May Commencement Archive

Good morning, everyone. 

President Cornish, Provost Stein, members of the Board of Trustees, Deans, Faculty, Coaches, administration, distinguished guests, parents, friends, and most importantly graduates –  thank you for inviting me to speak today at this Commencement ceremony. I am deeply honored to be here with my incredible wife, Rhonda, and our two amazing children, Cole and Calla.

There is a legend that Theodore Roosevelt once gave the shortest commencement address ever. According to the tale, he walked up to the podium and simply said, “Don’t ever give up.”

I could therefore save us all some time and end my talk right now…but I just do not have the brevity, gravitas and apparently the humility to pull that off! 

I am, though, a proud graduate of the Ithaca College class of 1998. 

I love Ithaca College. I have good reason to. Most of what my life has become emanates right here on the south hill. I met my wife here. I dreamed of owning my own business here. I learned the value of a liberal arts education here. I played baseball here. I made myself here. 

For me, a son of a roofer from a rural town so small it barely shows up on a map, this place helped put me on the map, and for that I am forever grateful.

I hope you too are grateful. For gratitude pays the bills of life. 

But this talk today will not be filled with didactic stories, fables, or platitudes. While that might be a classic commencement strategy, I have too much reverence for you.

In my conversations with Dr. Cornish, she impressed upon me that she cares greatly about you, this graduating class; and that you are a strong and unique class that endured the prime of the pandemic. 

A class without the benefit of a high school graduation. A class of incoming freshmen who were freshmen not in dormitories surrounded by other wide-eyed freshmen, but at home, learning on a screen.

Without question, the last four years have been punctuated with crises, division, and uncertainty.

One might say you were robbed of a certain experience that was contracted to you and generations before you. 

No doubt you’ve had it tough. 

CONGRATULATIONS.

I mean that too.

CONGRATULATIONS.

For in that struggle, you have clearly cultivated a certain resilience in yourselves.

I offer these congratulations because the setbacks you've endured, though extrinsically challenging, are intrinsically rewarding. I promise you that resilience will come in very handy after today.  You see adult life has a savvy way of continually testing and retesting one's resilience.  And if you don’t have it, you take the easier road, and that road is where dreams go to die. 

Don’t let your dream die. Not today, not ever! 

I’ve lived my life that way. I honestly have. 

"I offer these congratulations because the setbacks you've endured, though extrinsically challenging, are intrinsically rewarding. I promise you that resilience will come in very handy after today.  You see adult life has a savvy way of continually testing and retesting one's resilience.  And if you don’t have it, you take the easier road, and that road is where dreams go to die. Don’t let your dream die. Not today, not ever! "

You see, 26 years ago, I too was graduating. I awoke on a sunny May morning in my apartment on South Aurora Street, excited about the future yet sensing a reflective energy over the entire town. It was a sort of tug-of-war between what was and what would be.

I remember the day well. The festivities, the saying goodbye to my friends, the handshakes, and the hugs…the promises to keep in touch with teammates and professors. I remember the weather being unusually warm. I remember walking down to the baseball field, I laid down in centerfield staring at the bright blue sky, absorbing the last moments of college life. “How can you not be romantic about baseball?”

But for all of it….What I don't remember from that day was the commencement address. I am sure it was marked with important advice and wisdom, but none of it got through.  

Probably like you right now, I was preoccupied with the whirlwind of memories and emotions colliding with future expectations. Seriously….who could possibly be asked to pay attention? 

It is unquestionably a foolish endeavor, especially in today’s hyperbolic media and political climate for a complete and total stranger to try and provide some inspiration, wisdom to be your very last lesson here. Some may call downright impossible to meet the moment in a way that you will remember many years from now.. With that happy thought, I proceed.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane:

Here is to carefree, fun-filled nights down at the Commons.
Waffles on a Sunday morning.
Pizza and Redbull for finals week.
Bundling up for an 8am class in the depths of February
Roommates. Classmates. Teammates. 
College sweethearts.
Trips to Wegmans.
The LA program.
The London program.
The first warm sunny day in the springtime.  
The jump in the fountains.
Here’s to your professors and coaches who pushed and prodded to get the most out of you. 

