It was one of those moments that sneaks up on you, even though you have twenty-two years to prepare for it. Once the train approaches the station, you draw a mingled breath of bittersweet relief and suffocating pride. As the mortar boards come into view, the guests rise as a gesture of admiration and respect. When the music commences, you blink and ask a surreal question that offers a silent but obvious answer:  Where did the last twenty-two years go? You swallow hard and try to recall that what unfolds before you is not about you. But still, there you are, suffering under the weight of joy and angst.

As you enter the campus of Berry College, you immediately pass through twin brick and mortar gates located on either side of the roadway.  Etched below the words “Berry College” is the phrase “Gate of Opportunity.” The statement underscores the spirit of untested potential rather than an architectural pronouncement, since there is no discernable barrier at this interchange. As you move beyond the Gate of Opportunity, one encounters an actual guardhouse with an active crossing arm. Without the proper credentials, you’re not allowed to enter the campus.  Strangely, there is no crossing arm on the opposite, outbound side of the guardhouse.  The irony is palpable.

Sydney’s college resume is impressive by any standard, even if one discounts the source of this assessment. While completing a double-major in Visual Communications and Theatre, she worked a number of campus jobs and held numerous positions.  Sydney served as News Producer, Arts and Culture Producer, and Executive Director of Viking Fusion, Berry’s student-run media website.  She also compiled a vast production portfolio as director, producer and scriptwriter.  In addition to all this, Sydney also served as Assistant Features Editor for the Campus Carrier, Berry’s student-run newspaper. Perhaps her crowning achievement came when Sydney was awarded the “Ned Peterson Outstanding Communication Student” award, a fitting acknowledgement of her extraordinary leadership while attending Berry College.

Sydney’s graduation reflects a disparate sentiment from her first visit during spring break of her senior year in high school.  After spending the day touring the campus and meeting with a few faculty members, her reaction was tepid at best.  In time, a disinterested heart gave way to outright pride and passion for what she soon referred to as “home.” In many ways, Berry College offered the perfect home for Sydney. She acquired a world-class education, made life-long friends, earned the respect of her professors, and leaned aggressively into every available opportunity.  And all of this while living on the world’s largest college campus.

Sydney now passes through the outbound, unobstructed pathway to life after college. Having mastered the world in which she’s lived the last four years, Sydney’s gate opens to the potential of all that lies before a twenty-two year old college graduate. For her, the gate is open, the road is clear and glistening with unexplored possibilities. The Gate of Opportunity that extended a greeting upon her first visit to Berry in 2009 now offers a warm and memory-filled salute to all that lies ahead. We are all proud to stand in respect of what she’s achieved, but more so in honor of who she’s become.