Senior Samira Abdoulaye Pedila gave her last words of wisdom and her final goodbyes to Eastern as she graduates and moves on to the next chapter in her life.

Pedila said it’s bittersweet that she’s graduating because she’s been at Eastern for four years and it’s been her safe place for a long time.

“But I am also ready to go out to the world and start a new chapter,” she said.

Pedila said she wish she had the chance to shake President Glassman’s hand as she walked the stage, but she said this was for the best to keep everyone safe, although she said was angry in the beginning when she found out that there wasn’t going to be a commencement.

“I was pretty upset to be honest because my family wouldn’t see me walk across the stage,” she said. “I am the first person in my family to graduate from a four-year university. One thing I been living by is everything happens for a reason.”

Pedila said she would return for the fall commencement if Eastern decides to have one.

She said she was thankful to be able to be a part of Student Government and was grateful for the opportunities, the people that she met and everything that it offered her.

“Student Government was the first RSO I joined on campus it will always have a special place in my heart, but my time has come to an end,” Pedila said. “I wish them nothing but the best.”

She said now that she’s done with undergraduate, she plans to take a year or two off from school.

“In those years I plan on finding myself and bettering myself. I want to better my mental health and reconnect with who I am. I haven’t been able to do that. I plan to find a job in the law field, study for my Law School Admission Test, and just enjoy life. Until I have to apply again to either Law School or Graduate School,” Pedila said.

She said some advice she would like to give to transfer students or freshman students coming into Eastern would be to be yourself and you will find the right people. She said she tried to be something she wasn’t freshman year and it backfired on her, but when she became herself, she found the right people to be in her corner.

“My other advice is to take your mental health seriously, we have a lovely health and counseling service here and never be afraid to ask for help,” Pedila said.

She said the thing she will miss the most is meeting so many great people from Eastern.

“I will miss walking to 9^th Street Hall to go to work and seeing the staff. I will miss filling Ceci Brinker’s candy bowl up with Kit Kat’s and I will definitely miss seeing Laurel Fuqua’s face every day and saying good morning,” Pedila said.

She said she will also miss teaching the University Foundation 101 with Jody Stone. She said he made a big impact in her college career.

Pedila said her favorite year in her entire four years at Eastern was her junior year.

“It was my favorite year because I started to become myself and met people along the way that changed my way of looking at life,” she said.

Seth Yeakel, who’s worked with and known Pedila since his fall 2017 semester said he’s sad to see her leave but he’s happy to see her graduate and fulfill her service with Student Government.

“I am especially happy sad that her final semester was plagued by the pandemic and she did not get the chance to give it her all as she usually does,” he said.

Yeakel said Pedila has had many difficult roles within Student Government. He said it started back when she was just a senator.

“From there she became a committee chair where she served the student body by leading senators to create events and ideas for them alongside the area of her committee,” he said.

Yeakel said most recently she had taken on a challenge of becoming the Vice President for Student Affairs during a tough time.

“She was in charge of the student involvement fairs which are integral in the acclimation of students into college life. She also has introduced and led the Diversity Action Council for the 2019-20 year which serves as to help educate students about diversity,” he said.

Yeakel said all in all he believes Pedila had held some of the most important roles on Student Government.

“She is dependable when you need her. There are many times when I needed help and others are not available, but she is. For example, she would come in at 8 a.m. for me to help with interviews,” he said.

Yeakel said she would always work extremely hard to get things done on time and that you could trust that she would get the job done without any worries.

“One day we are talking about it and by the time we meet next she is finished with the task. So, I would say she was a hard worker,” he said.

Yeakel said a good memory that they shared together would be the entirety of them working together which built up all the good memories.

“I wish her luck in what she does, and I am jealous for those she goes to work for/with,” he said.

                                    Jelan Buchanan can be reached at 581-2812 or at jjbuchanan@eiu.edu.