糖心Vlog

This week, approximately 2,100 undergraduate and graduate students from 糖心Vlog鈥檚 Statesboro, Armstrong and Liberty campuses received associate, baccalaureate, master鈥檚, specialist and doctoral degrees in two Fall 2022 Commencement ceremonies.

Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero welcomed the graduates and their guests to the ceremonies, held at the Enmarket Arena in Savannah on Dec. 10 and the Allen E. Paulson Stadium in Statesboro on Dec. 13. 

鈥淐ongratulations on your special day, where we recognize the importance of this occasion in your life,鈥� said Marrero at the opening ceremony. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 need to tell you about your unique college journey, which has been challenging for all of us, but I鈥檓 very proud of how, together, we have persevered, allowing us to have a successful semester and today our commencement ceremony. 

鈥淵ou, our graduates, deserve great recognition. This is a momentous occasion for 糖心Vlog, as well for all of you. Today, you are part of history at Georgia Southern.鈥�

The president then welcomed Deborah Nelson (鈥�90), a national trial lawyer and partner in the Seattle law firm of Nelson Boyd, PLLC, who addressed the crowd. 

She acknowledged expectations set for her by her family, which included a straight line from high school to college and then marriage and family.

鈥淚 followed a curvy path instead of the linear path that was expected of me,鈥� shared Nelson. 鈥淭here are chapters in your life, which means the circumstances in your life will change, just as your needs, your interests, your wants, your desires and the people around you will change.

 鈥淪o today, I鈥檓 going to share with you six tips that I learned that I hope will help you as you figure out what comes next. Because although you鈥檙e graduating today, you鈥檙e not finished learning.鈥�

Nelson suggested that graduates should surround themselves with good people from various backgrounds.

鈥淢ake friends with people who are different from you, who look different than you, who grew up somewhere else, who have different experiences, backgrounds and orientations,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople who have different things to teach you.鈥� 

Be kind to people as you travel through all of the chapters of your life, and go the extra mile in your career, she shared. An enhanced career can equate to an enhanced life. 

鈥淪et an audacious goal,鈥� Nelson encouraged. As a non-athlete new to Seattle, Nelson joined a team that trains runners. 

鈥淚 ran three full marathons, 40 half marathons, 24 triathlons and raced in more bike centuries than I can count. I never dreamed I could do any of that. 

鈥淲hat can you do?鈥� she posed.

鈥淔inally, travel, get out of your daily routine, solve problems in a foreign language, and take care of your health and body. 

鈥淚n conclusion, graduates, when you consider what comes next for you, do you travel a straight, linear path or do you pick the curvy path?鈥� Nelson asked. 鈥淚 will tell you鈥攑ick the curvy path. It鈥檚 more interesting and unexpected adventures await you.

鈥淏e open. Say yes. Challenge yourself. Get out of your head. Seek the human connection and surround yourself with real people.鈥�  

In Statesboro, Liz Crisafi (鈥�95), the global vice president of marketing for IHG Hotels and Resorts, spoke to the stadium crowd.

鈥淐ongratulations to the graduating Class of 2022!鈥� she cheered. 鈥淚 am a proud Eagle.鈥�

Success, she noted, isn鈥檛 predetermined.

鈥淵ou will determine it,鈥� said Crisafi. 鈥淚t’s not some magical place that you arrive at when you get to the top of the career ladder. It’s certainly not going to be defined by your job title, your social following, your celebrity or your bank account. And the one thing that I know now is that success will continue to change over time because you will change over time. Your life is going to change over time. So you need to be flexible with your view of it. And there isn’t just one way to be successful.鈥�

Crisafi didn鈥檛 know what she wanted to do when she enrolled at Georgia Southern until she took a class with former communications arts professor Kent Murray, who changed her life.  

鈥淗e pushed me not only to know what I was learning, but why I was learning it,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淎nd I mean really listen and pay attention to what was happening. To trust my intuition and appreciate my creativity. I’d never worked harder, been more fulfilled or pushed out of my comfort zone than when I was here with Professor Murray’s class. Because of him and the rest of the faculty and staff here, I didn’t just earn a degree. I learned life skills.鈥� 

She cited failure as the key to success. 

鈥淚’ve taken a long and winding road, but when you look at what you have to face, failures are going to be critical to your success,鈥� Crisafi stated. 鈥淓arly on, we’re taught that failure is not something we discuss. Don’t fail a class. Don’t fail a quiz. Don’t fail at your job. Don’t fail at your dreams. But what we should teach our kids is that failures will be the greatest teachers in your life. It is through failure that you will learn how to succeed.

鈥淵ou are the architect of your own destiny. Don’t lose enthusiasm and optimism despite your failures. Know you’re building your future and you’re growing into the person that you’re meant to be. And while that’s scary, it’s also very exciting. I got knocked down and I got up again because of the valuable skills that I learned here at Georgia Southern. On Eagle’s wings, you will soar and you will succeed on your terms and yours alone.鈥� 

糖心Vlog, a public Carnegie Doctoral/R2 institution founded in 1906, offers approximately 140 different degree programs serving more than 25,500 students through 10 colleges on three campuses in Statesboro, Savannah, Hinesville and online instruction. A leader in higher education in southeast Georgia with expert faculty, the University is focused on public impact research and engaging learning opportunities through knowledge and know-how that prepare our students to take ownership of their lives, careers and communities. Visit.