A brief description of a day on the Maine sailing Outward Bound program from their website:
“With the rising sun, you begin your day. After a refreshing and cleansing dip in the ocean comes breakfast and a meeting to listen to the weather forecast and plan the day’s route. Once you raise anchor you will sail all day taking turns navigating, handling lines, rowing, steering, etc. The cry of ‘anchor is set!’ from the bow means that you can furl the sails or stow the oars and begin cooking dinner and rigging the sleeping tarp. Over dinner, enjoy the stars of the summer sky and relax as the boat rides peacefully at anchor. Throughout the night, everyone takes a shift awake at anchor watch making sure all is well and maybe journaling a bit, while the sleeping crew rocks gently to the motion of the boat.”
And now, a similar description of the same program straight from my own journal just over three years ago:
“I have never seen rain fall so hard and so consistently in my entire life! Is it because I forgot to bring synthetic fabrics that the heavens have just decided to open up and destroy any chance of warmth I can get from dry clothing?! Where is the sun?! Better yet, where is the wind? Doesn’t most rain come with wind?! How can I sail a boat without wind?! Another thing, do people really eat this granola and water-based-yogurt thing? I’m 99.9% sure I am going to die of either hypothermia, claustrophobia, sea sickness, or some combination of the three. . . new priority: discover how to get air lifted out of here!”
Good evening cousins, Trustees, staff, distinguished guests, and of course a sincere welcome and congratulations to the new Morehead-Cain Scholars, class of 2014. While I might have been somewhat melodramatic in my journaling over Outward Bound, I’ll bet you my next semester’s stipend that there are those of you sitting out there who once contemplated an air evacuation – but no need, you all survived your outdoor leadership summer and have started your Morehead-Cain experience admirably!
Just three short years ago, I sat in your seat listening to the introduction of my fellow classmates at my first Fall Banquet; I remember being completely scared of the British and Canadian Scholars, who were chanting their mantras every time a fellow patriot was introduced—a special hello to our international Scholars this evening. I remember that when the name of my high school (John Motley Morehead High School) was announced I heard a rousing, “Shoe-in!” from across the room. That was a particular highlight. I also remember leaving with a renewed excitement from former Student Body President Eve Carson’s speech about her adventures in Egypt, Peru, Cuba, Europe and here in Chapel Hill.
Let me say now what an honor and privilege it is to share this special night with all of you, fellow Morehead-Cain Scholars; tonight, just like every Fall Banquet, we come together to celebrate and meet the current four classes of Scholars and to re-dedicate ourselves to the ideals upon which we were selected as Morehead-Cains—the famous four traits, if you will: Scholarship, leadership, moral force of character, and physical vigor, each of which is exuded in many ways, collectively uniting us under one common mission: to create an extraordinary life.
So what does this mission entail? Well, lucky for you, being a Morehead-Cain Scholar does not require you to maintain a 4.0 GPA, lead 28 student organizations or solve an international crisis on your public service summer, though admirable these pursuits may be. No, there is not a model for the perfect Morehead-Cain; in fact, what makes this program work and what gives it such prestige is the diversity of interest among each class of Scholars. Your main requirement is to just be yourself! All of the programming and enrichment opportunities from the Foundation are designed to support you along the rigorous journey of self-discovery, help facilitate your explosion of many interests into more focused pathways, and then apply these interests to the world both within and beyond Carolina.
And what better way to engage in self-discovery than the four summer enrichment programs?! I learned very quickly before I even started college that I am not a sailor, I never want to be a sailor, and I refuse to sail again without a motor on the back of the boat. I also learned that I am capable of climbing a mile long vertical hike up the toughest part of the Appalachian Trail with a 60 pound pack on my back and that I can fully complete a high ropes course, overcoming a small fear of heights.
That’s what your summers are all about—putting yourself in situations outside of your comfort zone, away from feelings of familiarity, to give you the chance to examine yourself at your core, discover what you love, what you hate, what gets you up in the morning and what bothers you enough to do something about it. Inevitably there will always be the ridiculously funny stories worth telling from each summer; you know, the ones about how you got on the wrong bus and ended up 200 miles away from your placement or when you woke up to find a warthog outside your back door to the hotel you were shacking up in while on a safari, or, even better, that time when you were in the hospital in Thailand because 46 leeches just happened to get through your leech socks while on a jungle trek to find the waterfall from the movie “The Island” because your sister really wanted a picture of you and the waterfall even if it was at the expense of your own health—ok, maybe that’s just me—but the real story to be told from each of your summer experiences will be how you learned something new about yourself, gained a new perspective on your academic and social interests, transformed your outlook on the world.
A transformation was the last thing I ever expected when I left to teach English in Bangkok, at least for myself. I left ready to be an agent of change in the lives of my students and the Thai people I was bound to interact with on a day to day basis—I never once considered the profound reverse effect the Thai people and culture would have on me. I remember the first day of teaching, just how much of a train wreck my lesson was. I was trying to go over barn yard animals, and I don’t know if you’ve ever tried this before, but apparently the noises we think cows and pigs make are NOT the noises the Thai people think they make. I was getting the weirdest looks not only from my kindergartners but even more so from my supervisor and the headmaster.
It was an utterly embarrassing situation that only laughter could remedy. I quickly learned that my teaching efforts would only be effective if I approached them from a more culturally aware methodology; I needed to connect with them on a basic level of mutual understanding. Progress was made when I began to invest in the human aspect of cross-cultural teaching, instead of just focusing on the material.
