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May 23
, 2003
Student
Speakers
Photo
by Fred LeBlanc
Student
commencement speakers Chiara D. Fuller '03 (left)
and Kelsey K. Hambley '03. Fuller will offer remarks
at commencement. Hambley is the baccalaureate speaker.. |
'Time
and Growth': Student Commencement Speaker
Chiara D. Fuller '03
During her first year at Mount Holyoke, Chiara D. Fuller's
professors and track coaches encouraged her to attend commencement
at least once before graduating. She didn't wait to heed
the advice. "I went to commencement that year. I was in
awe of the whole experience, including the senior speaker. Watching
her, I pictured myself up there. I wondered where I would be senior
year and what I wanted to accomplish before I graduated."
Four years later, Fuller's accomplishments are numerous.
She has earned both a bachelor's degree in international
relations with a concentration in race relations and a Five College
Certificate in African Studies. She has been on both the indoor
and outdoor track teams (in 2000, she was the New England Division
III long jump champion); played basketball; been a hall president,
been a facilitator of the Intergroup Dialogue Project; cochaired
the ALANA Recruitment Committee for the Student Admission Board;
written for the Mount Holyoke News, and served as an
admission fellow, to name a few. She is also the winner of the
Mount Holyoke College Student Leadership Award and the Frances
H. Williams Award. And as for picturing herself at the podium
as a senior speaker, on Sunday she will realize that dream too.
"I'm honored that the class of 2003 chose me to be
the student commencement speaker. This is something I definitely
wanted to do, and knew I could do," says Fuller. "My
speech's theme is time and growth. This class has been dealing
with terrorism, war, and a weak economy—we've gone
through a lot. But I didn't want to give a speech that reminisces.
I want to look forward and remind my classmates that where we
are today is not where we will be tomorrow. I mean that on all
different levels—spiritually, physically, emotionally, and
intellectually. It seems like a simple concept but I believe it's
something that all my classmates can relate to in one way or another."
Fuller credits the January Term course Rhetoric of Leadership,
which focused on famous female orators, with cementing her interest
in applying to be a senior speaker. "Sojournor Truth's
'Ain't I a Woman?' is the speech that moved
me and encouraged me to try to write a speech in a powerful, confident,
and compassionate voice,"
she says. "And all the speaking experience I have had in
small classes and through campus leadership positions has prepared
me for delivering it."
Less than a month after graduation, Fuller will enter the Peace
Corps and spend two years doing community development and education
work in Belize. In the meantime, she's making her daily
walk past Gettell Amphitheater with new eyes. "I live in
1837 Hall so I pass the amphitheater every day. Seeing it has
kept me going. I keep thinking, 'I'll be there on
May 25.' And I'm going to enjoy every moment of that.
Mount Holyoke has been everything I hoped for and more. Now it
is time to celebrate."
Making Her Voice Heard:
Student Baccalaureate Speaker
Kelsey K. Hambley '03
Kelsey K. Hambley admits that she likes having her voice heard.
"I love talking to people. I love speech. And I love the
idea of oration," she says. "So I'm delighted
that I get to end my Mount Holyoke career as a sound effect."
Hambley, the other senior speaker chosen by the class of 2003,
will speak at baccalaureate in Abbey Chapel. "As I read
graduation speeches, I kept hearing this theme of 'look
toward the future.' But I think there's nothing more
exciting than memory. "It's really one of the most
exciting things I have. And I think that one of the most commendable
things to be said about a place is that you miss it before you've
left it. I'm already deeply missing Mount Holyoke. My speech
challenges the idea that you should never look back," she
explains.
A politics major, Hambley traces her affection for Mount Holyoke
to the moment she stepped onto campus as a prospective student.
"It looked exactly the way I thought college should look.
I thought, "Here's the ivy. Here's the wrought-iron
fence. Here's the grass. It's all just as it should
be. I can't go anywhere else.' If I hadn't gotten
in, I would have declined every other offer and tried again and
again. Now I know that Mount Holyoke teaches women to do just
that, to be brave and go after what they want."
Courage and perseverance have, in fact, defined Hambley's
time at Mount Holyoke. "Since adolescence, I've struggled
with mental illness. It took me five years to complete high school.
After a year off, I came here having to accept that my struggle
might not be over. And it wasn't. My illness resurfaced,
and I needed five years to earn this degree. The shame component
was huge; I wanted to hide any mention of my struggle. Over time,
though, I've become proud of what I've overcome and
accomplished."
Now that pride is accompanied by anticipation. "I'm
very much looking forward to speaking at baccalaureate,"
she says. "I'll be wearing my highest heels because
I like the idea of clickety-clacking up to the pulpit. I want
people to hear me walk up to my speech and then walk away from
it. And I've always wanted someone to clap really loudly
for me. I'd really like a moment of true, loud noise. I
may just ask for that."
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