn to respect and embrace each other for our own unique, creative, and when I think about students here at this school are even quirky selves. Deciding to come to the School of Science and Math and leaving my family and friends in Winston-Salem at 16 years old wasn't the easiest decision I ever made. Back home, I was a member of the marching and concert bands, the Gospel Choir, I was a class representative within student government, and a rising star as you heard in indoor and outdoor track. And that was not just within my school, but within the county and the region and across the state just to be clear on that. So I'd already established myself as a solid student, a great athlete, and a pretty good friend. Coming to a new school in a new city with brand new students and teachers was a daunting prospect, but even then I knew that challenges can only make you stronger. If you can't win the medal if you're not in the race, and you can't have an impact on life if you're afraid to stand up, speak out, and be heard. In life you have to learn how to be comfortable being uncomfortable at times. So believe it or not, I am an introvert. So I truly prefer to be in the back of the room or in the back row where many of the students are sitting, and not just because I got here late like you did, or in the balcony, no just kidding, but because that's what I prefer. But what I realized was though in many of the positions I've been fortunate enough to have and many of the things I've been able to do that I haven't been able to just stay in that really comfortable safe space. I've had to go out, I've had to engage, I've had to say things, do things, and make decisions that will impact others in a very positive way. For those of you who consider yourselves introverts, that's fine. I think it's important that you know who you are, how you function, what you prefer and what you don't, and when you need to retreat and you need to re-energize, you can do that. But don't stay in the back of the room all the time because your voice can't be heard from that place. And we're at a time in our country where your voices need to be heard. You have the right for your voices to be heard. And you actually, I think, have the responsibility to make yourselves heard as well. At NCSSM, I did end up joining the track team and you heard about the record that still stands 27 years later. I joined the gospel choir as well. I became a vocalist with the Jazz Ensemble. I joined Harambe and I was elected vice president of the Student Government Association. Participating in these events for me, and maybe this is more for the juniors, really allowed me to do all the things that I enjoyed and that were familiar to me. This helped me to maintain a sense of balance between the academic rigor of this place and the need to nourish my whole self while being a student. Without these outlets and communities, my time here would have been much more challenging and potentially unbearable. Throughout my professional career, I've had the opportunity to often be the first. The first African-American or black postdoc that I know of to be trained in the lab where I was at Harvard Medical School, the first person to serve as a research and science specialist in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Harvard after the postdoc, the first person to serve as administrative director of the Office for Multicultural Faculty Careers at Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard's Teaching Hospitals, the first person to simultaneously serve as Associate Dean at the Graduate School and Associate Dean for Diversity in the Division of Biology and Medicine at Brown University, and I am the inaugural Associate Provost and Chief Diversity Officer at Northwestern University. So why have I always been the first? And it's not just because being first is better than being last, right? And what's so special about me? You may ask. My mother always said I was special, but she just knew that. But what is true about me and what might be different between me and others that I know is that I've worked hard and taken myself in my responsibilities very seriously. I've taken advantage of opportunities, even those that were new and unfamiliar. I've never put myself in anyone else's box. I've never labeled myself using anyone else's terms. I've never defined myself using a dictionary that is not one of my own. And I've never limited myself by what people said they would do if they were me. And I've surely never answered to what other people call me. So just for a light note, do any of you all watch Tyler Perry movies? Do you remember the Diary of a Mad Black Woman? Okay, I'll see you there. Okay. When Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Medea said, honey, folks are gonna talk about you till the day you die. Do let folks talk. It ain't about what they call you. It's about what you answer to. And that's something you need to remember. And I've never tried to use anyone else's authentic voice, fulfill anyone else's unique purpose, realize anyone else's personal mission, or live anyone else's life but my own. Along the way through school and life, you are sure to encounter challenges. These obstacles may appear as people or things. Things such as bad grades, low ACT or SAT scores, denied college, graduate, even professional school admissions, or even failed fellowship, grant, and job applications. But please don't look at these denials as failures. You must consider them as opportunities. Opportunities to reflect, to reassess, to regroup, to rebound, and often to rejoice. And you often rejoice because sometimes the things that you thought you wanted weren't always the things that you really needed. Everything that happens to you truly happens for a reason. And reflecting on my life and my experiences, I acknowledge that I haven't always been happy, but I've been reassured because I've always had joy. Happiness is a very subjective state. A state of being in which desires may be temporarily gratified and can be influenced by outside factors. But joy is a state of being blessed or satisfied, regardless of outward conditions. So I want you to stay focused on your joy. Two quick examples. How many of you have played the game of life? Okay? When we played it was a board game, you probably have an electronic version by now. But in the game of life, things come along the board. You roll the die, you move a certain number of spaces, you land on a space, it takes you backward instead of forward. But you don't quit the game. You keep moving. You roll the die, you re-strategize, and you move forward again. The object in any game is to finish if not to win. And that's the same thing that happens as you go through school, as you go through the next stages of being happy in life. Have you all seen The Wizard of