Rakoczy’s peers on The Crimson all agree that the passion Rakoczy speaks about today was self-evident.

“She has brought unparalleled enthusiasm to The Crimson, and I have no doubt that this same dedication and commitment to excellence will be reflected in her oration,” says former Crimson Editorial Chair Ronaldo Rauseo-Ricupero ’04.

Even after essentially losing her friend for a year, roommate Carrie R. Bierman ’04 understands that Rakoczy was only following her own advice.

“I feel that she is such a perfect example of somebody who spent their time here doing something she loves,” Bierman says.

While The Crimson was her chief amour, Rakoczy had other loves as well.

Rakoczy says that one of her most rewarding experiences was with the Boston Refugees Youth Enrichment Program (BRYE), an umbrella organization for various tutoring and mentoring activities.

For the last several years Rakoczy has worked with a young Vietnamese girl from Dorchester, Mass.,—helping her with her homework and just being there for her as a friend.

“It takes you outside of your own problems in your life,” Rakoczy says. “I learned at least as much from her as she could have learned from me.”

In the academic arena, Rakoczy earned a degree in Social Studies, writing her thesis on the different approaches to reforming the American media.

Rakoczy says that her passion for her extracurricular pursuits forced her to make sacrifices in her studies. And she acknowledges that these sacrifices had their drawbacks.

“I don’t think I put as much into it as I should have,” Rakoczy says. “[Social Studies] is a very rewarding concentration if you really put into it what you need to.”

SPEAKING FOR A CLASS

While Rakoczy may have been unknowingly cultivating the theme for her English Oration for the last four years, she says she never anticipated having the honor of speaking at commencement.

“I wrote my speech on the morning of the deadline,” Rakoczy says. “I heard the other speeches and it was really a surprise for me that they picked mine.”