Morgan Mercier - 2021 Senior Athletic Awards Banquet Speech

Senior Morgan Mercier (Lincolnville, Maine), a four-year member of the Saints Men's Soccer and Lacrosse programs addressed his fellow student-athletes virtually as the "senior speaker" at Emmanuel's Senior Athletic Awards Banquet on May 18, 2021. Morgan's remarks are as follows:

Good Evening Everyone,

It’s an honor and a privilege to be able to speak in front of all of you tonight even though I am speaking into my computer screen. I’m glad we are all able to gather here tonight to take time to reflect on our past four years and the obstacles we went through to get to this point. To my fellow graduating senior athletes congratulations on your successful Emmanuel careers, I hope everyone enjoyed their time here as a Student-Athlete as much as I did.

I’d like to thank the entire Athletic Department especially Coach McWilliams, Coach Campagna, Coach Berry, Coach Lawson, Coach Yosinoff and of course my two coaches, Coach Craven and Coach Roberts. As well as a big thank you goes out to the Athletic Trainor’s Ellie, and Anthony for making this past spring season happen for so many of our teams. This has been an incredibly challenging past year not only for us Student Athletes but also all the administrators and coaches trying to figure out everything on the fly as rules were changing everyday we were out there.

This past semester myself and every other athlete and coach has taken over 40 Covid-19 tests in order to stay cleared and be able to practice and travel for games. Through all the challenges of the Covid-19 Pandemic and everything we have been through as a class this past year, I want to congratulate Coach Berry and the entire Softball team for winning their first ever GNAC championship, and being able to win it at Clemente Field which is even more special. Best of luck this weekend in Texas!

While our four years have been far from normal, I’m grateful we were able to come to campus this semester and able to graduate in person and have some of our family attend, while everything has been far from perfect at least we are here now celebrating all the senior athletes and their accomplishments throughout the four years here.

For me I’ll never forget my first day at Emmanuel, I was being moved into my room in Loretto hall. But something just didn’t seem right I was trying to find the bathroom on my floor but all I could find was the women’s restroom on each side of the hall and I didn’t see any other guys on my floor only girls moving in (my mom kept saying something was wrong but I was too stubborn to believe her) and I was very confused until I was fully moved in and then went to the desk and asked what I thought was a good question if we just shared a bathroom or do I have to go down a floor to shower. That was when they figured out they moved me into the women’s floor. That’s what happens when you have name like Morgan, but fortunately my whole soccer team helped me move all my stuff to the ground floor of Loretto and that was my first taste of the family and what I was getting involved in and why I was glad I choose Emmanuel.

Coach Craven and Coach Roberts I want to thank both of you for everything you have done for me and all of the other athletes for the past 4 years you both have helped me grow as an athlete and more importantly an individual and a leader, and for that I’ll be forever grateful. Coach Roberts you assigned me to be a part of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and be the representative for the Soccer team, each team at Emmanuel has 2-3 representative’s that’s makes up the whole SAAC roster, at that time I had no idea what it was, but it was only one meeting a week so I tried it not thinking much of it at all, and it changed my college experience.

Throughout my four years I served on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) through SAAC I was able to be a part of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference SAAC and represent the voices for all Emmanuel Student Athletes, and I was also appointed the National SAAC Representative and represented over 3,300 Student Athletes voices for all of the GNAC and all the Division 3 Athletes voices as well. I was able to travel to Anaheim California for the NCAA Convention in early 2020 and this past year because of the pandemic I did two different conventions virtually. I was able to bring everything I learned from the other student athletes and administrators from around the country back to Emmanuel and to all our athletes.

My family has been lucky to be part of the Emmanuel College Community since 2013 and it’s going to be sad leaving this campus and all the memories I’ve shared with everyone throughout the years.

My biggest thanks goes out to my older brother Max Mercier who is 2016 graduate and a 3 time GNAC Lacrosse Champion. Max went out of his way to talk to Coach Roberts before I even decided if I wanted to consider Emmanuel as a possible school I was interested in way back in the recruiting process, and before I knew it Coach Roberts was calling me and asking me to come on a tour and an Overnight visit and after that in a span of a few weeks I was officially a Saint. I really was hesitant at first because I didn’t want to follow in my brothers footsteps or just be known as his little brother. But, without you Max, I would not be speaking in front of everyone right now.

My one piece of advice for any underclassman listening would be to appreciate every practice, game, workout and team dinner because you really don’t know when it is going to be taken away from you.

Thank you and we are all always going to be Saints.

WATCH Morgan's speech below: