Class of 2023 Welcomed to Alumni Association at Graduation Luncheon

The Class of 2023 gathered one last time before graduation for a luncheon with faculty and their families on Friday, June 2, at the High Point Country Club. The graduation luncheon is a special time of celebration in which the senior class receives gifts and shares personal salutes.

The class was welcomed formally into the Westchester Alumni Association by Lauren Ingold, assistant director of development and alumni affairs.

"You are joining an impressive and distinguished legacy of Westchester graduates from 51 years of senior classes before you," said Ingold. "Our Westchester alumni are more than 1,250 in number and live throughout North Carolina, across the United States and around the world. They are pursuing careers and interests and serving their communities in many impressive ways, and we cannot wait to see what you will contribute as you continue in your next steps."

The alumni speaker for this year's luncheon was Laura Folk '16, currently a student in the Doctor of Dental Medicine program at East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine. Before attending dental school, she completed her undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in biology and minors in chemistry and neuroscience.

The following is a excerpt from the speech she shared with the graduating class.

I hope to spend some time today reflecting on my experiences at Westchester and in dental school to give you some encouragement for tackling your next major chapter in life.

Firstly, I want to reflect on the importance of a smile. As a dental student, I work to preserve or restore people’s smiles. I want you to think about the smiling faces you have seen over the past few years at Westchester. If you are a lifer, you may remember seeing the smiling face of Mrs. Horney as she addressed you as “friend.” Perhaps you may also recall Mrs. Atkinson’s smile as she celebrated an important college admittance or decision with you. Tomorrow, you will see Mr. Atkinson and the trustees' smiles as they express immense joy as you walk across the stage.

My first piece of advice is to readily spread your smile and find ways to give others a reason to smile. Look out for lonely people wherever you end up and do your best to be welcoming. Of course, try and find your crowd, but also challenge yourself to get to know people vastly different from you. You may find you can connect very deeply and learn so much from someone who grew up with an entirely different background than yourself.  

The second important life lesson I have learned is that you must learn to be comfortable with failure. In your time at Westchester, you have been given a space to shine, develop, and experiment in areas you may have never ventured in before. In college or in life in general, you likely won’t be granted the same safe cushion to fall upon while you try new things. Failure is likely not in any of your vocabularies, but I can assure you it will integrate itself at some point as you learn to navigate life largely independently for the first time. Failure is not all bad, though. Without failure, you will limit your ability to grow. I have personally learned immensely more from every failure I have experienced than I have learned from doing something right the first time. The key is tenacity, having the mental fortitude to fight self-doubt and correct your course.

At Westchester, you have formed meaningful connections with faculty and staff and worked with them to get you to be the best you can be. Don’t let this skill of connecting with instructors, professors, or bosses go to waste. Be quick to ask for help and intervene on your own behalf early. You will gain so much by connecting with your teachers and mentors, and new or clearer paths become apparent oftentimes from these connections.

Finally, and what I believe to be most important, enjoy the process of “becoming” instead of focusing on what you will become. Your major aspirations, career goals, or passion projects are very important, but they will not be what makes living each day worthwhile. Instead, I promise you will find the most meaning in life in the lives you touch and those who will touch your life in a profound way. I am nearly a full-fledged dentist, but my joy is not in what I have accomplished, but instead in how I have gotten here and those who I have been surrounded by along the way. While the outcomes of a filling or a set of dentures are rewarding to see, connecting with the people I get the privilege of caring for, learning from them, and sharing in their joys and sorrows is by far the most important reason I practice dentistry. The same can apply to any career or any life you build.

Life is not meant for chasing sparks and merely following passions. The moments you will remember are those you spend with your friends in deep conversation. The late-night conversations you will have after a long week of studying or hard work. The times you are able to help someone feel loved by bringing them a cupcake on their birthday. Accolades and accomplishments are wonderful. A+’s on tests and delivering the best presentation in a class will never cease to make you feel good. But know that connecting with people, readily using the words “love” and “friend,” and allowing yourself to learn, grow, and change because of these connections will prove to be much more rewarding. Cherish the people around you and the moments you are granted with them.

To close, I ask that you take a moment to reflect on some of the sweet memories you share with your peers. These people have shaped your life over the past several years and you will carry many memories and lessons learned forward with you. Again, congratulations Class of 2023! I challenge you now to go forth, smiling, as you face your next big chapter. You may stumble, but if you work to establish relationships, you will have people along the way that will care for you and help you through each and every trial life throws your way.