Dear Campus Community,
A special note of gratitude for the campus community as you finish strong and look back on what you have achieved this year…. It is one we will never forget but always cherish for the skills of resiliency and teaching us eternal optimism in the face of life’s challenges- skills money can’t buy.
We continue to celebrate our graduates who triumphantly crossed the commencement stage this past weekend. And we celebrate the entire community…. all of you, students, faculty, staff.
While forces around us challenged our ability to move forward, it was never about if we would. We had places to go, heights to achieve and barriers to break… and along the way, we learned in the classroom but we also learned that we are capable of more than we could have imagined and are more prepared.
As we leave this academic year behind, for some of us this will be goodbye to our beloved Ship. It will be a new journey as a degree moves the mark toward the next goal. I, too, say goodbye as a new challenge takes me away from Ship. But I take much of the Ship spirit and pride with me, and I take the wisdom of the valuable lessons that we learned together as a community.
I will be watching with pride as you continue your academic or professional endeavors here at Ship. I know you will move forward with the same enthusiasm and determination that prevailed over this last incredibly challenging year. Thank you for making academic year 2020-2021 a success.
With sincere gratitude,
Laurie A. Carter