Come June 13th we gain the Gaucho class of 2014 our new colleagues in the professional world as they leave UCSB the community we once called home.  

I commence by congratulating our recent grads and provide a few words of comfort. Although the days at the pier and nights at Free Birds maybe over the outside world has plenty more to offer. You will enter a world with opportunities ripe for the picking and filled with ideas and causes that will redefine the person you are. 

You will leave behind miles of bike paths, as you blaze your own trail towards countless success. Your journey is no where near from complete, and rest assured that when compared to your counterparts you have an unfair upper-hand. Throughout your 4 years at this prestigious institution you gained an understanding of a balanced life filled with a hunger for knowledge, an extensive social life, and an appreciation for those around you. Our entire community has been shocked with the events that have transpired this year and find comfort in the success that your class and those to come will now strive towards. We mourned as a family from the Bay to LA and now likewise we will succeed together.