Brandon Carroll
 
Good morning Hokies! We’re here today to celebrate Family Day. According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary, a family is commonly defined as a group of individuals under one roof; a group of persons of common ancestry; or a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation.

Today, we are in the presence of the Hokie Nation, but on a micro scale, we really are all members of this intimate Hokie Family.... 

Looking back on that definition, we are a group of people united by certain convictions and we are commonly affiliated by sharing the same values that you see written on the pylons and for some reason when we open up our closets, the two colors we always go for are orange and maroon.We come into the world dependent on others to take care of us. Our parents, our guardians. They nuture us through our early years. And then, we cannot wait to become teenagers. Because, we get to become independent.  Now, how many you have teenagers at home? You know, they are too old to do what kids do, too young to do what adults do, so they do what no one else would do…. to assert their independence. But we, in the Hokie Family, know that nobody can do it alone. We need each other. So, we’ve reached a level of interdependence. In fact, we all implicitly signed a declaration of interdependence.   Our family believes strongly in our motto, Ut Prosim, which means “That I May Serve.” Our family goes above and beyond the call of duty for the welfare of others.  Our family is only sure of a passage through this world once. If there be any kindness they can show, any good they can do, any help they can give, they will do it now: for they will not pass this way again. 
Simply put, our family actively cares.

Our family really knows how much of a roller-coaster ride their students’ college experience isRecently, I met Greer from Richmond, VA, and she is a freshman majoring in Political Science. I asked her what her experience at Virginia Tech has been like so far. She said, “you know Brandon, I can’t really draw one specific experience, just because I’ve had so many great memories. But, I can tell you this: it’s not always easy, no matter how confident you are….you are going to have to depend on someone….someone is eventually going to have to help you.”You see, college is about the struggle that turns into success. The hardships that turn into those valuable learning experiences. Simply put, college is a journey that we all share, not a destination. I will never forget my freshman year, at 3am, when I just remembered I had a physical geology exam the next day. In the midst of a typical student breakdown, I decided to call my mom. It rung once, rung twice, and halfway through the next ring, it went straight to voicemail. Now, we all know when that happens, it means she just pushed ignore button on her cell phone.  So, I tried again. Half asleep, she wakes up and says, “what now?” Speaking way too fast, I explain to her everything in probably around 10 seconds. But you know, she reassured me that really everything was going to be okay. She reassured me that she was there. And you know, that really was all I needed. I needed to know that I had that support, a backbone really, when my day was not going all that well.Now in my senior year, I can say that the Hokie Family has become a part of my backbone, my support system. You see, that’s what the Hokie Family is all about. That is what each and every one of you does for the students at Virginia Tech. So, I just want to say Thanks. Thank you for being so supportive of your student. Thank you for helping us grow as people and allowing us to reach for the sky. Most importantly, thank you always being there. The family.  We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain yet kissing to heal it in the same instant, living, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. We have learned to be interdependent. We have learned that we need each other. We have gotten passed that state of independence.  Looking around the room here today, I think we have found that common thread. 
 


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