President, Vassar Student Association Remarks

Sunday, May 25, 2025
by Emily Doucet ’25, Vassar Student Association President

Hello everyone! Welcome family, friends, loved ones, faculty, administrators and of course the ever-vigilant class of 2025. I promised myself I wouldn’t get sentimental immediately, but staring at this sea of black robes, colorful stoles and smiling faces, I can’t help but feel incredibly proud and humbled by the best graduating class Vassar has ever seen—not biased at all.

To those of you who don’t already know me, my name is Emily and I have never been more honored to stand in front of you one last time as your VSA President. None of this feels real yet, and I hope by the time I’m through I’ll feel more comfortable accepting that time has passed and we’re about to step out into this newfangled “real world” I keep hearing so much about. In preparation for today, I thought a lot about what note I wanted to hit with you all, and how I wanted to package that message. Do I talk about how our liberal arts education has equipped us with invaluable skills that have prepared us for that big scary world out there? Do I talk about how today is “only the beginning” of the rest of our lives? Maybe I hit a note about how much I’ve grown over the past four years, and that there are so many people that I have to thank for that.

None of those messages felt right. Too impersonal, too cliche, too focused on this so-called “real world” everyone has been scrambling to prepare us for. I wanted my message to be salient, I wanted it to be a celebration of all of us, and the amazing accomplishments we’ve made. In this process I realized something important: I’m just one person in our enormous class who has had one unique experience at Vassar. My story is not the same as yours, so how could I tap into all of your minds when you’re so incredibly unique?

In true VSA fashion I leapt to my email and sent out a Google form asking students to tell me about their favorite memories this year and how they feel like this year has been different for them. I received a small handful of responses, and every single one of them was so different and highlighted an aspect of Vassar College I hadn’t personally experienced. Students wrote about their love for their a cappella groups, sledding down Sunset with friends, the sense of community they had with the frisbee teams and winning NSO trivia night for the first and final time. These memories, while all different, shared one common trend: They were all about connection. Not grades, not internships, not résumés and job applications—but connection. To people, to places, to little moments that made Vassar feel like home. Over the past several weeks I’ve delighted in these connections, and I put myself in environments where I had previously been absent from in order to observe and further share in celebrations of our vibrant Vassar Community before I leave it.

I attended thesis presentations, final comedy group shows, senior recitals, capstone projects, and even had my own celebrations pertaining to my accomplishments. Whether it was the final HEL Sketch Comedy Show, a marimba recital, or Rugby bean wrestling, there was so much support and love outpouring from Vassar students. I saw students give beautiful speeches to their friends who would be graduating, I saw people pass on legacies to underclassmen, I saw people openly weep at how much love and support they received. We are all different here at Vassar, sure, but the one thing that unites us is our love for each other. This year more than any other year I’ve been at Vassar, I have been able to share with people that were proud of me, but more importantly I was able to be proud of my friends too.

My friends are awesome! They wrote amazing theses, produced phenomenal recitals, competed valiantly in sports, broke records, gave the most beautiful solos in a cappella performances, acted in some of the best plays and musicals I’ve ever seen, and danced inspirationally at their final shows. And to those who feel like they didn’t accomplish something like a big thesis or winning an award—you’ve impacted Vassar just as much, in my book. Your laughter in the Deece mattered. Your late-night walks with a friend who needed someone mattered. The quiet ways you showed up—for your roommates, your orgs, your classmates—mattered. There is no metric, no résumé line, that can quantify the kind of community we’ve built here together. There is nothing that can encapsulate the people you have impacted, and the core memories you have created for the people who love you and are proud of the person you have become.

Vassar isn’t just about achievement—it’s about this care and this love. Every single one of you made this place warmer, richer, and more alive in some way, shape or form. So even if you leave here today unsure of what you’ve “done,” remember what you’ve given.

As we step forward—nervous, hopeful, and maybe just a little bit undercaffeinated—let’s take that spirit with us. We know how to ask good questions, to challenge with compassion, and to show up for one another—even in the smallest ways.

So, Class of 2025, wherever you go next, don’t forget that the strength we found here wasn’t just in our minds—it was in our hearts. We built something together. We were part of something real. And if we carry even a fraction of us into the so-called “real world”…I think we’ll be okay.

Thank you for everything. Congratulations Class of 2025—and I love you all so much.