This past weekend was my first time celebrating Charter Day here at the College of William and Mary. I thought it would be just another opportunity for the College to fundraise, with a few extra AMP events on the side — but it ended up being much more. Sitting in Kaplan Arena during the Charter Day ceremony I truly felt Tribe Pride.
At William and Mary we have great sports teams and intense spirit, but one additional source of pride is our history and continuity. Going to this school, I feel like I am contributing to something bigger, an institution that I know will flourish for 323 years to come, as it has for the 323 years behind it. And when I hear about all the great things that alumni and current students have done, I am inspired by the thought that 40 years from now I can come back for Charter Day festivities and serve as an example for future students, helping to make them just as proud of this school we call home.
I am inspired by the thought that 40 years from now I can come back for Charter Day festivities and serve as an example for future students, helping to make them just as proud of this school we call home.
I think it is important we keep celebrating Charter Day for years to come, because it simultaneously reminds us of how big and small we are. We are one of tens of thousands of students who will pass through this institution over the years, yet our individual impact on the College is still so powerful.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that every single student who studies here — whether it be the past, present or future — should be proud that they made this institution better in their own way. Every single one of us has brought something unique to the school. Not just the physical tracks we leave behind, like footprints in the Lake Matoaka woods, research hanging on the wall of the Integrated Science Center and bathroom graffiti in the stalls of Morton Hall, but the spirit and knowledge we added to the College community. You can’t see this kind of mark, but it is there, and every student should be proud of the mark they leave. We will never just be a name in a file showing we graduated, but a force that contributed to the betterment of the school.
So to all the current students out there, keep doing you. To all the alumni, thank you.
Email Mia Chand at miarchand@gmail.com.
