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Darla Saunders wants her fellow graduates to face life’s challenges with curiosity, kindness, and generosity.

In her valedictory at Summer Convocation, she spoke to the more than 100 graduates who were receiving their bachelor’s degrees in applied arts, arts, and education, and their master’s degrees in social work about the importance of staying open to new possibilities—even when they seem challenging or scary.

“Change and challenging experiences, they can teach us what we’re capable of.  If we can stay curious and engaged, they can help us to push ourselves farther than we thought we could go and grow in ways that we never expected,” said the Miramichi, NB, native who received her Bachelor of Education.

“As we go forward into our next adventure—and the one after that, and the one after that—my hope for us is that we stay open to the possibilities that change and challenge bring. Because life will throw lots of both our way. That is just how life works. What really matters is how we choose to respond."

“If we can stay open, be curious, look for the good, and choose kindness and generosity – we will get to keep learning and growing. We will be able to make the world a better place for ourselves and for everyone around us. We won’t always get to choose what happens to us, but we can always choose how we respond. We get to choose who we want to become.”

Saunders was also awarded the University Medal for Academic Excellence in Education.

The Hon. David Adams Richards—award-winning author, Canadian Senator, and ���߲ݴ�ý alumnus—was the guest speaker at Convocation. He spoke to the graduates about the importance of compassion and empathy in the classroom and in society.

“A teacher’s job is not simply to teach but to understand and edify toward the knowledge of compassion—that understanding toward the knowledge of empathy must be the main facet of a person’s character in order to instil its worth in others," he said.

“Empathy is the one thing I ask you to take forward into the future. Every lesson will be ennobled by it, and no lesson is ever worthy without it.”