Lt. Sarah Atwater Abbott '99

This is a video of the 2011 commencement address given by Lt. Sarah Atwater Abbott '99. "Whose Parachute Are You Packing?" Lt. Sarah Abbott '99 Inspires During 78th Commencement. Here is just a tid bit to whet your appetite. "Twelve years ago, I sat where you sit, listening to - if memory serves - the president of Amherst College talk about the ambivalence of Americans toward success. It was an interesting speech, but I had no real successes for the general public to be ambivalent about, so I was daydreaming about senior parties, the upcoming lacrosse State Championship, my short summer break, and starting at the Naval Academy. We went on to win that State Championship, I enjoyed a memorable cross country road trip with my brother and a fulfilling summer vacation, and then checked into the Naval Academy. It is shocking to me how unaware I was on that “Induction Day” of just exactly what I was getting into. Mind you, I had first heard about the Naval Academy during lunch announcements my junior year here, when our college counselor stood up and said that the Naval Academy would have representatives attending today. I was thinking, “What’s the Naval Academy?,” which could as easily have been, “What’s the military,” since as the proud daughter of hippies I had no experience with either."