Inauguration

The stars we see during the night — well, the few that we can see here in Vegas — are invisible to us during the day. The science majors in the audience will tell you that this is because of our Sun’s luminescence, how the sunlight hits our atmosphere and how light refracts around the air. I don’t know about you, but I do love a good blue sky.

But the nighttime stars don’t disappear during the day. The Sun’s brilliance doesn’t impact how bright other stars in our universe shine — they are unaffected. They keep on shining. And when the Sun leaves us for a time, retreating below the Vegas Valley mountains, and the night sky chases the Moon, the stars we admire return to us — their light passing once again through our atmosphere. It just takes some time.

The concept of love and the idea of unity is very similar. When we truly love someone, or when we have a healthy and unifying relationship, it’s not like the value of those people ever diminishes or goes away. But there are times when they can be overshadowed — or outshined, as the analogy may be; there are times when we get so caught up in the moment, in the class or finals week; sometimes we blind ourselves with our ambition, or our coursework, or with drama. And then we forget that our loved ones, our friends, and the positive relationships we’ve built over the months and years we’ve been here don’t fade away — they just became invisible temporarily.

We can often long for unity, especially if we are far from home, or if we are first-generation, or if we are paying our way through classes, or just trying to figure out this whole college thing. So we want community and a solid identity that can be built by a strong culture of unity. But of course, true unity cannot be so easily won. It starts with a change in attitudes - a broadening of our minds, and a broadening of our hearts — and reminding ourselves that stars don’t disappear just because we’re focused on just one bright part of our lives.

Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success” and we must take the true heart of the team to win. Together we can do so much. We must never forget that Together Everyone Achieves More. Right now, thousands of our peers, from all walks of life, all races, all religions, all languages, all states, and many nations; are studying to become the next great entrepreneurs and business leaders; the next wave of engineers and technicians to strengthen our state and country; the next educators of our communities; the next great artists, dancers, photographers, architects; the next leaders in our hospitality industry; the next psychologists, medical professionals, political scientists, law enforcement officers; the list goes on.

We are all leaders here, so let’s lead new movements for change. We as leaders must empower others in various ways. It has always been about making sure other people are better today than they were yesterday and better tomorrow than they are today. As human beings, our abilities to conquer challenges are limitless; our potential to succeed is infinite.

As Rebels, we must set the example and remember that unity will always start with you. Setting a good example is truly the first and most effective means of communication and the most proper way to spread ideas and ideals. At all times, to those around you, you are an example and a reflection of the community and team you engage with. Whether you are a good example or not is up to you. This is an awesome responsibility.

Without unity, there is no opportunity. With unity, we can take opportunities to new heights. We come into these positions to make well-needed changes to increase student engagement, improve the perception of our student government, and disrupt the status quo. Change brings opportunity and no one should be fearful, especially when we provide each other a guiding light-filled with hope.

Our species has been looking up at the night sky, pondering the Milky Way  Galaxy and her millions of shining stars, since we’ve been able to walk. We’ve dreamt, for years, of piercing beyond the sky to see more than what was just around us. And we did. Through the consolidation of science, technology, inspiration, and unity, our nation landed men on the moon — and we will be landing the first woman on the moon in three short years. We have teams working in this country to land the first people on Mars — a new planet — and we have dozens of Rebels on this campus to be the first Nevadans to launch an operational satellite into orbit. Don’t tell me that our dreams are ever out of our reach — not when we have unity.

Today's students and tomorrow's exploration are critical to our future. It is one of the reasons why we chose to lift a space theme to our image. We wanted to remind everyone that even when it gets dark out, we will ensure that light will always be provided. Through persistent and consistent outreach, we can restore the heart of our communities.

As diverse of a campus we are, at times we can be a bit divided. Rather than attempt to show how relatable we can be, we instead prefer to show you the true hearts of our character. We can participate in thoughtful debates, spirited discussions, and civic engagement to grow the corpus of our experiences — for free speech and civic engagement is the foundation of our society. We will embrace our diversity to show just how bright we can shine as one community.

The issues revolving around mental health have continuously grown and we call on you all to shout louder in your advocacy to make and be the change we all want to see. Our inspiration grows when you all embrace your bravery to start the conversations that matter. The struggles that students face help us all develop our strengths and become effective in delivering positive results. You matter. You’ve always mattered. It’s time we put our money where our mouth is and make sure every Rebel knows that.

Through our capacity to better understand the issues that students face, outreach and collaboration will become vital to the effectiveness of rebuilding our community here at UNLV. God bless you, God bless our campus, and let’s go do what Rebels do — let’s make it happen.