2021 Convocation Address
Remarks by Mr. Michael Faggett, CU Class of 2011
2020 Cameron University Outstanding Alumnus
To President McArthur, his leadership team, and to you, my fellow Aggies, congratulations on your academic success. We honor you and celebrate you during this historic Convocation.
I must admit, this one feels different. Under normal settings we would gather together on campus, shake hands, share stories, see each other’s faces and celebrate you by traditional means. But the times in which we live call for different measures of celebration and, make no mistake about it, we are living in an unprecedented, historic time.
Never did we image that we would have to be socially distant, wear masks, and take every precaution possible to prevent the spread of a virus that has literally caused a global pandemic and changed how our world lives. While we’ve trekked through these months of living in a pandemic, it’s also brought other issues to the table that claim our attention. We’re living in a time of a hostile political climate in our country where we’ve seen our Capitol ravaged by riots. Never did we imagine the sights and sounds of a riot at our nation’s Capital. We’ve also seen cries from the streets across our country as racial injustice continues to plague our nation.
Whether with pandemic, protests, or hostile political climate, it’s clear that we’re living in historic times. With these times, come many challenges because we face so many questions but so little answers. When will we get out of this pandemic? No one really knows. What will life look like on the other side of this pandemic? No one really knows. How can we come together as a nation and deal with the injustices that occur racially while also dealing with this hostile political climate?
All these questions providing many challenges we face as we live in these historic times. It’s not only challenging for us as a nation, it’s also been challenging for you as a student on campus. This pandemic has changed the way education takes place. I suspect many of you have dealt with this pandemic personally, whether friends, family, or other loved ones, have dealt with the virus directly. You’ve also dealt with it while trying to figure out how to stay afloat educationally and continue on the course that you’ve paved of being a Cameron Aggie … challenging times both historically and personally where we did not expect life to go this way.
While we’ve seen challenges and while we’ve seen history give us a time we did not expect, these times also provide us with an opportunity to not only embrace change, but to lead change. That’s where you come in. We need your fresh faces. We need to hear your fresh voices, as you all will be on the front line of changing how our world will be post-pandemic. We need your creative ideas. We need your ingenuity. We need your tenacity. We need your courage. We need you to lead us into the change, so I encourage you to stay the course.
I know it has not been easy but at the end of it all, it will be well worth it. Endure the struggle. Embrace the challenge. Lead the change. Because while we look to the future, history has its eyes on us. And as history has its eyes on us, our eyes look to you, fellow Aggies, to lead us to a better world, a united nation, and to a brighter future.
Congratulations and, go Aggies!
