No amount of words can effectively summarize what Mercy Academy means to the class of 2019. The amount of gratitude that I am experiencing is boundless. Mercy and its community has shaped the woman that not only I, but every single member of this class, has become throughout this journey.

I believe that I can speak for a majority when I say that I am enveloped in a whirlwind of emotions. If someone would have told us four years ago that we would feel empowered and capable enough to tackle the challenges we have faced, I’m quite sure we would have called them insane. Thanks to the caring Mercy community, we can proudly say this today. Yet, proud does not even begin to express how incredibly honored I am to be surrounded by such hardworking women.

Each member of this class has worked relentlessly to reach graduation. This is it. We have survived, we have surpassed, and we have succeeded in completing these four years.

Since the moment we entered JagLife, we were told we would always be sisters. Although it may be hard to see right now, that does not change. We are family. Families can drift apart, shift and gain new members, but they always find their way back home. Now, more than ever, we need one another. From here, we move onward into the world. The future is uncharted. It is undiscovered, unfamiliar, unknown, but also unlimited. I know with the sisterhood that we have created, all 142 amazing women in this class, are going to make Mercy real all across the world.

Our guardians and the Mercy community work tirelessly every day to help us attend this incredible institution. We can never repay them for the sacrifices they endured, but for the class of 2019, it is time to prove that both their sacrifices and struggles and ours were worth it.

The world we are about to explore is a rough one. I’m not going to say there will not be moments when each of us will want to give in. The world we reside in today is a beautiful mess. We are bombarded with images and guidelines of who we should become.

Yet, thanks to Mercy Academy, we have been given the tools. We have been blessed enough to learn to pinpoint the wrongs in our society, and now it is time to take those wrongs and make them right.

All it takes is a kind word, a simple action to start the chain of progress that is desperately needed in this country. What we need in this world is kind, caring people. What we need in this world are strong women, just like each of us, willing to spark the change.

Lastly, what we need most, and what each of us are going to bring into this world, is mercy.