Brandon Carroll
 
This speech is given to all the potential Hokies!

Hokie Focus Speech

Good Morning!

Life is about being the best that you can possibly be. Let me say that again. Life…is about being….the best…you can possibly be.

Martin Luther King once said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michael Angelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare composed poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper, who did his job well.”

Virginia Tech is about…being…the best you can possibly be.

My name is Brandon Carroll and I am the SGA President. It’s funny…because people say to me…wow you are the Student Government Assocaition President. I always respond, “no..I wouldn’t say it like that. My passion is to empower people. I desire to impact as many people as possible. Being the Student Body President is the vehicle, not the outcome; it allows me to impact others.” There is a big difference

Our central focus is the student voice, the collective voice. We aim to amplify it, and we strive to substantiate it.

What I have learned in my time as SGA President is simple: find your passion and follow your passion. You are all faced with an amazing opportunity. A choice that will forever shape your life.

When I first came here to Virginia Tech, I thought everything was about independence. At the time, I was an 18 year old teenager, I was too young to do what adults do, too old to do what kids do….so I did what nobody else would do….to assert my independence. That was my paradigm, my mindset, when I first came to Virginia Tech.

Boy was I wrong. If you decide to come to this University, you are going to learn that it’s about interdependence and not independence. Through interdependence, we get synergy, which means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  If you really want to be the best you can be, you have to work within a system that gives you synergy.

You see, being a Hokie is not a mercenary relationship. It is not a business proposition. It is not an exchange of goods and services for money. It is a shared bond, a love that comes from somewhere we don't understand and can't explain to others. We do not take from this university; it gives to us. Perhaps when we first arrive on its campus, we have our own selfish interests in mind, but by the time we leave, we are transformed. We are Hokies. 

If you do decide to join the Hokie family, Come here not only to live (pause) but to thrive. I stand here today, looking into a room of limitless opportunity; (pause) however your time is limited.  The problem with opportunity is that it can’t do a thing for you unless you make it.

I started the speech by saying: Life is about being the best you can possibly be. Now, I want to ask some of you what you want to be the best in. Before this speech, I met some students who I asked to speak up during this section. Brain from Boulder, Colorado what do you want to be the best in? (I want to get the best grades)….

 ….Academics. Hmm…..When I think of Virginia Tech, I think of a land of opportunity. A place of higher learning that truly invents the future. If you want it, we have it. If you want the opportunity to learn from world-class faculty, to collaborate with some of the brightest students in the world, and to take risks and expand your boundaries, then Shane, Virginia Tech is the right place for you.

Kelly from Burke, VA – what do you want to the best in? I want to be the best friend I can be and help others. When I think of Virginia Tech, I think of an actively caring community, where people go above the call of duty to help others. We are not an independent community; like I said earlier….rather we are interdependent. You see, we need each other and we show we care about one another. We as Hokies put more into relationships than we receive, and we embrace that concept.

Pantak -  What do you want to be the best in? I want to join the Corps of Cadets and serve our Country and be the best solider I can be. First, let me just say thank you for your commitment to protect our freedoms. Let’s give Pantak a round of applause….thank you for your service and protecting our freedoms. Well, Pantak….as you know...our motto…our foundation is this idea of Ut Prosim, which means that I may serve. It is one of the pillars that hold our University strong. At Virginia Tech, we value servant leadership.


As I mentioned earlier, my experience leading Virginia Tech as SGA President pointed me to: find my passion and follow my passion. My passion is to empower and impact others. I want to show you I care about your huge decision coming up. My e-mail is brandoncarroll@vt.edu. E-mail me anytime - I am here to answer your questions. I want you to make the right decision and live a fulfilling life.

 
So, to all of the potential Hokies, the Virginia Tech community affirms the value of each individual and welcomes you as the person you are.  So, find your passion in life, your courage, and your voice, but most importantly and you may discover yourself.
 


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