# Morning Prayers: Senior Talks 2023 April 24, 2023 - [ Blog ](/news-categories/blog) With Commencement on the horizon, Harvard College seniors stand at a significant crossroads, an intersection of their final days as undergraduates and the path they will navigate after graduation. Each year, the Memorial Church invites members of the senior class to speak at Morning Prayers, to share their insights, their essential experiences, and a bit of their wisdom. –– ### **Sophie Choate '23 - May 3, 2023** Harvard College, Choir Secretary of the Harvard University Choir *"As a musician, transitions often feel like the most vulnerable parts of a performance. You may be surprised how much more comfortable I feel actually playing or singing than, for example, walking on and off the stage, tuning my instrument in front of an audience, or actually staying on stage long enough afterward to bow, graciously and accept applause rather than scurrying away as quickly as possible."* ### Embed [Harvard Memorial Church](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church "Harvard Memorial Church") · [Sophie Choate '23 - May 3, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/sophie-choate-23-may-3-2023-morning-prayers-senior-talks "Sophie Choate '23 - May 3, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)") –– ### **Meredith Johns '23 - May 2, 2023** Harvard College, Winthrop House *"I want to hold and honor that work, which we are called to do, but I also want to imagine the verse as about something else, that which is fundamentally abundant, God's love."* Embed [Harvard Memorial Church](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church "Harvard Memorial Church") · [Meredith Johns '23 - May 2, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/meredith-johns-23-may-2-2023-morning-prayers-senior-talks "Meredith Johns '23 - May 2, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)") –– ### **Gabrielle Landy '23 - May 1, 2023** Harvard College, Quincy House *"When you talk to folks at later stages of life, they usually say that the true purpose of college is those lifelong friendships that you make, the people who will show up for you at your wedding one day, maybe the person standing next to you at the altar, and I've been blessed to develop some amazing friendships here."* Embed [Harvard Memorial Church](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church "Harvard Memorial Church") · [Gabrielle Landy '23 - May 1, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/gabrielle-landy-23-may-1-2023-morning-prayers-senior-talks "Gabrielle Landy '23 - May 1, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)") –– ### **Kayleigh Noblin '23 - April 27, 2023** Harvard College, Pforzheimer House *"I was the first in my family to really up and leave; to pack my things and get on a flight and find another place outside of the 50-mile radius that all the descendants of my grandparents call home."* Embed [Harvard Memorial Church](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church "Harvard Memorial Church") · [Kayleigh Noblin '23 - April 27, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/kayleigh-noblin-23-april-27-2023-morning-prayers-senior-talks "Kayleigh Noblin '23 - April 27, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)") –– ### **Michael Chen '23 - April 27, 2023** Harvard College, Mather House *"I finally realized that life is nothing but a succession of present moments."* ### Embed [Harvard Memorial Church](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church "Harvard Memorial Church") · [Michael Chen '23 - April 27, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/michael-chen-23-april-27-2023-morning-prayers-senior-talks "Michael Chen '23 - April 27, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)") –– ### **Will Sutton '23 - April 26, 2023** Harvard College, Lowell House *"The last time I went to church was in October for a funeral. A good family friend and church member had taken his own life. The opening hymn was number 662, Abide with Me. The organ plunked along, and my dad, beside me in his black suit, did his best to sing. We all did."* Embed [Harvard Memorial Church](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church "Harvard Memorial Church") · [Will Sutton '23 - April 26, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/will-sutton-23-april-26-2023-morning-prayers-senior-talks "Will Sutton '23 - April 26, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)") –– ### VIDEO - Morning Prayers Senior Talks: Sophie Choate '23 –– ### **Monica Chang '23 - April 24, 2023** Harvard College, Kirkland House *"When I tell my friends that I go to Memorial Church every Sunday, sometimes even multiple time a week, even though I'm not Christian, I sometimes get a physical look. I get it. An irreligious church goer does seem like a bit of an oxymoron. I usually try, somewhat ineffectually, to explain why I choose to come here week after week."* Embed [Harvard Memorial Church](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church "Harvard Memorial Church") · [Monica Chang '23 - April 24, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/monica-chang-23-april-24-2023-morning-prayers-senior-talks "Monica Chang '23 - April 24, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)") –– ### **Elizabeth Propst '23 - April 21, 2023** Harvard College, Eliot House *"At the end of the day, we've just got to commit to loving each other, and following through on that commitment, and not wasting any more time writing or thinking about it, and just get down to business."* Embed [Harvard Memorial Church](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church "Harvard Memorial Church") · [Elizabeth Propst '23 - April 21, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/elizabeth-propst-23-april-21-2023-morning-prayers-senior-talks "Elizabeth Propst '23 - April 21, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)") \_ ### **Nour Khachemoune '23 - April 20, 2023** Harvard College, Dunster House *"At the very beginning of our journey as students, we were greeted by the physical paths of the yard on move-in day, and they soon formed a key part of our experience."* Embed [Harvard Memorial Church](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church "Harvard Memorial Church") · [Nour Khachemoune '23 - April 20, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/nour-khachemoune-23-april-20-2023-morning-prayers-senior-talks "Nour Khachemoune '23 - April 20, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)") – ### **Alayna Jenkins '23 - April 19, 2023** Harvard College, Quincy House *"As a Black woman, at times, I felt that there was no room for error, that I must keep it together. After all, we associate falling as bad, a downward trend. But one of the main things I learned from Harvard in life is that falling is inevitable."* Embed [Harvard Memorial Church](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church "Harvard Memorial Church") · [Alayna Jenkins '23 - April 19, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/alayna-jenkins-23-april-20-2023-morning-prayers-senior-talks "Alayna Jenkins '23 - April 19, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)") –– ### **Jack Markert '23 - April 18, 2023** Harvard College, Leverett House *"My motivation for the pursuit of religious harmony comes from my background. I come from a family of Iranian refugees, persecuted for being Baha'ist, a religious minority founded by Baha'u'llah in Persia, during mid-1800s."* Embed [Harvard Memorial Church](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church "Harvard Memorial Church") · [Jack Markert '23 - April 18, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/jack-markert-23-april-18-2023-morning-prayers-senior-talks "Jack Markert '23 - April 18, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)") –– ### **Simeon Sayer '23 - April 17, 2023** Harvard College, Adams House *"How much time do we actually spend alone with our thoughts, and if we have them, our prayers? Not the kind of reflection where we are listening to music, walking, checking our Twitter feed, but total honest reflection. I know I struggle with this."* Embed [Harvard Memorial Church](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church "Harvard Memorial Church") · [Simeon Sayer '23 - April 17, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/simeon-sayer-23-april-17-2023-morning-prayers-senior-talks "Simeon Sayer '23 - April 17, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)") –– ### **Judah Lampkin '23 - April 13, 2023** Harvard College, Ferris Choral Fellow *"At our lowest points, in these moments passed in death's womb, we are forced to accept the truth of the most fundamental of life's mysteries, which is as follows. We are wretched and yet we are loved. We are destined to die, and yet we live. We here together in this moment, sharing this story."* Embed [Harvard Memorial Church](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church "Harvard Memorial Church") · [Judah Lampkin '23 - April 13, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/judah-lampkin-23-april-13-2023-morning-prayers "Judah Lampkin '23 - April 13, 2023 | Morning Prayers (Senior Talks)") –– Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)