First off, I want to congratulate all of you for all the hard work you have done this year. Graduating high school is a huge accomplishment. It is no easy task to find the motivation to wake up every day at 7 AM and endure seven hours of schooling each day. Some of you seniors were committed to after school programs or clubs. Some of you were athletes whose practices did not just end after Friday. Some of you kept up with a job to make a little bit of money on the side. Your graduation ceremony should have been the moment to commemorate all of your achievements thus far and I am at a loss for words in regards to the disappointment I share with you.
Although closure with your high school experiences was taken from you all, I want you to know that there is a silver lining. You will be going to an AMAZING school. I remember my memories at Rutgers—Camden were unparalleled compared to my high school ones. I learned so much about what I am passionate about by attending a variety of interesting classes, taking on internships, and talking to the experts in my field. I’ve met so many wonderful people starting right from my freshman year, people that I consider some of my closest friends to this day. Your college experience is what you make of it and my hope is that you feel that same excitement and wonder that I felt while I was navigating through my four years here.
Be proud of the fact that you did not give up when put in a position where many would have wavered. Once again, congratulations on graduating, congrats on pushing through in the face of a global crisis, and congrats on joining our Scarlet Raptor family.
Sincerely,
Raptor Ambassador Kai Puyat
Written by Kai P, a Rutgers—Camden Graduate and former Raptor Ambassador. Find more letters to Incoming Undergraduate students on the Rutgers—Camden Scarlet Letters program page or by searching #RUCScarletLetters.