Skip to main content
 
A collage of faculty members featured in the advice for seniors story.
Clockwise from top left: Anna Krome-Lukens, Bland Simpson, Ronit Freeman, Jennifer Gates-Foster, Marc Cohen, Matt Andrews, Bob Goldstein and Bernard Bell.

Learn to embrace failure, practice integrity, maintain a sense of curiosity and follow your passions, share College of Arts and Sciences faculty members.

As UNC-Chapel Hill celebrates Spring ’24 Commencement on May 11, we asked faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences to share parting words for our graduating seniors and advice for navigating life beyond Carolina. We celebrate our graduates’ many accomplishments and wish them well on this next chapter in their lives.

“The best teacher I’ve ever had is Failure. Samuel Beckett said it best: ‘Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.’”

  • Marc Cohen, teaching associate professor of English and comparative literature

“When you start your new life or job or anything, remember the one motto that is the motto of the Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship: People won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Because no matter how educated, how rich or how cool you believe you are, how you treat people ultimately tells all. Integrity is everything.”

  • Bernard Bell, executive director of the Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship and professor of the practice, economics

“Be a citizen of the world around you, in whatever way you can. Throughout your life, put yourself in spaces and places and among people who challenge you and remind you that the world is wide, deep and never simple. While you were in college, this (hopefully) happened often and without effort, but as you leave the University, you’ll find that the unforgiving rhythms of life and work require effort and courage to maintain that sense of curiosity, to seek out new ideas and experiences, and to appreciate what is old, strange or confusing. Make being challenged to think and to respond to the world a part of your lifelong intellectual diet. Never be afraid to engage, and to be deeply and bravely human.”

  • Jennifer Gates-Foster, associate professor of classics and archaeology

“I believe it more and more as I get older: You have something to learn from everyone you meet.”

  • Bob Goldstein, professor of biology and art and art history

“Congratulations on graduating! I want to say something to those of you who are finishing at UNC and have no idea what you want to do with your life. That’s OK. UNC was just the start of your journey. I have a great group of successful friends, all in love with their jobs, and none of us knew what we wanted to do when we finished university. Keep your eyes open, avoid inertia and do not be afraid to take chances and follow your passion and interests — no matter how unconventional you might think they are. It may take time, but that is OK!”

  • Matt Andrews, teaching associate professor of history

“We wish you all great good fortune, wherever your paths lead you. And we hope you will always regard and help with the care and protection of the waters wherever you live — for the health of the water is the very same as the health of the people.”

  • Bland Simpson, Kenan Distinguished Professor of English and Creative Writing

“There are multiple routes for success. The most important thing is to have the courage to ask questions [about] things you do not understand and branch out of a textbook or a simple internet search to find answers. Connect your work with a real passion and learn from inevitable failures rather than becoming derailed. Constantly ask yourself what, why, when and how you can make the change you want to see in the world — and don’t be afraid to take the road less traveled.”

  • Ronit Freeman, associate professor of applied physical sciences

“Figure out what you value most in life. Maybe it’s community, family, faith, justice, creativity, service or something else. Whatever it is, make your life decisions based on your values, not on external rewards.

“And finally, every time you fill a glass of water (which, of course, you should be doing multiple times a day!), use the time to think about what you’re grateful for.”

  • Anna Krome-Lukens, teaching associate professor of public policy

Stay tuned to the College website for profiles on our graduating students.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments are closed.