Emma Claire Bishop

Hello,

My name is Emma Claire Bishop, and I am extremely honored to be able to represent The University of Texas at Dallas here today at our commencement ceremony. I know that all our graduating students would like to personally acknowledge their families today. Please turn and wave to your loved ones in the audience or virtually now.

I’d like to offer a special salute to my beautiful family, especially my wonderful parents, who have made so many incredible sacrifices for me and my brother.

UTD has built the foundation for us to shoot for the stars. We are the Comets, gaining speed and moving forward, our trajectory found through our studies at UTD. Surrounded by the stars, UTD has created an insurmountable bond between us, supporting each of us in our individual missions as we step forward to futures brighter than shooting stars. Yet, this bond was specifically tested this past year.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” This past year, the mountain of despair has been all-consuming and seemingly never-ending. We saw our country take on the fight against racial injustice and strive to have equality for all in our nation. We saw the world shut down from a virus that took our peers, our friends and our loved ones away from us. However, look at the stone of hope. The stone of hope is why we are here today. The stone is the perseverance, strength and bravery you have inside of you to stand up for what is right and just. The stone is the legacy each and every one of you leave at UTD. The stone is the degree in your hands that propels you into the future, carves your path forward and guides your decisions.

I came to UTD as a first-generation student. I decided to transfer as a sophomore, starting my UTD journey. I have commuted every day the past three years over an hour to UTD from my family’s cattle ranch to push forward for my education. For those of us graduating today, we have juggled many tasks. Some of us have worked full time as undergrads; some of us have managed parenthood, professional jobs and graduate school simultaneously; and others have traveled from across the globe to complete a degree. For me, I worked at my family’s restaurant while maintaining a full-time schedule of classes, balancing internships from Dallas to D.C., involvement in on-campus organizations and community service.

It was easy to forget the early years during our tenure. The time truly flew before our eyes. We must not forget the mud-filled Oozeball tournaments or the long nights spent getting ready for homecoming festivities. The laughs shared in the Student Union and rooting on our baseball team when they became ASC champions. We were engaged and eager for knowledge in the classroom, all while we built lifelong friendships with our professors and our classmates. While our esports team is internationally ranked and a force to be reckoned with, we are still jealous of their new game room with the really cool chairs we all yearn to have for ourselves.

As we continue on into our respective paths, there is one thing we will all have in common, and that is the bond of UT Dallas. That is the bond of overcoming that mountain of despair. That bond is unwavering and strong, just like every single graduate here today.

On behalf of the graduates here today, congratulations for your perseverance and hard work! Take your stones of hope and shoot past the stars. I am beyond proud of all of us.

Thank you.

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Emma Bishop graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She transferred to UT Dallas in 2018, receiving the Transfer Scholarship. She has been involved in several organizations including the UT Dallas Office of the Dean Discipline Committee, UT Dallas Transfer Mentor Program, John Marshall Pre-Law Society, and Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity. She is also a member of Beta Alpha Psi, an honors society for accounting and finance students. She served as Mock Trial team captain and led her team to win an American Mock Trial Association Award. She has interned in the Rockwall County Criminal District Attorney’s Office for four years, as well as completed internships in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate in Washington, D.C. She also serves as a Special Olympics swimming coach, and a volunteer for the Collin County Court Appointed Special Advocates. After graduation, she will pursue a law degree at the University of Kansas School of Law.