With graduation looming, every day that passes heightens my anticipation. Though I freely admit the lure of the stage and graduation ceremony, are not what I am most anticipating. Instead I cannot wait to go out, and practice what I have learned in my time at UW-Madison.
When I say this I do not think of regurgitating the facts I have memorized over the years. I think more of the ideas and the very high levels on which I was asked to process information. I want to put into action the critical thinking skills that I have acquired while studying at UW-Madison. I think of the moments in the classroom when a professor has asked a question so deep and contrary to all that I had previously known, that to think about the answer meant altering my perspective of the world around me.
I am so thankful for those professors and peers who have instilled in me this drive, this need to see connections between all aspects of life here on this spinning globe. From Soil Science to Spanish, from UW-Madison to Valdivia, Chile, my life has blossomed with questions. I hope in turn to unleash these queries to the world, and continue pushing across the barriers to build more bridges between academic disciplines. I look for opportunities to help form a more integrated view of the world. I think not of the questions that have been answered, but all the questions that remain unanswered, or have emerged from the thoughtful provocation of several well placed questions and readings.
I am on the edge of my seat waiting for my name to be called on May 19th, but the most exciting part is what comes after.