During her Commencement speech on Sunday, Student Speaker Sadie Shaula Meyer ’26 urged members of the Class of 2026 to keep close what she called the “Orange Mindset” as they head out into the world.

The University Scholar and biomedical engineering and mathematics major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and College of Arts and Sciences encouraged her fellow graduates to remember that successful opportunities don’t simply “work out,” rather, that they all have the “Orange Mindset” driving those achievements.

“As an engineer and researcher, I have seen how every decision, no matter its scale, has the capacity to influence the system as a whole,” she said. “And it is that same spirit of initiative, collaboration, genuine curiosity and commitment to innovation that our graduates hold, which lies behind the success so clear to those around us. That is the real catalyst of our accomplishments. We do not rely on some instinctual intellect, nor do we expect opportunities to simply fall into our laps. We create them.”

Meyer pointed out Syracuse students have shown up for one another and the community through their years at the University, whether that meant dancing through exhaustion for OttoTHON, pitching in on Giving Day or lending support to a classmate in need.

“That is what defines the Orange Mindset that our graduates hold so close,” she said. “That quiet determination and that dedication are what makes Syracuse students truly extraordinary.”

As she closed her remarks, Meyer challenged her classmates to carry that spirit forward—and, when others marvel at how things seem to fall into place, to tell the real story.

“Tell them about the work,” she said. “Tell them about the failures that helped you grow. Tell them about the people who stood beside you and how you stood beside them. Lift those around you as you rise. And remember that failure is not final, but redirection, a necessary step toward where you are meant to go.”

Watch Meyer’s full remarks below: