Student Government president’s 2024 Academic Convocation address
Travis LaCoss
Student Government President Darcie Jones addressed the crowd at the Gordon Field House during RIT's annual Academic Convocation ceremony on May 10.
Student Government President Darcie Jones addressed the crowd at the Gordon Field House during RIT's annual Academic Convocation ceremony on May 10. The full text of her speech is below:
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the celebration of the Class of 2024!
It is my absolute pleasure to welcome students, families, alumni, faculty, and staff to graduation weekend at RIT. Every single one of you has made an impact on the graduates who sit here today.
Over the course of the weekend, you will likely hear from the commencement speakers about how the future is uncertain, and that you get to create your own path; and while I agree with those sentiments, of course, I’m going to be true to my personality and talk about one of my favorite themes from a movie. And yes, it’s a Disney movie.
From the classic animated films to the corny Disney Channel original movies, I’ve been addicted to Disney movies all my life!
You see, my roommates and I are frequent Disney+ viewers; and we believe watching these movies on the weekends has helped us mentally check out enough to get focused back on our work during the week. Freshman year, I convinced Gabby, my first roommate ever, to binge watch them with me.
A favorite of mine is Frozen 2. For those of you who haven’t seen this movie, spoilers! It follows Anna, Elsa, and their friends as they travel into an enchanted forest. At one point, Anna and her snowman friend, Olaf, get trapped in a cave—trust me I know how crazy I sound—but stay with me! In the cave, Anna realizes that her whole world is crumbling.
Anna first sits on the floor and cries—which I’m sure sounds familiar to a lot of us. But then she stands up, and starts singing a song entitled, The Next Right Thing.
Instead of thinking about the entire picture, she just focuses on the next right thing to do. Ever since watching this movie, I’ve tried to remember that, while managing the life of an RIT student.
Doing the next right thing has provided me with an RIT life full of great memories, new friends, a partner I harass and appreciate, and endless opportunities. On top of all that, RIT provided strong academics, work experiences, and a chance to be a voice for my fellow students.
While I will cherish all my time at RIT, I’m ready to do my next right thing and make a positive impact on the world wherever I go. But gosh I am so excited to be done with college just like many of you.
So, here’s to the last few years—and remember—when life gets complicated and overwhelming, think of Anna and her snowman friend, and work towards your next right thing.
Congratulations, Tigers!