Here's to your friends that you made here. Some of them will be with you through the first jobs, the weddings, the births, the challenges and the wins.

Here's to your parents and the people who raised you.  Three years ago, they cried all the way home and will likely do the same today. And guess what?…. Those wonderful people will be in your corner, through thick and thin, for the rest of their lives, hoping, pulling for, wishing, and supporting you, no matter what. Give them all the thanks, hugs and kisses you can, for after this day, it's just different.

Take a good hard look at the person next to you right now. Maybe put your arm around them. In a few hours, that simple act, taken for granted for so long, will not be so simple anymore.

"Your generation, you in the seats here today, are being called on right now.  And you have a mighty calling ... It is you that will build the businesses, raise the families, create the ideas, do the work that will define your time. It is you that will solve the problems we humans face today and win the opportunities of tomorrow. "

AND HERE IS TO YOU, TO YOU!

The cap and gown, and the sharing of an accomplishment worthy of this ceremony. Many of you will be leaving here today and heading out into this big, bold, hot, uncertain world. The world is different now than when I did the same many years ago. Some see a place of conflict, division, strife & struggle. Others know it as the most advanced, the most blessed, the most capable world in human history.

Whatever view you try on, one thing is certain...Your generation, you in the seats here today, are being called on right now. 

AND YOU HAVE A MIGHTY CALLING!

That calling rings today not as a pollyannaish pat on the back but rather a resounding challenge for all the world to hear.

It is you that will build the businesses, raise the families, create the ideas, do the work that will define your time. It is you that will solve the problems we humans face today and win the opportunities of tomorrow. 

Everyone, and I mean everyone, has a profound interest in what you will do.

Like every graduate this spring, bestowed on you are great gifts, great expectations, therefore great responsibility.  You possess the ascending power of youth, energy, and idealism…and from this institution, you have the means to make something of it.  And if that does not excite you, does not give you a rising sense of hope in your chest you might want to pause and reflect, because graduates, it does not get much better than this! 

It is your time now…. and what a TIME it is to shape this world. 

"It is your time now…. and what a TIME it is to shape this world."

I am reminded of something I learned my freshman year here that has stuck with me ever since…A passage from the naturalist John Muir written 130 years ago. “One learns that the world, though made, is yet being made. That this is still the morning of creation.”

GRADUATES, THIS IS YOUR MORNING OF CREATION. 

Mornings by their very nature are positive, aren't they? The mere concept of a sunrise promotes a feeling of possibility. It’s a chance to do something great. 

That is the energy of creation. It’s positive, it’s optimistic and taken with some determination and dare I say resilience - anything is possible. Simply anything.

As you go about remaking this world, on this very morning I hope you are filled with a sense of enthusiasm, excitement and energy.  As you are young, you no doubt think you have plenty of time. You don't.

George Valesente, our former great baseball coach and a member of the Coaching Hall of Fame, repeatedly told me that my time at Ithaca was like a backward-ticking clock, counting down from four years to zero. He warned me that it goes by fast, so make the most of the time you have! Well, Coach you were right, whether it's four years or 49, it does go by fast. 

In the famous words by the character Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) in The Shawshank Redemption, “Get busy living………or get busy dying.” 

You see, my lesson in all of this is between the chair you're sitting in and the podium I'm standing on is a twisting, harrowing, fun, exciting, unpredictable journey of ups, downs, defeats, victories, joys, and sorrows… otherwise known as the precious gift of life. 

And while everyone’s is different, the themes of a successful one have rung true for thousands of years, and no matter the march of technology or culture, they will remain the same for the next thousand.

Do things the right way. 
Fill your mind, body, soul with good, healthy things that love you back. 
Seek learning every day. 
Listen and observe before you speak and act. 
Work your asses off.
Be decent, informed, aware, empathetic citizens.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY  
DON’T EVER GIVE UP
DON’T EVER GIVE UP
DON’T….EVER….GIVE UP!

So in concluding your education, I have one….last….final….request. Really a simple thought experiment to frame the piece of art that you painted in your four years here. Please do me the honor to consider it.

I ask you to pause for a moment. 
Calm the mind. 
No pretense. 
A pure moment of you. 

