Morganton graduates send their caps skyward to mark their transition from students to alumni. (photo: Bryan Gilmer)
Two days of Commencement ceremonies celebrated the newest graduates of the NCSSM Residential program in Morganton and Durham, with almost 500 students from more than 70 North Carolina counties receiving NCSSM diplomas.
The first to turn their tassels were the nearly 150 seniors of NCSSM-Morganton who assembled in their regalia in front of the campus’s iconic Barn on Thursday, May 22. For the previous two years this second graduating class had marched countless times to and from the Barn for special events while the South Mountains some five miles distant changed colors with the seasons.
Now they gathered there for the final time as classmates, a breeze blowing, the mountains beyond blue-green under clear skies.
In remarks to her fellow graduates, student speaker Shirina Baskaran, who came to NCSSM from Marvin Ridge High School in Waxhaw, spoke of the opportunities to create as a class something new and unique from what had been placed before them as the second class of students to enroll at the campus after its 2022 opening.
“Let’s remember the joy in the chaos, the pride in the perseverance, and the strength we’ve found in each other,” she said of their shared time together. “Let’s carry the boldness of our NCSSM experience into the world—not as a memory of who we were, but as a promise of who we’re becoming.”
Dr. Rahul Sampath, Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency, Chair of Infectious Diseases, and President of the Medical Staff at UNC Health Blue Ridge, delivered the keynote address, and he reminded graduates of some important points to remember as they move through their life after NCSSM.
“In your search for identity, worldview, truth, and humanity—don’t forget your amazing community and school,” he said. “Don’t wait to love. Don’t numb yourself to suffering just because it’s distant. Feel it. That feeling will transform into real change in this world. [And] don’t wait to live. Life is happening right now. When we are close to the end of this life journey, regret rarely lies in the things we have done. It lies in the things we never got around to doing.”
The following day, the breeze had moved east to Durham where 340-plus members of NCSSM-Durham’s 44th graduating class gathered with friends and family in the company of century-old oaks on the school’s Watts Lawn to receive their diplomas. And while the guests watched from the abundant shade of the trees, the graduates sat illuminated in a cove of warm spring sunlight.
Anushka Pramanik, who came to NCSSM from Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte, delivered the student address. She spoke of the anxiety that she and others felt when taking on tasks that challenged them, and how that anxiety provided the energy needed to push past self-imposed limits.
“Behind every fear is an opportunity to grow, and that growth happens best when we’re not alone. Fear dared us to try, and in trying, we didn’t just make memories, we found pieces of ourselves. And in each other, we found something even more lasting: a community.
“Who are we now, and who do we hope to become? These questions will continue to follow us. But I know that whatever fears we face next, we now have a blueprint for turning them into stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks.”
Erin Locklear ’93 delivered the keynote address in Durham. The Senior Vice President and General Counsel of RDU International Airport returned to her NCSSM community to share wisdom gained from her close-knit family while growing up in Robeson County.
“The advice that I think about most is from my grandfather . . .When I, or anyone in our family, talked to my Grandaddy, he would always end the conversation by saying ‘Be particular.’
If you all are ‘being particular,’ you will be successful in any challenges you encounter as you leave this campus and create your own paths.”
In her closing, Locklear implored graduates to maintain the close relationships they had established. “The good things you’ve experienced and the people you’ve encountered here at NCSSM are never far away,” she said. “Your friends and classmates and the lessons you’ve learned on your walk through NCSSM are accessible any time, in your memories, in a text message, a call or a visit. [These] connections . . .will be important as you move through the next steps of your life.”
Chancellor Todd Roberts sent all the graduates out into the world with an exhortation of his own:
“I hope that you will make the most of your experiences.” he told them. “I hope that each of you will explore not only with an eye for what is ahead, but with curiosity for the many possibilities right before you.”
Here are selections of photographs from the Morganton and Durham commencement ceremonies.
