In her Commencement address to the University of Arizona Class of 2021, women's basketball coach Adia Barnes encouraged graduates to "bet on themselves" and "take a chance," even in the face of adversity.
"I bet on me," she said, recalling times when she faced challenging odds. Members of this year's class, who have overcome the many challenges of the pandemic to reach graduation, should bet on themselves, too, she said.
Barnes, head coach of the University of Arizona women's basketball team, led the Wildcats to the program's first-ever Final Four appearance in April, and the team was a basket away from claiming this year's NCAA title. Her video speech was played at several of the 16 in-person graduation ceremonies held on the university's main campus over eight days. The series of events ended on Tuesday evening with a ceremony for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Barnes told graduates she was no stranger to adversity and urged them to stay determined as they look to what's next. The fact that they made it to graduation after 14 months in a pandemic, she said, proves they can achieve anything.
"You will face adversity. But, let me tell you: You just conquered adversity and graduated," Barnes said. "You've had adversity for 14 months and you've dealt with it. So don't worry; don't be afraid. Go step out, step on a limb, take a chance."
This year's scaled-down graduation ceremonies, which were divided by colleges and programs, were held primarily at the Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center and Arizona Stadium. Designed with COVID-19 safety precautions in mind, the ceremonies had physically distanced seating and limited attendance, with students allowed just four ticketed guests. Masks were required, and participating students were required to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of an event or show proof of vaccination. Additional graduation ceremonies were held at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus and the university's regional campus in Yuma. More than 7,000 students earned their degrees.
See scenes from the university's graduation ceremonies in the gallery above. Videos of all the ceremonies will also be available for viewing on YouTube.