I ask: How do you want to live? 
You want normal? 
You want safe? 
You want predictable? 
You want limits? 

Or do you want freedom?
To breathe. 
To compete. 
To learn. 
To work.
To grow and flourish. 
Get a little better each and every second. 
To try to break free from the straight-jacket of norms and expectations. 
To yell and scream. 
To kick down doors. 
Throw up two middle fingers. One to fear and the other to doubt. 
To keep moving forward. 
To learn. 
To be open to new and informed ideas. 
To hunt for a challenge. A mountain to climb. A thing to win. A record to break. A cage to shake.
To refuse to give up or give in.

And at the end of your road, many years from today you'll look back and quietly judge your journey and how you went about doing it. 

I ask you:
What do you want to look back on? 
What kind of life do you want to create? 
How do you want to live?

The choice, graduates is now yours to make. 

And with that, my heartfelt congratulations to the class of 2024! Thank you very much. Godspeed to you all. 

Good morning, members of the faculty and staff, family and supporters, and of course, to my fellow members of the class of 2024…congratulations, by the way! I hope this morning is one filled with feelings of great excitement, lively enthusiasm for what lies ahead, and maybe a little angst to go out there and show the world who you are.

Today, I invite everyone here to be a writer. I know that may seem strange. Isn’t a writer someone who writes award-winning novels? Some do, but it’s not the only definition of a writer. A writer’s someone who keeps moving forward, flipping pages, and staying curious about what happens next. A writer’s also someone who through passion and resiliency dares to add to the story.

If you know me, you know I’m a writer, but I wouldn’t have called myself a writer four years ago. The title felt like something that needed to be earned as opposed to something that was entwined with my identity. From a young age, I felt the overpowering urge to pick up the pen (maybe a number two pencil in elementary school). I used to scribble down stories in a hidden sheet of scrap paper when I should’ve been paying attention in class. I carried notebooks around when I visited the beach just in case inspiration struck… and it always did. I needed to write stories, especially when my voice failed me. It made sense to study writing at Ithaca College in which I could explore several genres, forms, and strengthen my passion; all unique to the writing major.

But what does being a writer mean for us? The graduating class of 2024?

"We’re a group whose story could’ve easily been written for us. The onset of a worldwide pandemic didn’t give us the start of college that we deserved. While we shouldn’t brush past it, I don’t want to give it more time than it’s already taken. Instead, I want to commend us for standing firmly and writing a new story: the perseverance of the class of 2024."

We’re a group whose story could’ve easily been written for us. The onset of a worldwide pandemic didn’t give us the start of college that we deserved. While we shouldn’t brush past it, I don’t want to give it more time than it’s already taken. Instead, I want to commend us for standing firmly and writing a new story: the perseverance of the class of 2024.

You’re all doing incredible things: volunteering, leading, speaking up, learning, and creating. You’re constantly adding to your own personal stories while enriching the campus community around you.

When talking about stories and writers, it’s important to note that nothing is accomplished without challenge and no good story lacks conflict. College is not easy, but we all made the active decision to try this college thing out anyway. In the face of personal struggle, loss, and hardship, we prevailed, letting that pain be part of our stories. I know there are people I wish could’ve been here today and can’t and that the nature of the stories we can’t control can get the better of us sometimes.

Setbacks, rejection, and discomfort are what we’d prefer to leave only a small endnote for, but in truth, they play an integral role in our successes. Adversities are what elevate the good and make our accomplishments that much more powerful. That also doesn’t mean that we forget the parts that have made our stories difficult. All of us here kept writing.

Through my own struggles as well as my accomplishments, I felt something click: that I’ve become me<\/em> .

At first I resisted this because change is terrifying. But, I also began to reflect on what I’ve done since coming to IC: I became a BOLD scholar, a woman in leadership, I was hired as a tour guide, later becoming a Co-Chair of the Admission Host Committee. I became president of Buzzsaw Magazine, earning the opportunity to lead fellow creatives, organize events, and oversee the production of a campus publication. It seems that I’ve also gained my voice too. All of these experiences became part of my identity and told a larger story.