Oz? Who are the main characters in The Wizard of Oz? Tin Man, Dorothy, Lyon, Scarecrow, who else? And Toto. If you remember anything about the Lyon, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and we'll just go with those for now. The Lyon, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow were traveling down the Yellow Brick Road to a place called Emerald City to see a person named Oz, right? And they were all in search of something. What was the Lyon looking for? What was the Tin Man looking for? And what was the Scarecrow in need of? A brain. If you recall the story, if you've seen the movies, some of you have seen even maybe the version called The Wiz. It's the same. Yes, okay. You can clap on The Wiz. But let me say something about The Wiz. If it's the one you saw a year or two ago, that was not a really good version. You need to see The Wiz with Michael Jackson and Diana Ross and the others, and you can download the movie now. But either way, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Lyon were all in search of something. And if you remember the story, you remember that they all came into circumstances or challenges that caused them, rather, to react and respond in a certain way and display the traits that they thought they didn't have. The Lyon displayed courage, the Scarecrow used his brain and the Tin Man used his heart. All that to say that circumstances will come, things will happen that will cause you to doubt yourself, your ability, your purpose, question why you're here, but I believe that if you dig deep enough you realize that those things that you think you need, you already have. And that's something I want you to remember through life as well. At and beyond school science and math is imperative to lead yourself exceptionally well. Learn how to manage your emotions, learn how to manage your time. Time is one of the most precious things in the world that you have once you spend it, it's gone. Be careful what you do with it, be careful who you spend it with. Manager priorities, manager energy, there's certain things you cannot change. You will never be able to impact. Figure out what those things are, figure out what the things you can do and focus on those. Manager thinking, if you think positive, you'll be positive. If you think negative, you will become negative. And also manage your words because the same thing happens with what you say. And manage your personal life. And I'll let you figure that out on your own. In addition, I want you to be empowered. Understand your potential. Acknowledge your ability. Confidently exercise your competence. Pursue your ambition and determine your contribution. For each student sitting here whether you are an incoming junior or returning senior, you have been given a gift. An opportunity to attend the School of Science and Math and take full advantage of every resource that's available to you. From rigorous courses to exciting, mentoring and research opportunities and real world experiences outside of the classroom. The faculty and staff are here and they are truly concerned about your academic, personal, professional and social development. While you're here, I encourage you to leverage these resources and even take time to think about what is that thing you're supposed to do. Determine what your purpose is. After you figure that out, ignite your passion because you have to be excited about it in order to be persistent and be persistent and identify your purpose that you will truly achieve your end product. As you heard Chancellor Roberts say I've committed myself to and my career to date on focusing on issues of access, equity, enrichment and well-being and to advocating for supporting and protecting members of vulnerable populations. I sincerely hope that you too will find that thing which excites you when you wake up in the morning, intrigues you when you go to bed at night comes naturally to you and doesn't feel like a struggle and encourages you when you see others benefitting from your efforts. In closing, over the past year or so this country and our world have witnessed horrific events often driven by a person or group of people who think they are better than or even more superior to the other. Insensitive, uninformed, unthoughtful and divisive and often dangerous rhetoric is heard on a consistent basis from the places that we have always heralded as our beacons of democracy, hope and justice. This only emboldens those who seek to demean, intimidate and threaten this democracy our lives and your future. You have the right to live freely in this country to be your authentic selves to voice your opinions to stand up when others try to sit you down to hold elected officials accountable to remind people to remind people that right Trump's wrong to show everyone that love conquers hate and to demonstrate to the world that we are the greatest democracy, most innovative nation and the strongest, most resilient, optimistic and triumphant people. I'll leave you with this final quote from one of the 20th century's most prolific philosophers in my opinion Dr. Seuss. In all the places you'll go Dr. Deuce says this about being true to yourself You have brains in your head you have feet in your shoes you can steer yourself any direction you choose you're on your own and you know what you know and you are the guy or gal who will decide where to go. Best wishes to you all Thank you. Thank you Dr. Bennett for sharing your inspiring story with us. It is my honor to welcome everyone to the 38th convocation of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Seniors you're entering the last chapter of your high school career I encourage you to make the most of your final year living and learning at NCSSM cherish the time you spend with friends and talk to those people you've always wanted to talk to but haven't yet and it's not too late to make new friends juniors you just made it to NCSSM the best high school in North Carolina because of your hard work and I would like to congratulate you for that I know you've probably been feeling a whole range of emotions so far happiness, excitement homesickness, fear anxiety or maybe even a little sadness and that's completely normal and okay I'm going to offer you a few pieces of advice to hopefully help you with your transition and journey here first of all, this school is challenging you will learn a lot but you will likely need to put in more work and effort than what most of you are used to back at your home high schools you might earn your first ever B here or you might not get into a program that you really wanted to do but trust me, it's not the end of the world Winston Churchill once said that success is not final failure is not fatal it's not a failure that counts don't give up and don't let a single hardship failure or the fear