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Text: Haley Davis’s remarks to the Class of 2021

Haley Davis ’22, Student Government Association president, gave remarks to the Class of 2021 on behalf of SGA during baccalaureate on May 9, 2021. Here is the full text of her remarks.

Thank you all for joining us today to celebrate the graduating class of 2021.

While I am not a member of this class, I have had the opportunity to watch them grow the past 3 years. During this incredibly hard year, the Class of ’21 has persevered and made a positive impact on us all, including myself.

From my time as a freshman to now, this graduating class has continued to shake things up. Always questioning the status quo and never taking no for an answer, this amazing group of seniors has taken Maryville College by storm and has left big shoes for the rest of us to fill.

While I am sure this is not how any of you all pictured your senior year would go, you know, with a worldwide pandemic and all, you all have continued to be a shining light in such a dark time and on behalf of the rest of the student body I want to say thank you. Thank you for always being there to lighten us up with your humor, to push us to work harder, to constantly be the front runners of change, and always trying to “do good on the largest possible scale.”

While I could stand up here and recite all the ways that each and every one of you embodies the ideals that Isaac Anderson stood for, I would rather take the time to talk about one of the greats that we really know – Ruth Bader Ginsberg. In her time on the Supreme Court, she was a lot like each of you being described as driven, hardworking, powerful, and ready for change to come. As stated by RBG herself, “real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.”

You guys were that first step. You took the chances classes before you were too scared to take. You made your voices loud and proud and brought others along the way with you. You have changed Maryville College as we know it. And you have changed it for the better.

This being said, don’t stop now. Keep inspiring others with your words, your tweets, and your actions. Keep being the people who won’t take no for an answer. Keep being the people who push for change. Keep holding each other, and others, accountable. Most importantly, keep being the Fighting Scots that we have all known you to be.

Congratulations you guys, the work you did here has only just begun.

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”