At Shipley, she was All-School President, played basketball and soccer and was on the crew team. Voted by her class “most likely to succeed,” she was also in the jazz band, chorus, and Black Students’ Union, worked on the Beacon, and participated in Model UN. Her destiny, she wrote in the yearbook, was “to snag my MD and save the lives of millions,” possibly as a Naval doctor, possibly even as Surgeon General.

Ms. Gandy earned her BA in government from Harvard and served three tours in the Navy in warfare and information systems management. She completed her active duty as a Lieutenant Commander. As a civilian, she worked on development and marketing of information and wireless systems for defense purposes while earning her MBA in international business diplomacy from Georgetown University. Since 2007, she has been in the fund management field, and is a consultant at Ernst and Young. There, she advises clients on operational risk in the hedge fund and private equity industries. She is a Fellow of the Truman National Security Project, training future leaders in National Defense and International Relations.

Ms. Gandy is a rugby enthusiast, playing on all-star teams. And in her spare time, she is taking courses at a DJ school.

Ms. Gandy may not have made it yet to Surgeon General, but there’s still time. We are pleased to give her the Young Alumni Award.

When I first got the call about receiving this award, I thought I was hearing things.  I decided that I must have not been listening intently – and I remained quiet to confirm what I thought that I had heard.  I am deeply humbled to have been chosen for this award, and thank the committee for selecting me.

One of the greatest gifts that my experiences at Shipley gave me was the courage to reinvent myself.  The last fifteen years haven’t all been easy, and with success also comes the occasional taste of failure.  However, Shipley is the type of place where you are encouraged to try, to explore, to invent, and to discover – and rediscover – yourself in a community of people who are as invested in your success as you are – and probably more so than you even know.  The friendships that I have made, and the relationships I have carried with me are some of the strongest bonds I have, and I don’t think that would have been possible anywhere else.  I believe in Shipley’s mission and the special type of people it attracts, cultivates, and produces, and will be forever thankful to have been a part of such an amazing place.

When you look to your left and look to your right, these are the people who are a part of your Shipley experience, and who will be in your lives for years to come.  It’s the reason why I still come back, and why we all return year after year – because we believe in Shipley, and we realize how lucky we all were to be part of this experience – and in retrospect, how quickly it flew by.  There's the old saying that says it takes a village to raise a child, and every single one of you are part of that community – that village – that connects us to those who came before, those who are with you now, and those who will follow in your footsteps.

I envy all of you in the audience, especially when I think about the excitement, the challenges, and the opportunities that await you as you progress through your years at Shipley and prepare for your lives beyond.  And I challenge you to make the most of your Shipley experience before it’s time for you to move along and create your own future.  I am proud to be part of Shipley’s past and part of Shipley’s present – and you are the future of Shipley, and I cannot wait to see what you do with it.  Again, please accept my deepest thanks and appreciation for this award and it is my honor to be with you today.

At Shipley, she was All-School President, played basketball and soccer and was on the crew team. Voted by her class “most likely to succeed,” she was also in the jazz band, chorus, and Black Students’ Union, worked on the Beacon, and participated in Model UN. Her destiny, she wrote in the yearbook, was “to snag my MD and save the lives of millions,” possibly as a Naval doctor, possibly even as Surgeon General.

Ms. Gandy earned her BA in government from Harvard and served three tours in the Navy in warfare and information systems management. She completed her active duty as a Lieutenant Commander. As a civilian, she worked on development and marketing of information and wireless systems for defense purposes while earning her MBA in international business diplomacy from Georgetown University. Since 2007, she has been in the fund management field, and is a consultant at Ernst and Young. There, she advises clients on operational risk in the hedge fund and private equity industries. She is a Fellow of the Truman National Security Project, training future leaders in National Defense and International Relations.

Ms. Gandy is a rugby enthusiast, playing on all-star teams. And in her spare time, she is taking courses at a DJ school.

Ms. Gandy may not have made it yet to Surgeon General, but there’s still time. We are pleased to give her the Young Alumni Award.

When I first got the call about receiving this award, I thought I was hearing things.  I decided that I must have not been listening intently – and I remained quiet to confirm what I thought that I had heard.  I am deeply humbled to have been chosen for this award, and thank the committee for selecting me.

One of the greatest gifts that my experiences at Shipley gave me was the courage to reinvent myself.  The last fifteen years haven’t all been easy, and with success also comes the occasional taste of failure.  However, Shipley is the type of place where you are encouraged to try, to explore, to invent, and to discover – and rediscover – yourself in a community of people who are as invested in your success as you are – and probably more so than you even know.  The friendships that I have made, and the relationships I have carried with me are some of the strongest bonds I have, and I don’t think that would have been possible anywhere else.  I believe in Shipley’s mission and the special type of people it attracts, cultivates, and produces, and will be forever thankful to have been a part of such an amazing place.

When you look to your left and look to your right, these are the people who are a part of your Shipley experience, and who will be in your lives for years to come.  It’s the reason why I still come back, and why we all return year after year – because we believe in Shipley, and we realize how lucky we all were to be part of this experience – and in retrospect, how quickly it flew by.  There's the old saying that says it takes a village to raise a child, and every single one of you are part of that community – that village – that connects us to those who came before, those who are with you now, and those who will follow in your footsteps.

I envy all of you in the audience, especially when I think about the excitement, the challenges, and the opportunities that await you as you progress through your years at Shipley and prepare for your lives beyond.  And I challenge you to make the most of your Shipley experience before it’s time for you to move along and create your own future.  I am proud to be part of Shipley’s past and part of Shipley’s present – and you are the future of Shipley, and I cannot wait to see what you do with it.  Again, please accept my deepest thanks and appreciation for this award and it is my honor to be with you today.