You see, I learned just as much, if not more, from my students than they did from me by the end of the summer. Call me an idealist, but I believe that a person who takes the time to learn from, connect with, and empathize alongside another person can affect positive change—they can promote progress. This notion of progress as a result of human collaboration has since become an odd obsession of mine, so much you might say it’s influenced the majority of what I’ve done since I returned from Thailand. The power of human possibility is at the heart of all forms of progress and it should never be underestimated; it’s why you are sitting in your seat tonight. Someone saw possibility in you. But possibility alone does not create extraordinary results.
Let’s revert back to your mission as a Morehead-Cain Scholar—traveling abroad and getting yourself out of your comfort zone is part of the deal, but a huge part of your mission that is far too often assumed or glossed over is the responsibility we all have to the homeland, life here at Carolina. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you how lucky we are to attend the first public university of this country, a premier public institution at the top of the research food chain, the University of the People, AND the university with the best shade of blue in the state.
As a community of Scholars, we often stress the importance of living life at Carolina as all students do, studying hard and playing hard, while never really drawing much attention to the wonderful benefits and perks of the scholarship, most notably the infamous golden coins that grant us free beverages at will. We’ve even created an impenetrable code name for each other that nobody has been able to decipher to keep our identities top secret, which works really well for me. Trust me, when you’re from Eden, NC and you start walking around campus saying hey to all of your cousins and talking about an Uncle Mot, nobody questions you.
So while we may try to live incognito among the entire student body, it goes without saying that Morehead-Cain Carolina students stand out. Carolina is the perfect place to freely explore how the famous four traits play a role in your life; scholarship as it manifests in your studies and research, leadership as defined by igniting the potential within those around you, lifting them up to their greatness, physical vigor as conveyed by a dedication to that sport or hobby that helps you let off the stresses of college life in a productive healthy way, and moral force of character as it was so well articulated by Chancellor Emeritus James Moeser—the Carolina Way, pursuing excellence with a heart.
Figuring out how to connect what you learn about yourself as a Morehead-Cain to your career as an undergraduate requires openness to change, willingness to ask questions instead of always providing answers and a determination to persevere.
Making the decision to run for Student Body President may have required the most amount of perseverance I’ve ever had to muster. Whether it was the 8 month planning process and platform writing or the five weeks of campaigning, DTH interviewing and zero sleeping, I knew that regardless of the outcome, my life at Carolina would drastically change. I’ve been so lucky over the past ten months to work closely with students, faculty and administrators at this University who care deeply about Carolina, the impact students can have in this community, and the continued cultivation of the immeasurable passion that separates our student body from all others across the nation. As I mentioned before, my interest in connecting people through collaboration has been such a motivation every day of this job and it’s my way of giving back to this place that has given me so much.
Now that’s a lot of heavy stuff. Important, but heavy. Some of the defining moments of my Morehead-Cain experience haven’t always been the go-travel-self-reflect-turn-in-your-biweekly-report-and-send-all-your-pictures-to-the-snapfish-account moments. No, apart from learning who you are, be sure to take the time to learn who the other people in this room are. I can easily say that my best friends are sitting right here tonight—these are the people I’ve danced with until 6 am probably in a costume, they are the family I’ve turned to in moments of great tragedy for comfort and stability, the ones I’ve hopped in a car alongside to travel to Key Largo at the very last minute, and laughed with until my stomach hurt.
The best advice I was given came from a quote given to me which reads, “You only live life once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” We get to meet seven classes of Morehead-Cain Scholars during our four years; invest yourself in your fellow Scholars—learn their stories, make the time to ask how their day is going even if you think you’ve got the busiest schedule of them all—you don’t have to travel to the farthest part of the world to meet someone who can inspire you. They’re probably sitting at your table.
But where does this leave you now? You’ve got to self-discover, apply what you learn about yourself to what you get involved with, and invest in getting to know the other incredible Scholars in the program. That’s it right? Extraordinary life created! Well, not exactly. . . . You see that phrase extraordinary life connotes something a little bit longer than just four years. Perhaps the greatest benefit of receiving the Morehead-Cain Scholarship is the alumni network available to you for the rest of your life. You see, when you accepted the Morehead-Cain you were accepting a lifelong challenge, not just a four year commitment.
There will be times in your life where you will find yourself standing alone for something you believe in. There will be times when you find yourself at a crossroads in a career choice that may affect the rest of your life—lucky for you, you’ve got nearly 3,000 alums across the world ready and willing to help you in any way they can. You may think you’re alone at times, but as a member of the Morehead-Cain family, you will always have the support and encouragement of the entire community of Scholars, leaders, and change makers that carry out the prestigious name of this Foundation. Take comfort in that and know you are among the elite.
So as you continue on your mission to complete the Morehead-Cain challenge, I want to encourage you to never lose your idealistic capacity for creating vision. If you all are not the idealists seeking ways to address global, national and local issues, then who will be? Those who have heard of the Morehead-Cain program expect our Scholars to be daring enough to take the risks that lead us to affecting positive change. You’ve been given the opportunity to do something great—force yourself to learn exactly who you are, find your niche on campus to give back to the Carolina community, see the power of possibility in every individual, and prepare yourself to exceed greatness in your path to living extraordinarily.
