English Majors Give Senior Orations at 2019 Founders’ Day Convocation

English Majors Sophie Hollis (’19) and Bri Carney (’19) both gave senior orations at Founders’ Day Convocation on February 21, 2019. Since 2010, three seniors have presented their senior orations reflecting on their four years at Wake Forest. Every year, faculty members nominate outstanding seniors to prepare orations; 10 students are invited to present their orations before a faculty panel at the Senior Colloquium, and the panel selects the three finalists. Bri gave a speech entitled “Love and Spreadsheets,” available to read here. Sophie’s speech is called “Forest for the Trees,” available here.

Sophie’s speech featured a poem she wrote after compiling the most commonly used words in the Wake Forest Class of 2019 Facebook page. Read it below:

Wake Students Share the Forest

Sophie Hollis ’19

Welcome Wake Forest, Class of 2019
To the official future football center
of innovation 

scrambled with lofted dorm beds.
Is anybody from Gainsville? Columbia? France? New York? Newell? New student? Newest? Real new?
Is anybody here a Christian?
I signed up for cruel arts, and I was wondering if anyone else did too?
Don’t ask questions like,
If I finished at 12:01,
and if I can’t control this movement of memories
that pop up on WIN,
can I still change my email? or
Will someone with secure summer storage be my valentine?
Here, whiskey and worry are indigenous, but
anybody can join the stress reform.
If you graduate with an English major,
you will not be allowed back home.
Swipe right to the airport if you need a ride
or see firstname lastname at The Bridge for research.
You maybe wish to peruse abroad
Or join the republican academic democrats
who meet in Luter.
If anybody has a question about their project
Jerry has ice cream in ZSR.
By mutual request, Spencer, Danny, David, and WilliamforWake remind you to vote
today and
sign up for the revolution.
By June you will need advice:
Participate by helping others
Rule the country with your creative wonderings
Start serving the community and
Live like it’s easy Tuesday.
Understand what it is to be a Demon Deacon because
Freshman reflections here represent
Improvement
Kindness
Friends
New members of the united intellectual world
Now,
Let’s overwhelm history.