As prepared for delivery.
Thank you. This means a lot to me.
I’ve never been a man of few words, so today is certainly not the time to start.
For those of you who made it to candidate meeting, you might remember that I said I stuck around in TBP because it no longer stood for Tau Beta Pi to me, but for “the best people.” Hopefully, after this semester, this sounds less like a corny attempt at a pun and more like something true.
I hope that this semester, through Tau Beta Pi, you met someone new who you would now wave to when you see each other on campus.
I hope you met someone who you now trust enough to work together, or even carry you through, a group project.
I hope you met someone who you will now go to for advice.
I hope you met someone who you can see someday helping you find a job.
And I hope you met someone who you’ve gotten closer to outside of TBP. Someone whom you would now consider a new friend. Because, in the end of the day, when you are as old as I look, what will matter most to you from Tau Beta Pi is not the line on your resume, or that GEICO discount, or even the scholarships and fellowships, but the people.
And because of that, this award both means so much, and feels a bit unnecessary.
It has been my pleasure, and will always be my pleasure, to spend time around the best people – my fellow Tau Bates, like you.