“I realized at Dartmouth sometimes risk is just saying ‘yes’ before you really feel ready.”
Good morning! I’m honored to stand here today, as a member of the Class of 2026. Especially because it almost didn’t happen.
On December 10th, 2021, I was deferred from Dartmouth College. While most parents would probably console their child, my mom looked at me and said, “Maybe this is a sign, Ava. Dartmouth students seem like risk takers, and you really aren’t that kind of person.”
Now unfortunately she was right—my mom knows me well. But, when I was accepted, I didn’t hesitate to say “yes.”
I knew this place would be a challenge. Despite the idyllic setting, Dartmouth does not let you stay comfortable for long.
Our school motto, “Vox clamantis in deserto,” translates to “a voice crying out in the wilderness.” To me, that sounds a little bit like the start of a horror movie.
Less than 24 hours after arriving on campus, many of us became that voice in the wilderness, literally. And in those days, we took the first risk of our college career: first-year trips. No phone, no shower, and no self-consciousness as we danced to Everytime We Touch with people we’d just met.
I realized at Dartmouth sometimes risk is just saying “yes” before you really feel ready.
The Class of 2026 includes some of the most inspiring risk takers I have met. There’s Bond, a Pan-American highway record breaker who cycled 14,000 miles in 75 days. And our men’s hockey team, who had a record 22 wins this season—winning the ECAC championship and securing themselves a bid in the NCAA tournament.
Many of us braved the Polar Plunge during Winter Carnival, while others simply braved FOCO dark side on a weekday.
Some of us took institutional risks, advocating for student workers, expanding opportunities for their peers, and pushing Dartmouth to better reflect on its values. Many took intellectual risks, pursuing ambitious research, earning 19 National Science Foundation Fellowships, 29 Fulbright awards, and many more. And some in our class launched their own ventures, building companies before receiving their diplomas today.
Dartmouth makes us bolder not because it told us to take risks, but because we are surrounded by people who do.
As a former theater kid, the one lesson I still remember is the golden rule of improv—“yes, and…” Rachel Dratch made a career from this concept! “Yes, and” means accepting what is in front of you and choosing to build off of it.
Many of us “yes, and”-ed into dance or a capella groups during sophomore summer, study abroads in unfamiliar places, and unfortunately being 15 minutes late to nearly everything.
In my case, I somehow “yes, and”-ed into hiking 54 miles nonstop with three of my closest friends, despite never considering myself an outdoorsy person. “Yes, and” means stepping into uncertainty and saying yes to the things that scare us a little.
Without “yes, and,” I would not have found engineering, which, as a classically trained cellist, was the last thing I expected to study.
How many of you found yourself drawn to study something you hadn’t even considered before college? I have seen countless friends “yes, and” into the most fascinating combination of academic and personal interests: like economics and religion, biology and art history, chemistry and indie rock!
As we step outside the Dartmouth bubble, I encourage us to continue with this mentality. Whether that’s saying yes to chatting with a nervous ’30 who’s still trying to find their footing, moving to a city where you don’t know a single person, or applying for the opportunity you’re worried you’re underqualified for.
We are entering a world with no shortage of problems that are easy to criticize and difficult to solve. Dartmouth taught us not to sit on the sidelines waiting for someone more qualified to step in. It taught us to believe that we can be the people who try, the ones who take risks.
There are so many people I want to thank who helped us learn that lesson. To my peers and professors: thank you for encouraging us to follow our curiosity, ask better questions, and pursue goals that felt just beyond our reach.
To the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, the music department, the Hop, and most specifically Maestro Ciabatti and Marcia Cassidy, thank you for helping me accomplish in the arts what I thought was only possible at a conservatory.
Thank you, Res Life, for the freshmen River Dorms, which gave me some of my closest friends and the highest step count on campus.
I want to give a special thanks to President Beilock and the Board of Trustees for the opportunity to represent our class today. It’s been an incredible honor and a little bit terrifying to speak alongside Rachel, who is a true master of the art of “yes and.”
On behalf of the Class of 2026, thank you to our friends and family who have supported us in our years of education. We are so grateful that you could travel to be here with us today.
And most of all, thank you to those people in our lives who, like my mom, always tell us what we need to hear, whether we want to hear it or not.
Congratulations, Class of 2026. Take risks. Say yes. And Go, Big Green!