Dear Spartans,
Many of you are half a semester away from graduation; some of you, mere days. Of course, all of you face finals week. For that, I have a very tired, but very pertinent word of advice to offer you: Persevere.
I encourage you not as a scripted representative of the school; not as a tenacious parent; not as a discerning recruiter; but as a fellow Spartan who intends to throw you a little rope if youâre about to give in to academic despair.
Stats are irrelevant at this point. There is no denying that our generation is paying exorbitant sums of money to finance institutions of higher education. The Republican Party often touts a, âpull yourself up by your own bootstrapsâ mentality. I counter with Thurgood Marshallâs take on the GOPâs platitude that, âwe got here because somebody - a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns â bent down and helped us pick up our boots.â
The reference books that accompany your final paper may stack high. The seemingly endless hours that you spend drowning in paragraphs, stanzas, formulas, matrices, canvasses, clefs, and digital screens of study material may nearly overwhelm. And from personal experience, the job market for many of our majors is bleak.
But allow me ask you, once again, to consider what your degree will stand for. Whether you come from a broken home or a mansion: You will bring your family honor and pride. Whether you are a weekend Rickâs warrior or a library resident: You will forever bear the distinction of being a Michigan State Spartan. Whether you hail from the across the Pacific Ocean or commute in from the Greater Lansing area: The latent potential of your degree can send you to whichever (habitable) continent you please. And above all, we are largely American, but we are all entitled to a swift kick to capitalism's ass for failing us. How unbecoming as we are the very individuals that it will soon depend on.
As a journalism graduate, I can attest to the struggle that starting a career entails. Furthermore, I have altered my focus to public relations to better suit my need for a stable salary in a move that is ubiquitously frowned upon within journalism; one I often find myself conflicted over to this moment.
My story is one of many across the nation, but despite all the uncertainty, I simply endeavor to prove one thing to myself and to everyone that has demonstrated nothing less than unwavering support for my aspirations: I WILL SUCCEED. If you were expecting anything more elaborate or profound, youâre shit out of luck because even failure pales in the face optimism and confidence.
So I put it to you. Study hard, please don't sleep through an exam, and when it's all over, take a deep breath and realize that you're still on your way.











