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"The lessons we learned at the University, both inside and outside the classroom, are the very ideals that will mold the world for our future generations." -- Tamara Beckford

I am honored to be chosen as your graduate student speaker on this memorable day. It does not seem very long ago that I was embarking on my journey to a higher education. I researched the various schools across the United States in search of one that would provide me with an outstanding education, support in helping me achieve my goal of acceptance into medical school and most of all the sense of community. My search led me to Montclair State University.

While at Montclair State, I was able to gradually excel academically because of the small class sizes and the personalized attention it afforded me. I knew I was not just a social security number because my professors actually knew my name. Their kindness and constant motivation, along with their challenging course work, helped fuel my determination to succeed, as it has done for you all by the fact that you are here with me today.

There are not too many students from other universities who can actually say they were not too intimidated by their professors to approach them, even outside their allotted office hours. This, my fellow graduates, is one of the many luxuries afforded to us as students of Montclair State University, the feeling of belonging, the feeling of community.

Montclair State started out as a small teachers college, geared to graduating men and women who would mold the future generations through teaching. Now Montclair State is the second largest and the fastest growing university in New Jersey, with a vast array of undergraduate and graduate majors, concentrations and certifications. I must say, we have come a long way, and I think the best is yet to come.

Although Montclair State is growing in size, I believe it will keep the very aspect that made me, and the rest of the graduating class, decide to attend this university in the first place, i.e. the feeling of belonging, the feeling of community. Montclair State's Mission Statement reads: "All University programs will develop in students the ability to discover, create, evaluate, apply and share knowledge in a climate characterized by tolerance and openness in the exploration of ideas." The reality of this statement can be seen through the extensive student-run undergraduate and graduate organizations geared toward allowing the students not only to express their ideas in a respectful manner, but also to share their culture with one another.

Our university is filled with people of different cultures, of different religious backgrounds, of different aspirations, of different age groups, but the one thing that binds us together is the community atmosphere we were all able to take advantage of as students of Montclair State University. The lessons we learned at the University, both inside and outside the classroom, are the very ideals that will mold the world for our future generations. Because of that, we cannot take this responsibility lightly. Now that we have benefited from the help of others, it is time for us to continue in and to pass that tradition to the future generations of Montclair State students.

In conclusion I would like to thank a few people who are very dear to my heart: my mother, Leonie Beckford, and my father Howard Beckford. You came to the United States from Jamaica in search of a better life for our family. You knew that education could open up doors to endless opportunities and so you sacrificed to make sure I had the best education possible. I would also like to thank my extended family and friends who were always there to support my countless endeavors. To the Biology Department and the Health Careers Program, you will never fathom how much I have learned from you. Your support and encouragement during the hard times have instilled great confidence in me, and for that I thank you.

The last but certainly not least person I would like to acknowledge is my 5-year-old brother David Beckford. I want you to always know that I love you, and that with a great education, the limit is the sky. To the graduating class of 2003, I wish you the best that life has to offer.

Thank you.

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