Kelly Ulf - 2014 Emmanuel College Awards Night Speech

Before I begin, I would like the students in this room to take a moment and reflect on everything we’ve been a part of in this city. Whether this is your first year living in Boston, or your fourth, each year has been marked by a monumental milestone.

The senior class especially has witnessed Emmanuel College athletics flourish. We watched the first seasons of men’s and women's lacrosse and men’s golf. In just four years both lacrosse teams are now undefeated. We saw the first men’s team to win a GNAC championship this fall when both cross country teams ran their hearts out for a record breaking set of wins. I hope that tomorrow the mens lacrosse team will join them as GNAC champions as well. We saw the women's basketball team compete in the NCAA tournament 3 times, advancing as far as the Elite 8. We’ve seen the mens volleyball team advance to the GNAC finals each of the last 3 years. We watched one athlete transform into an all American hurdler. We’ve even seen the Boston Red Sox dominate the World Series, and have seen the Bruins win a Stanley cup championship. Even though we’ve achieved numerous accolades as student athletes, it was last year’s bombings of the Boston marathon that left a lasting mark on our community.  

Every one of our student athletes was affected in some way, and I choose to talk about this in front of all of you not out of sadness, but to show the strength and resilience that defines an Emmanuel student athlete. 

Hundreds of Emmanuel students were watching along the route. Six of us seniors on the track and field team were standing on the finish line minutes before the bombs went off. 5 athletic training interns were on the medical response team. Two coaches in this room were driving the lead car.

In the minutes, hours and days after the marathon, we all witnessed acts of kindness and love. Our phones rang off the hook that day when our parents, friends, coaches, and people we haven’t heard from in years frantically called; searching for us to make sure we were okay. Out of such tragedy, the Emmanuel college community is incredibly blessed to have everyone return unharmed. Even if the images we saw that day will be with us forever, what matters more is the love we felt by the incredible community we have sitting in this room.

 I speak on behalf of every athlete here when I say thank you to all of you who have shown your love and support for us, not just on that day last April, but every day. Thank you to Dr. Rissmeyer, Pam Roecker, Alexis Mastronardi, and Dan Campagna for making all of our dreams to be collegiate athletes possible. Thank you to our coaches who share our passion for the sport, and who dedicate their time and effort to train us both mentally and physically. And to our athletic trainers who keep up with our aches and pain, your dedication does not go unnoticed.

But most importantly, thank you to our families. Hearing you cheer for us while we sprint down the field, court or track, reminds us of how lucky we are to be here. Some of you have never missed a single game, match or meet, and being able to share these years with you have been nothing short of a blessing. Without you, where would we be?

To my own parents, thank you for the opportunities you’ve given me throughout my athletic career; especially my father, who has always been my biggest fan. He fell in love with track and field the same way I did, and now he officiates some of our college track meets. At one particular meet last year, I got many weird looks when I jumped on him after he officiated one of my best days of long jumping.

It is these small moments of success we shared with our family and friends that we will remember the clearest. In ten years, we’ll look back and think of the celebrations we had after big wins, but we will also remember the tough losses and disappointments. We will still be remembered for our athletic achievements when we mingle at our very first class reunion.

Maybe in twenty years, we’ll be signing our kids up for munchkin soccer and little league softball. We’ll watch them try on their first pair of cleats and play in their first uniform. As they run their hearts out, we will vow to be their biggest fan, just like our parents were our biggest fans.

But in fifty years, our kids will be grown and we’ll be retired. Some of us will have seen the world, started our own business, or gotten a PhD. Our grandchildren will run circles around us. Our bodies will remind us that we’re not the athletes we used to be, and we will remember how we pushed our bodies to the limit at every practice. We’ll be envious of the miles we used run at Clemente field, and the hours we spent in this very gymnasium.

I am confident that as we look back on our education and time at Emmanuel, these four years of collegiate athletics will be some of our very best memories. I hope the underclassmen in this room will take advantage of your remaining time to make more memories—and those of us still competing this spring, to continue to compete with pride.

To the class of 2014, we have been a part of a whirlwind four years filled with these memories that characterize a new phrase we can all identify with: Boston strong. I urge the seniors in this room to carry this Boston strong attitude with you wherever you end up next year. For the underclassmen, I hope you have been able to see the strength of our city and our student athlete community. I hope you have adopted this identity, and continue to help Emmanuel College athletics grow.  Congratulations to all of the sports teams for your achievements throughout the past four years. I look forward to following your successes and I cannot wait to see what accomplishments will come next.

Thank you