Jeryne Fish: 2019 Ford School Commencement

Now we're going to hear from the student
elected to speak on behalf of

the bachelor's class of 2019
dream fish dream has been

thank cheeriness been incredibly

active during her time in Michigan to say
the least she's been a versity athlete for

the Maysan blue competing in hurdles and

long jumps and other things I
don't understand on the track and

field team she's completed internships for
Wolverine pathways in the national

family planning and reproductive health
association dreamers the vice president of

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority the reach chair
for students of color in public policy and

a writer for the South Campus times she's
been a valued member of our student

services team this past year serving as
a peer advisor for other undergraduate

students next year we have the great good
fortune that she were a man on campus

pursuing a Master's of management degree
at us Ross School of Business I'm so

pleased to welcome dream
fish to the podium

Thank

you everyone thank you Miss Norris and

Professor Lance I could not have acts for
better opening acts but

in all seriousness I stand here before
you distinguished guests faculty and

staff family friends and most importantly
graduates honored to be delivering to be

able Mark's truth be told I only had about
a half a 2nd to enjoy things like this to

get the speech before I
realized I had one more final.

Empathy in you and I I had no idea what I
was going to say let alone how I was going

to say yet slowly but surely
everything began to fall into place.

I like this out of my speech with
the story about an 8th grader

who much like to be a cohort in
front of you was very Taipei.

For she believed everything had to
go a certain way and this led her to

outlining her entire life yet I'm not
convinced this was an outline more so

than it was a detailed essay
as not only did this outline

name the college she was going to but
it also had her postgraduate plans and

even the year she was
going to get married.

Rumor has it that outline even named
the type of engagement ring she wanted

Needless to say she thought she had her
entire life planned out OK it was me.

I was a little 8th grader and now fast
forward 8 years I did not like the college

I thought was my dream school I am not on
the track to become the Bachelorette in

capacity to think about marriage for

at least another couple of decades I'm
sure my dad ecstatic about that one.

For that same girl who thought she had
her world figured out is standing before

a crowd basking in her uncertainty more
confident than anyone could imagine

I have only Michigan to thank for
this confidence

not only has the school shattered my
hopes and dreams over and over again.

Eating sleep for dinner shipping
me on my beloved Michigan time for

some to show up my 830 instead of 40 or

even being waitlisted to
the Ford School of Public Policy.

But it has also granted me the
opportunities of a lifetime from shaking

the hands of both President Obama and
justice to my own to finally being made it

admitted to the number 2 public
policy institution in the nation

granted me access to probably the most
impressive faculty and staff in the world.

Thank you as I said hopes and
dreams were shattered.

Though it was a fun during and it was
fun getting here today was not easy.

Every year more uncertain than
the next and this was stressful for

a girl who literally thought she had
her entire life figured out at 13

last year was probably the most
frightening year of them all new school

new people new degree requirements and
in reality I do not think

my cohort handled this change in scenery
well at all not even by a long shot.

While I did not suffer through 330 it was
OK I was having my own fun with Econ for

a one I was there for
the op eds I was there for

pub for 76 and
I was there for the holidays.

You can actually graduate about
these later but let's just say this

cohort embodies strange bedfellows
each of us as passionate as the next.

Yet missed our disagreements we also
shared a lot of good times from

the charity auction to to my not to
my night I didn't buy a house to

to bar crawls Yes we've been celebrating
since last semester this cohort has

learned to come together for just like
this speech everything has worked out.

So to the Ford Community Thank you all for
your encompassing support to my family and

friends and really my mom my she
was the leader thank you for

everything you've done for
me to be here today for

I would not be here without you to the
parents thank you all for allowing me to

share this space mission space with your
children I can tell you from personal

experience you all have done one heck of
a job and to the cohort Thank you all for

allowed me to laugh in a policy school

during the most polarized time in history
I have no idea what the future holds but

as Professor cobble told me I know things
will work out because you all are some

of the most brilliant thinkers
I have ever encountered and

I know whatever you accomplish will
be nothing short of exceptional

just remember uncertainty Krantz
confidence we did it and go blue

THANK

YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Jerry.