VSA Remarks

By Prashit Parikh ’21, President, Vassar Student Association

Thank you so much, Dean Alamo. Good afternoon class of 2021, and welcome. My name is Prashit Parikh and I’m going to be serving as the Vassar Student Association President for this upcoming 2020/2021 school year.

First and foremost, I would like to welcome you to the beginning of our senior year. While this time is definitely not what many of us anticipated, I’m certain that we will still be able to make memories that will last us a lifetime.

I’d like you to close your eyes and think about the first time you actually stepped on Vassar’s campus. What was the weather like? Who were you with? How were you feeling? Did you even know what a womp-womp was? It’s likely that all of these images and feelings will resurface as we begin Commencement just a few months from now.

As for this year, we’ll be wrapping up what has been an exciting four years as a Vassar student. This includes sitting in the Chapel during orientation week, eating too many pancakes in Joss at midnight before the start of finals, and engaging with the community which has shaped each one of us very differently.

Looking forward, we will be searching for jobs at some of the top companies in the world, applying to graduate programs, and figuring out what life after Vassar will look like. All the while we will be managing senior seminars, theses, and saying goodbye to a place we’ve called home for so long.

I’d like to share with you something I’ve heard multiple times throughout my time here at Vassar. This is the phrase, human student leader. Through our time together on campus, we have undoubtedly learned to be better humans. Vassar’s a place where diversity shines, and at the center of this is community. From comforting your peers in your room during times of difficulty to wearing a mask when it’s a pandemic, we have put we before me, time and time again. We’ve also learned to be better students. As you know, Vassar’s curriculum is definitely no joke. It takes immense dedication, hard work, and perseverance in order to succeed at an institution which challenges its students, the way Vassar College does.

Finally, Vassar has shaped us into leaders, whether it be on house team, through student organizations, competing, performing, or in the classroom, we have all attained new leadership qualities which will help us undoubtedly in the future. Given that we are currently in the middle of a pandemic, it is no question that we will need leaders to positively impact the world moving forward. I’m certain that Vassar’s class of 2021—us—will help with that change moving forward.

Speaking of change, this year’s ceremonies and celebrations will likely be different from years past. The VSA is currently working very hard to provide programming in a safe manner through which we will still be able to commemorate how hard we have worked and to get to this very moment. Additionally, we have an extremely apt senior class council who I’m certain will be able to navigate this unprecedented time and alter the traditional definition of senior activities in the best way possible.

Ultimately, I’m excited to experience what this year has in store. Just think of the stories we’ll be able to share in Reunion and with our friends and families about having class outside, sitting on North Circle during lunch, and even attending classes online. One thing that’s for sure is that we will need to learn and adapt as we move forward in this new setting. On that note, I would like to leave you with a quote by Angela Davis, which I believe clearly exemplifies the Vassar community.

Davis said, “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change, I’m changing the things I cannot accept.” As you wrap up this year and enter the next phase of your lives, keep this sentiment in mind and continue to push the boundaries you can no longer accept. With this, I wish you the best of luck and hope for an amazing end to our journey here at Vassar College. Thank you.