Alumna Chloe Siegel to deliver commencement speech on taking charge of the moment
When Chloe Siegel ’24 speaks at this spring’s Commencement for the Lloyd International Honors College, she plans to shape her remarks around a question that the late UNCG dance professor Chris Fleming asked students at every class: What did you notice today?
“I want to talk about the importance of being in the moment and appreciating what’s going on around you,” Siegel says. “Not just the small things, like a squirrel in a tree, but things about yourself and where you want to keep moving forward in your life.”
Making space for multiple passions
Siegel, from Cary, NC, graduated summa cum laude from UNCG a year ago with majors in dance studies and political science with a concentration in global politics. She had thought she’d become a professional dancer, with political science as a backup. But the longer she pursued both, the more she realized political science is what she wanted to do for a career.
She planned to take a gap year before graduate school until her political passion intervened. Last summer, she became a field organizer for the Harris-Walz campaign in North Carolina.
“I felt the 2024 election was the most important of my lifetime,” she says. “I wanted to do everything I could to elect the most qualified candidate in my eyes, the one who respects the constitution and believes in democracy.”
She also wanted to gain a hands-on view of politics at the street level before embarking on research-heavy graduate studies. For the campaign, she recruited and trained volunteers and canvassed neighborhoods, knocking on doors and making sure people knew the date of the election and the location of their polling place.
“I felt like I was making a difference,” she says, “I convinced some people to go to the polls who otherwise wouldn’t have.”
A broad perspective
Now she is preparing to head to Kings College in London to enter the master’s program in European studies. She originally wanted to study abroad as an undergraduate, but COVID-19 thwarted those plans.
“I’m excited to learn from a non-American perspective,” she says, adding that she hopes to eventually earn a doctorate and become a professor.
“I really value liberal arts education and knowing about a lot of different areas,” Siegel says. “I would love to help create a space for students to understand how valuable it is, a place like UNCG’s Honors College.”
With residential college living at UNCG, Siegel found an amazing community of students who were also interested in academia and research. Honors classes were her favorites – often taking advantage of professors’ offers to dig deeper into work for honors credit.
“If you’re motivated and want to do undergraduate research at UNCG, you can. I encourage all students to make connections with your professors. They are incredibly invested in your success,” she says. “Even after graduation, they were super supportive in giving me advice and helping me apply for graduate school. They are just phenomenal.”
For Commencement weekend, she’s excited to visit with her friends in the graduating class and celebrate their next steps.
“I love coming back to UNCG,” she says. “I’m so grateful to have been invited and can’t wait to see what my friends do next.”
Story by Mary Daily
Photography courtesy of Chloe Siegel
CELEBRATE OUR GRADS!
Graduates and their families are encouraged to share their accomplishments on social media by tagging the University accounts and using the hashtag #UNCGGrad. Visit UNCG’s digital swag page for Commencement-themed graphics and templates.
Mention @UNCG in celebratory posts on Instagram and X and @uncgreensboro on TikTok.
