I would like to congratulate Whitney Taylor on behalf of our program for graduating Summa Cum Laude on Saturday, May 9th. Whitney was an amazing student-athlete during her time on the BGSU campus. Whitney was chosen as the commencement speaker for the College of Technology and did an unbelievable job addressing her graduating peers. She shared her journey as a collegiate student-athlete and all the highs and lows that make student-athletes perservere.
Whitney graduated with a bachelor of science in Visual Communications Technology. Her focus is in Web design and photography. Her photography was selected to appear in the NCAA national Conference in Washington DC and during her college career she completed interships at Velocita Sports Publishing, The Electric Quilt Company, E! Entertainment Television and Nickelodeon. Whitney was a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, Academic Honesty Committee, Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, and Golden Key National Honor Society. She is also the founder of XCentric -Design.com and completes freelance work for clients across the United States.
The following is Whitney's Commencement speech...she definitely made the most of her college career and we are very proud of her.
Whitney Taylor
College of Technology
Commencement Speaker Script
May 9, 2009
Five years ago I stepped foot on this campus knowing nothing more than a few names of the women who were going to be my new basketball teammates. Like many of you in this crowd today, I was alone… away from my family… and in a brand new environment… I was excited, but I couldn’t quite kick the homesickness and loneliness I felt in my stomach. Little did I know that I would stumble onto the major of my dreams, play on a nationally ranked basketball team, and find myself through all the chaos and clutter we call this journey of college.
I was greeted to BG with 6 AM workouts and preseason conditioning. I never thought I’d make it through that first semester, struggling just to sit down from sore muscles and aching limbs. When I showed up 20 minutes late to my first collegiate class, the students laughed as I explained to the professor how I accidentally got on the Off Campus Bus and was taken to Kroger. I wondered what I had gotten myself into.
As time progressed I began to fall in love with Visual Communications Technology. Absorbing my mind in talk of color and layout, I began to realize that finishing a big project gave me the same thrill as hitting a big 3 point shot in a basketball game. The rave of my professors or parents excited me as much as the roar of the crowd in Anderson Arena. I became passionate about my work and realized that Basketball was my Sport, but VCT was truly my Passion.
Along with success in the classroom came success on the basketball floor as I had the privilege of being a part of one of the best teams in school history. Winning the MAC Conference 4 years in a row and getting the chance to participate in 3 NCAA Tournaments and 1 WNIT Tournament. Traveling to places like Seattle Washington, New Mexico, Florida, and even Cancun Mexico. All the traveling was fun, but it took a toll on my schoolwork as I attempted to balance my academics and athletics. Somehow I made it through those long road trips thanks to the help, encouragement, and support of my fellow classmates and professors.
I’m sure the graduates here can all look back over the time spent at BGSU and pick out a situation that truly stands out as a pivotal point in their lives. For me this time came my Junior year, the day after Christmas, when I went down with a season ending injury. A torn ACL (Anti Crucial Ligament) in my right knee proved to a reminder that I was indeed not invincible. Reevaluating my life and where I wanted it to go, I realized I had somewhat taken a backseat to what was going on. Not even realizing it at the time, I was simply going through the motions.
This much needed reality check helped me refocus and even though it truly was the hardest time of my life, it proved the most beneficial as well. After going through total reconstructive knee surgery, I rehabbed as I watched from the bench as the best women’s basketball team in BGSU and MAC history reached a national ranking of 15th in the nation and beat out teams like Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt to make it to the round of Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Quietly… I went through a total transformation of mind and body.
It is times like these, the extreme highs and extreme lows, that truly show us all what we are made of. I never have and never will settle for less than my best and I wanted to be sure to show this through the roughest of times. I realized I was being tested. I was truly seeing my limits as well as my potential and after that experience, I truly knew what I was made of.
Once my knee was finally healed, I realized I was in dire need of some time away, so I shipped off on a 22 day Outward Bound course in the backcountry of Montana. No coach wants to hear their Senior co-captain is leaving the team for 3 weeks the summer before the biggest season of their career, so I wrote my coach a 5 page letter explaining how I would maintain my physical performance and only come back stronger and more mentally sound from this experience and I kept my promise as I did lunges and bench presses with boulders on the banks of the Yellowstone River after our 20 mile kayaking days through the rain. I wasn’t about to let down, not for a minute.
Being away from BG for those 3 weeks was a life changing experience. Not only did it reassure my love for Bowling Green, but my love for Basketball and VCT as well. During a SOLO section of the Outward Bound adventure I spent 48 hours totally alone in the wilderness. During this time I realized I had accomplished many of my goals for my time BGSU. There were still a few left though to satisfy in my remaining year at BG… so time was of the essence.
When I returned home from Outward Bound my fellow co-captain and I lead our basketball to a successful senior season as I began focusing on my future career as well. I began making contacts in the BGSU co-op department as well as the Telecommunications department and before you knew it I was shipping off to Los Angeles California to work for E! Entertainment Television in their E! Studios and Live Events department. I had always dreamed of co-oping for a large corporation on the coast and finally I was making it happen. I always was a dreamer, but I want to live my life through actions instead of words, so I finally felt as though I was doing this.
Surfing on the weekends and working diligently at E! during the week, I began to narrow down my future career goals. Through contacts at BG and E! Entertainment I then found myself interviewing with the Art Director for Nickelodeon. Finishing up my internship in California, I then moved to New York City to intern with Nickelodeon as a Flash Animation Intern. With roommates from Quebec, Texas, and The Netherlands I made Manhattan my new home and broadened my horizons of business and culture. This is the
time I established my freelance career as well through my company, XCentric Design, working for clients back in California and other around the US.
Sometimes clients would ask me to complete things I didn’t even know how to do, so I would sit in front of my computer until I learned how to do them. This approach was at times very stressful, but I learned more during that time than ever before in my life. It proved true that sometimes you just have to throw yourself into the deep end and learn how to swim.
My final dream was to come back to Bowling Green and live the life of a non-athlete. A student, who spends nights in the computer lab, shoots additional projects because they can, and still has time to wake up and watch Saturday morning cartoons. This semester, I was able to make that a dream a reality as well.
Today, like all of my other fellow graduates, I am making another dream a reality as I graduate from Bowling Green and begin the next phase of my life. I will be attending Savannah College of Art and Design on an academic scholarship in order to attain a Master’s Degree in Interactive Media. This will also help me accomplish another dream of studying abroad with the possibility of attending their campus in Lacoste, France. Bowling Green has set me up to smoothly transition into this next phase through my knowledge gained in the classroom as well as knowledge gained on my internship experiences. Bowling Green athletics taught me how to be disciplined and enjoy the results of hard work.
To the graduates- wherever you end up, whatever you do, just make sure you do it with passion. And when you look at your wall and see your diploma, smile at the memory of Bowling Green State University, because this is truly a remarkable place. A diamond in the rough in Northwestern Ohio that we are all blessed to have stumbled upon. Smile on the memories and never forget this moment when you truly have made your dreams a reality. Home is where the heart is and Bowling Green will always have a piece of my heart.
As my favorite Into the Wild movie quote states, "I now know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once." You have all been measured, and you have all passed.
Thank you all and congratulations to the graduates of 2009…. We did it!
