Carolina celebrates the Class of 2024 at Winter Commencement
“You’ve persevered and become even stronger,” Chancellor Lee H. Roberts told graduating Tar Heels at the Dec. 15 ceremony.
More than 1,800 of Carolina’s newest graduates turned their tassels and threw their Carolina Blue caps in the air Sunday afternoon at the Dean E. Smith Center. The Dec. 15 Winter Commencement ceremony brought together students, faculty, friends and family to celebrate years of graduates’ hard work and a Carolina experience that, as Chancellor Lee H. Roberts remarked, undoubtedly shaped their future.
Presiding over the ceremony, Roberts likened each graduate’s journey to the formation of a volcanic rock, referencing a favorite item in his office.
“Rocks are formed under immense heat and pressure, just as you have been shaped by challenges, expectations and the rigorous demands of your academic journey,” said Roberts. “Through these challenges, you’ve persevered and become even stronger.”
“Each of you had the tenacity, the determination, to achieve something great. You’ve succeeded in your studies, and you leave here today having earned a degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the finest public university in the nation,” Chancellor Lee H. Roberts told graduates. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)
Roberts emphasized the many experiences graduates had at Carolina that helped to prepare them for the next chapter.
“You’ve forged long-lasting friendships, taken the advice of mentors and responded to the environment around you. These external factors have smoothed rough edges and helped shape you into the authentic and unique individual you are today,” he added. “Go forward with courage and purpose, and the unwavering belief that you have the skills to shape the future. We are so proud of you.”
Before introducing the event’s speaker, Senior Class President Timothy McLendon offered congratulations to his fellow graduates, acknowledging the trials and triumphs the Class of 2024 experienced.
“To my fellow Tar Heels sitting in front of me, I say to you, ‘Bravo.’ Bravo for having the gall to persevere, bravo for having the urge to succeed,” he said. “Years ago, you decided to chart a course for an uncertain path, not letting anything stand in your way to reach this point. And being a senior myself, starting my freshman year in the unpredictable midst of a global pandemic, I know this was no easy feat.”
Graduates tossed their caps after hearing words of inspiration from Dr. Shelley Earp, longtime director of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)
A Distinguished Professor of Cancer Research, Medicine and Pharmacology, Dr. Shelley Earp delivered the ceremony’s address. Earp served as director of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center for more than two decades and put Carolina at the forefront of cancer treatment and prevention.
As a parent of two college graduates, Earp noted he considered what families may be hoping for their graduates as they begin this next chapter. He suggested a limitless pursuit of curiosity, purpose, connections and resilience.
“Curiosity and the lifelong learning it entails is a path not only to a fulfilling career but to a happy life. Exercise your brain. It leads to longevity and success,” he said. “My research day job is to understand how the code goes awry in a cancer patient and how can we fix it. But you don’t need to unravel the mysteries that fascinate me or others; choose some of your own. Keep a sense of wonder about the world around you and what it means to be human.”
Earp acknowledged not only the challenges that come with striving to follow his words of wisdom but also the reward of resilience.
“Pursuing purpose is not always easy. Your most cherished ideas can be wrong, your financial predictions off, your papers and grants get rejected and need revisions and, in my field, worst of all, your therapies don’t always save your patients,” he said. “But if you have purpose and an openness to connections, you will call upon my fourth point, resilience. Take a deep breath. Get a good night’s sleep. There is always tomorrow.”
Earp concluded with these words to the graduates: “UNC is launching you into a tumultuous world. Make it better.”
The graduates join the ranks of more than 367,000 living Carolina alumni. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)
