Jesse Correia, Assistant to the Deans, is great at a whole lot of things, but he is particularly great at hiring wonderful student office assistants. We are quite fortunate to have a staff of students who are bright, competent, compassionate, open-minded, and hilarious. Our student-staff fill each of our days with so much laughter and entertainment. Listening to their life stories, watching them excel in their academics, hearing them talk about preparing for coop, seeing them interact with those accessing our office for help, all serve as points of pride for Jesse, Dean Fowler, Dean Kosses, and me. Over the course of time, these students become our extended family. So, when graduation rolls around, not only are we losing members of our staff, but we are also saying good-bye to members of our Student Affairs family.
On August 20, six members of our family will cross the stage and receive their diplomas from President Pantic: Matt Hallock (Mechanical Engineering), Michael Fornaciari (Biomedical Engineering), Leland Alexander (Construction Management), Brody Hollett (Computer Information Systems), Harrison Bond (Construction Management), and Nick Costa (Construction Management). We have had the pleasure and privilege of watching these six students grow both academically and personally. We have celebrated many joyful milestones, as well as processed difficult situations. Each of them have treated us, our office, and the Institute with the greatest level of respect during their tenure as students. I know they will serve as amazing alumni ambassadors in their professional fields and will be thoughtful citizens of the communities in which they live. We are proud of them. We are grateful for the time they spent with us and the fingerprint they have left on our office and our hearts. I think the greatest compliment I could pay them is if I was fortunate enough to have sons, I would want them to be just like them.
Thank you, gentlemen, for letting us borrow you for this brief moment of your amazing lives.