of failure discourage you from doing the things that you want to do if you've done your best then you'll have nothing to regret that being said do not be afraid to ask for help and don't be afraid to talk to people whether you're struggling with school work or just need someone to talk to your teachers, peers, counselors advisors, RLAs and SLIs get to know your seniors they've gone through everything that you're going through and you're going to miss them when they're gone your hallmates will become a second family and you'll make friendships that will last well beyond high school aside from the phenomenal academics and distinguished faculty NTSSM's community is another defining characteristic that truly makes the school unique and I can't emphasize how strongly I encourage you to go out talk to lots of people make lots of new friends and attend the events that are taking place on campus especially during these first few weeks remember that your NTSSM experience is what you make of it if you never leave your room you'll miss out on many opportunities and chances to meet new people if you don't take your classes and homework seriously you won't be making very great use of the opportunity you're given to learn here so I challenge you to take full advantage of the plethora of opportunities and resources you'll have access to here and to at least try anything and everything that catches your interest don't be afraid to eat on 9th street with someone you just met 5 minutes ago to run for student government elections or to join a K-pop dance group even if you've come here thinking you're 100% a chemistry or biology person you should still approach your American studies or physics class with an open mind to discover a new passion or a hidden talent so my final piece of advice is based on some of the most common regrets your seniors and grand seniors had work hard try not to compare yourself with others too much and don't underestimate yourself remember that all of you sitting in this auditorium are here together because of your drive curiosity and passion for learning your two years here will be some of the most amazing and important years of your life you will grow in many more ways than just academically your perspective will be brought in by the people you meet here who come from all different backgrounds across North Carolina so in this coming year look forward to many adventures in downtown Durham Naruto runs across hill street student government lock ins and stacking contests at Bali High learn to love learning not just for the grades but for the sake of learning and with that I wish you all good luck Stephanie wasn't kidding when she said that you'll make friends you'll have for the rest of your life Dr. Bennett was telling me earlier today that one of his good friends from science and math he calls that person every day and has for 27 years that's a good friend so as we close our 38th convocation at NCSSTM I want to thank the members of our convocation committee and everyone who made this evening possible I also want to thank you Dr. Bennett for being here and making the trip to be with us tonight and speaking and for being such an inspiring role model for our students and for all of us thank you to all of our honored guests for being here this evening and for your tremendous support for NCSSTM and to our faculty and staff thank you for all of your work in helping us get to the 2017-18 school year off to such a great start the start of the school year is always filled with great excitement and with the possibilities that come with starting anything new so students as you experience, learn, wrestle with and enjoy all that lies ahead of you this year I want you to remember what got you here your commitment to learning your motivation and your drive to challenge yourself to your highest ability and beyond at NCSSTM you'll have greater opportunities and greater challenges than ever before your ability to be successful here just as you have been and all in school all of these years prior to now every member of our faculty and staff are here to help you succeed and you will find that there are no better and no more committed professionals anywhere however it is your commitment to being successful that is most important more so than any other thing over the past seven years I've had the chance to many alumni and students and ask them how they would describe what their experience at NCSSTM meant to them one of the common threads of what I've heard is that NCSSTM provided them with opportunity and community this is your opportunity whether in the classroom, research labs on campus or off on playing fields or on stage out in the community providing service to others or own hall grow your interest grow your passions strive for your best while helping make those around you better make the most of your time and your community I've been thinking a lot about community recently I'm not sure if I've been thinking about it because all of the difficulties and tragedies taking place in communities across our country and across the world the seemingly inability of communities to find community thinking about this I feel grateful for our NCSSTM community one where we work to build each other up one where we learn from and celebrate our differences not separate and tear each other down because of them ours is a community where two people who may be hundreds of miles apart literally and where they live in worlds apart figuratively in their experiences prior to coming to NCSSTM can room together and become great friends ours is a community where someone can perform on the stage in a cultural fest to dance they did not know the name of before coming to NCSSTM ours is a community where someone who's never sung anywhere other than the shower before can get up and sing in front of 80 people at Coffee House and be encouraged and applauded for their effort so while I worry about the larger community I marvel at our NCSSTM community where for 37 years the people have made the place I often get asked what's the special sauce at NCSSTM my answer is the community the learning and living environment that allows each of us to be our best while helping those around us be better so Unicorns the 2017 school year is yours for the challenges it'll present for the learning it offers and yours for the infinite possibilities before you we all look forward to working with you this school year and to your great success again, congratulations on being here we're so happy you're here and we look forward to an unbelievable 2017-18 school year congratulations and after we recess there'll be a reception on now the Bryan Lobby because it's raining outside and maybe it'll stop and we can get back outside but please join us for the reception after we recess and again, thank you, thank you so much