I am excited to announce that I have completed my Master’s degree in Communication Studies at Sacramento State. I had the honor of being chosen by my classmates and peers as the Student Speaker for our ceremony. I want to thank my program for this wonderful opportunity, and it truly meant a lot to me to help close this chapter of our lives. Below is the speech I read aloud to the class of 2026:
When I was thinking about what I wanted to speak about today, I was uncertain. And so, I decided I wanted to talk about uncertainty. Uncertainty is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as a situation in which something is not known. And by a raise of hands, how many of you were uncertain about wanting to get a master’s degree?
So, it seems that we are all very familiar with uncertainty. I know for my peers and myself, when we faced uncertainty, we had GroupMe, the Grad Doc, and a prayer. Uncertainty for us included library study groups until closing, CGSA mental health check-ins, and getting on 3 AM Zoom calls just trying to figure out SPSS. And usually less than 6 hours of sleep a night while trying to not fall asleep during one of our 3-hour courses.
This master’s degree meant our families and friends were also uncertain if we’d be able to make it back home to visit, or make it to the family BBQ’s, birthdays, holidays, and so much more. Our journey in this program meant we sometimes had to miss moments to catch our dreams. This sometimes meant being misunderstood by our communities and everything it took for us to achieve this degree. We often had to sacrifice time with the people we love to succeed in this program.
I can tell you this graduating class knows uncertainty.
Many of us did not know we would be here today, but we know exactly what we had to do to get here. It’s not an easy thing. We have a saying in this program that the ones in it are the ones who get it. We understand what it took, what we sacrificed, and what we lost, but also what we gained to be here. If getting a master’s degree was easy, everyone would have one.
And despite everything that has been thrown our way, we have made it to this day, once just a task on our canvas modules.
Now that we have made it to the end of our master’s journey, the future may look different from what we expected. And I’d say the world feels uncertain right now.
In a time of uncertainty, where those in power hold the reins to what our future as academics, scholars, families, and people will look like, it is hard to be certain what comes next. In a time of uncertainty, where people are losing their lives, families, and homes to oppression, abuse, genocide, and war, it is hard to be certain that there is hope. You can turn on the TV, and every channel displays some unique kind of uncertainty.
But even in all this uncertainty, there is one thing I am certain of. One thing I have hope in:
And that is all of you.
I am certain that the scholars in this room will change the world, will change people’s hearts, and transform people’s lives. I am certain that the graduates in this room will never back down from a fight. Will never give in to tyranny, violence, or opposition. I am certain that the graduates in this room will never leave a room not changed by their joy, their communication, and their dreams. We have done hard things, and this world is filled with them, so it is our responsibility to help bring certainty and hope.
And I hope we will remember what we learned here, not only from the curriculum, but from each other.
We watched our peers tackle a full-time course load with a full-time job, a week of classes while raising a family, defending pre-proposals, a prospectus, and a thesis while caring for a sick loved one, raising a newborn, or while planning a funeral.
We have seen each other show up time and time again, with hope. Even in the uncertain parts of our lives, we showed up. For our dreams, our families, our ancestors, and for every person who might come after us. In all the uncertainty of this world and this life, I never saw any of my peers surrender to it or give up hope. I saw them fight to get here, and now here we celebrate our triumph.
I want to remind you all, as my mama always told me, education is the one thing that can never be taken from us. Be certain that nothing you have accomplished here can be taken away, not by this world, not by academia, not by politicians, and certainly not by hate. You own this because you did this! So many of us are the first in our families to earn a master’s degree. Some of us are the 1st people to sit in classrooms that look like us. Some of us come from communities where we are the first to do many hard things.
I have been so privileged to learn beside every single one of you from qualitative researchers to quantitative researchers to rhetoricians, it didn’t matter what we were studying or our area of focus, we are all connected by this unifying love for humanity and education. I want to thank you all for your work here in this program and the work that comes after this day. It has been a great honor to learn and grow beside each and every one of you.
So, my hope is that as you sit here today, and wherever you go, I pray that you will not forget what you have learned. I pray that you won’t forget how important you are not only to the discussions in academia but also to the lives we live at home, at dinner tables, in our communities, our churches, our city halls, our workplaces, and even online. I hope you remember that you can do hard things.
And I pray our families and friends can forgive us for all the time this took and all the nos we had to give (lol)
I am certain that these graduates will leave the world better than the one we were born into. Leave our families better, our communities better, and our souls better. We have had the privilege to study connection, communication, and how humans tell stories. I hope we use what we have learned to heal and build connections in this uncertain world, and that when you move on to your next chapter, you can be certain in yourself in all things.
Thank you.
Kenya Burton Poetry 