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Accepted Student Recognition Day 4/6/24 arrow

On Sunday, June 4, 172 members of the Elmira College Promising Class of 2023 and 30 graduate students walked across the stage on Carnegie Lawn to receive their degrees and set forth to find their place in the world.

During the ceremony, Dr. Charles Lindsay, Elmira College President, conferred an honorary degree to EC alumna, Kimberly L. Curtis ’83. Curtis, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Wealth Legacy Institute in Denver, Colorado, has made it her mission to ensure that money mastery is not for a limited few. As a result, she is considered among the world’s foremost experts in building wealth consciousness by helping people across the globe gain access to and learn how to be creative with money.

In her address, Curtis wondered if her speech could become a life-defining moment for the students as she stressed the importance of shaping their mindset. She told them that by valuing themselves and focusing on the value they can give rather than receive, they will find that “money is looking for you.”

“When you know you are valuable, you respect yourself, you make different choices, and start to understand that only you are responsible for the outcomes in your life,” she said. “Not your parents, not your education, your job, the government, or the economy. As soon as your wealth consciousness shifts away from blame, scarcity and limitation, towards a belief in abundance, you’re able to see opportunities rather than obstacles.“

Curtis urged them to believe that the goal is not simply financial wealth, but prosperity, meaning a “life well lived that is full of joy and aliveness.”

“When your ideas create value in the world you can unleash its power to create previously inconceivable opportunities for your future in terms of wealth, happiness, and impact - imagine how many others you can help,” she said.

Following Curtis’s speech, Dr. Patricia Ireland, Provost, introduced Salutatorian Julia Ambrose ’23, and Valedictorian, Ryan Hardy ’23. Ireland then presented the 2023 undergraduate and graduate candidates to Lindsay for conferral.

During ceremonies held prior to Commencement, members of the graduating class were recognized with multiple honors and prizes, including induction into Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest national honors organization, and officer commissioning with the United States military. The Class of 2023 also included 71 honor graduates receiving summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude honors.

Lindsay closed the ceremony by encouraging the new alumni to seek ways to make a difference by engaging with differing opinions and cultivating new ways of thinking.

“Each of you stands at the threshold leading to the rest of your life,” he said. “This College has a history and tradition of graduating women and men who make a difference. You may be thinking of your diploma as your ticket to the good life. What I invite you to also do is to view your degree as a vehicle for making the world a better place. Each of us can make a positive difference if we make the commitment to do so.”

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