Bronco Beat

For those who don’t know Sachit Egan, he graduated summa cum laude from SCU today. You might recognize him from an Economics or Political Science class, but he has also made his presence known through a variety of other activities both on and off campus.

Egan was the founder and president of Into the Wild, the outdoor adventure club on campus. He was a junior and senior Senator for ASG, and named the 2010-2011 Senator of the Year.

He was a member of the Honors Advisory Council and created “UHP 101,” which is a quarterly speaker series between students and professors. He won the Distinguished Freshman Award and the Provost’s Fellowship for Undergraduate Research the following year.

He is a member of the Honor Societies Phi Beta Kappa (National), Alpha Sigma Nu (Jesuit), Beta Gamma Sigma (Business), and Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science).

But Egan can be rather quiet at times, and quite humble. For many of you, this is your first time being introduced to him. For those who do know him, this very well could be the first time you have learned what kind of dedication he has put into his studies.

As a member of the top seventh percentile of his graduating class, he was invited to apply for the valedictorian award. While he ultimately was not selected, he wishes to simply leave his fellow graduating class with some parting words from an excerpt of his speech, and hopes it will inspire you all to do great things in your time after graduation. Read more if you want to be inspired.

-MR

June 16, 2012 

Good morning. Friends and family, faculty and staff – thank you for being here with us to celebrate this most momentous occasion. 

My father is fond of the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Looking back on my four years here, I realize it’s taken nothing less than the entire Santa Clara village to transform me from a teenager into a confident and capable young adult. And I’m sure the same is true for many of my classmates.  

It has taken the united efforts of professors, mentors, academic advisors, university administrators, coaches, trainers, alumni donors, friends, and family to help us reach this day of commencement. We are forever grateful for the sacrifices you’ve made and the support you’ve provided us. Please forgive me now, as I turn to address the Class of 2012: 

* * * 

Brothers and Sisters, I’d like to talk to you today about footprints. Sometimes, as I make the late-night cross-campus journey back to my apartment, I find myself wishing I could have a bird’s eye view of where my feet have taken me throughout these past four years. During the first months of freshman year, these trails of footprints likely ran between my dorm, Benson, my classes, and the gym. The rest of campus seemed foreign, perhaps even intimidating. 

As a student of economics and political science, I never imagined I’d leave footprints singing and dancing in Aldo Billingslea’s acting class, making movies in Jonathan Fung’s Montage Film Practicum, or practicing voice in Paul Murray’s studio.  

I never would’ve imagined that my footprints on campus would soon be replaced by skid marks, as I learned and fell in love with the art of longboarding.  

I never imagined that my feet would carry me to house-building sites in Mexico, mines along the Appalachian Trail in West Virginia, and back again.  

And, I never would’ve imagined they’d then carry me to the summit of Yosemite’s Half Dome or to the base of waterfalls in the Costa Rican rainforest.  

(In retrospect, perhaps I should’ve expected that they’d also carry me to Washington and Hawaii, since so many of our classmates hail from these states!) 

Many of you have shared in this transformative experience. A recent midnight walk around campus led me to an uplifting realization: few nooks and crannies of our beautiful school remain unexplored. As our campus has grown smaller and less intimidating, so too has the world. Immersion trips through the Ignatian Center and outdoor excursions through our adventure club (Into the Wild) have pushed our limits and broadened our horizons.  

As I reflect on these experiences, I realize that curiosity was the agent that drove this exploration. As we look now to the future, let’s continue to foster and nurture our curiosity. Let it inspire us to do things we never thought we’d do, meet people we never thought we’d meet, and go places we never thought we’d go.  

Along the way, let’s allow ourselves to be pleasantly surprised and thoroughly disappointed, as both are part of any true discernment journey.  

Finally, let us also allow our feet to carry us to places in the world where we are most needed. For, as the adage goes, it is at the intersection of our passions and the world’s needs where we may discover our vocation. 

* * * 

I’d like to leave you with a thought that has provided me with endless inspiration over the years (my close friends will enjoy the film reference): There is no moment more beautiful than the present moment. There is no day more beautiful than the present day. There is no life more beautiful than the present life. This moment will soon pass; we will never be here together again! 

Class of 2012, I’d rather stand and graduate with you today than be anywhere else in our world. Looking to the future, let no soul we encounter forget how competent, how conscientious, how compassionate we are; we are Broncos!  

Do you know what’s waiting for you there, just beyond this graduation stage? The future of our world – Take it, it’s YOURS! 
 

Thank you, God bless, and Go Broncos!! 

Sachit S. Egan