Wichita State University announces that Victoria Ashleigh Hendricks is a candidate for the degree

of Bachelor of Arts in English with concentrations in Language and Literature and a minor in

Philosophy, Magna Cum Laude at the Commencement Ceremony Saturday, May fourteenth, Two

thousand sixteen, Nine o’clock in the morning, Charles Koch Arena, Wichita, Kansas.

This is the text contained within my graduation announcements. As I look at the black and gold

color adorning the invitation, feeling the raised letters, holding the heavy weight of the paper in my

hands, I sit cross­legged on the floor of my Fairmount dorm, thankful through tears that I got here.

I really could not have done without these people…

God, thank you for all your blessings. Thank you for your forgiveness, your sacrifice, your mercy,

your protection, and your love over me. I owe all that I have and all that I am to you.

Mom, thank you for your unwavering support and love in this insane journey. You’re my rock and

my light.

Grandma, thank you for your indispensible wisdom, constant guidance, and for your weekly

Friday night phone calls.

Danielle, thank you for always sending me hilarious memes and pictures to always make me laugh,

and for not lecturing me for making a mistake when I knew mom would.

To all my friends, thank you for being there and helping me out, for always listening and making

me have fun so I wouldn’t lose my sanity.

To my professors, especially those in the English department, thank you for teaching me. Your

knowledge and insight will stay with me always. Thank you for helping me understand and

appreciate my craft even more, and for reminding me every day why I love doing it.

Thank you, WSU, for a good time. Thank you to all of you in every facet of the university, from

President Bardo to the janitor and the bus drivers, the cooks and the librarians, and everyone in

between. You keep this place going.

And last but not least, thank you to my boyfriend, Brent. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for

being my best friend and the love of my life. Thank you for being gentle, and kind, and for always

having my back. Thank you for being in my corner, talking me down, and making me smile.

Thank you for your encouragement and your patience. Thank you for your love.

That’s all, folks. So long, farewell.