Nelly Burton

Welcome guests, family and friends. We would like to thank you for joining us on this day of celebration. Our dear faculty, staff and classmates, thank you for your hard work, dedication and perseverance. You have demonstrated during these difficult and challenging times that we are adaptable and resilient.

I am honored to stand before you today as a commencement speaker. I have so many people that I would like to thank, and I would like to start with my dear husband, mother, father and siblings for their love and support. I would not have made it this far without any of you. I would also like to thank Dr. Richard Golden from the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences for his dedication to our university, research and his students. I am very grateful for your mentorship, knowledge and advice. Faculty like you ensure successful students. I would not have landed my current job without you, Chief Charles Cato and Captain G. Caldwell. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to have wonderful mentorship.

Classmates, graduating by itself is a great achievement, and for some, if not all of us, we had to overcome serious obstacles like losing a family member in a pandemic of a century, experiencing the virus ourselves, or even losing our main source of income. All of that, of course, along with our everyday challenges.

During my time here, my everyday challenges included waking up at 4 a.m. so I would have enough time to study before my shift at work began. Some days, I would return home late at night from work so I could have the opportunity and privilege to sit in class, but I would get home to keep studying or do homework.

One day, Dallas County implemented a shelter-in-place order because of a virus that we did not know much about at the time but could be lethal to my mother and sister. I did not know whether I was supposed to show up to work; it took a few moments before it sank in that I worked with first responders. When I got to work, it was very busy.

A week later, I tearfully submitted my resignation from the job of my dreams to be closer to my fiancé and my family. This way, if something happened, we were going to be together. It was a tough decision as I had to decide between my dream job or being close to my family during the pandemic. My fiancé and I got married a week after leaving Texas with my mom as our only witness because no one else was allowed in the courthouse. A month after I left, I received a job offer, and to my surprise, it was my ultimate dream job with a federal law enforcement agency. I could not be more blessed.

My blessing came with a challenge I could not escape, the worry that I could bring the virus home to my high-risk loved ones; it was terrifying as I was losing acquaintances, friends and colleagues to the pandemic. The vaccine became available to me, but I was not able to extend that privilege to my loved ones. Not long after, my loved ones became eligible for the vaccine, and I was relieved. Even if I was the one who brought the virus home, at that point I had done everything I could to protect them and be closer to them during the pandemic. My story is just one of many. Health care workers, first responders, thank you for showing up every day.

I have accepted that I cannot control the pandemic, natural disasters, rising violent crime, or divisive politics, but I am in control, we are in control of our life decisions. Each of us can impact our society, our family with the principles and values that ground us, such as compassion, generosity, fairness, honesty and hard work. One of the valuable lessons I learned during the pandemic is that we need to be team players because no one can make a significant, meaningful or thoughtful change by themselves.

This is not the first time that we will have to face tough times, and it will not be the last, but we can overcome tough times together, and you sitting here today along with our staff and faculty is testament to that. Thank you, and congratulations, Class of 2021.

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Nelly Burton is graduating with a master’s in applied cognition and neuroscience. She previously earned a bachelor’s in psychology, bachelor’s in criminology and master’s in criminology from the University of California, Irvine. In May 2019, she started attending The University of Texas at Dallas while working as a crime analyst and explorer program adviser for Dallas-area high school students. She received an outstanding research award on a project she began in 2014. At UT Dallas, she worked with Dr. Richard Golden, professor of cognitive science. She is currently working full time for a federal agency. After graduation, she plans to continue working on research projects and pursue a PhD in psychology or cognitive science with an emphasis on forensics.