Who have you become you? Who do you see yourself becoming? A researcher, explorer, musician, athlete, artist, daydreamer? If you imagine yourself four years ago, who have you become since?

Today is the last page of our undergraduate years at Ithaca College. What stories will you tell about your time here? What kind of story was it? In the end, it need not be a fairytale. For some, you might be glad the story is ending, but for others, Ithaca College is where the story started. Embrace that perseverance that got you to this point and remain curious about what’s to come. Sometimes it’s okay not knowing what comes next. Instead, what if we create space for the curiosity of possibility? The unknown is not always a bad thing…in fact, it often leads to life changing experiences. We came to college curious and for me, that was one of my best decisions yet.

Hold onto that thing that sparks your passion, and brings fire and joy within. Think of what that is:...that is what will bring you to tomorrow.

Here at Ithaca College, I became me. I have no clue where the time went, but I do know how that time was spent. I’m a storyteller, and I hope I’ve told our story today. I hope you keep writing your story and never let anyone tell it for you. I can’t wait to see where the story goes next.

Thank you and congratulations to the class of 2024!

The day we have all been waiting for is here: Welcome, Class of 2024 and our distinguished guests! I am thrilled to join your families and supporters today.

It is truly a privilege to congratulate these soon-to-be alumni on this outstanding accomplishment. It took focused dedication, exceptional balance, and rigorous study to achieve this level of excellence, and I commend you for the commitment you have demonstrated.

I’d like to also highlight another group of individuals in our community who have reached important milestones during the past year. I wish to honor the 23 faculty who have earned tenure and/or promotion during the past year. Thank you, for your commitment to our students, and to our institution.

I also wish to thank the families and supporters who have provided critical support on their student’s journey to graduation, especially those who played an active role in the life of the college.

Graduates, the gowns, caps and tassels that all of you wear unite you and reflect not just pageantry but pride and purpose. Through additional cords, stoles and pins, many of you are representing who you are or who you have become. They signify your impressive achievements in athletics, work experiences, organizations, and honor societies.

Although they differentiate you in some ways, they also celebrate the only things every graduate shares: the uniqueness of your story and your commitment to build upon it. You come from many states and from around the world. It is the weaving together of your respective perspectives that gives the Class of 2024 its inspiring strength and enduring character. There can never be another class exactly like yours, and we already miss you.

This is a special class. For most of you, your high school graduations were cut short, socially-distanced or moved online. Families crowded around laptop screens to see you graduate. Neighbors congratulated seniors by driving by their homes, honking their horns and waving out the window.

The challenges you have overcome were unimaginable to the alumni who came before you. But to all of you, the very fact that you are sitting here today is proof of your resilience. You have served as models for our community by demonstrating compassion, grace, and persistence. You have endured much and you have excelled greatly. You have places to get to, and we cannot wait to see where you go next.

"The challenges you have overcome were unimaginable to the alumni who came before you. But to all of you, the very fact that you are sitting here today is proof of your resilience. You have served as models for our community by demonstrating compassion, grace, and persistence. You have endured much and you have excelled greatly. You have places to get to, and we cannot wait to see where you go next."

Following a tradition begun in 1992, the college’s centennial year, each graduate has received a medallion inscribed with a quotation chosen by the college’s president. Twenty-five years ago, the quotation chosen was from poet and commencement speaker Dr. Maya Angelou. This year’s quotation comes from another brilliant poet, Amanda Gorman. It reads: “For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to SEE it, if only we’re brave enough to BE it.”

I am reminded of two things by this quote: the resilience of human hope and the boundless depth of the human spirit.

There is always light. You have already lived through darkness and dare I say you are living through it still. You have seen disruption, upheaval, and war. Yet, the sun still rose, lives were lived, babies were born, romance still blossomed. People did their best to support one another and those who had hope offered a bit of it to others, even complete strangers.

Hope, along with love, are our most profound renewable resources, but they take effort to replenish and reignite. Remember that you can be a source of replenishment and reignition for someone else. In fact, you already are – to one another, to the people in this room. Graduates, you are also that light to me and to everyone on this stage.

Let choosing to be a light become a part of your routine. Whether it is a kind word, a warm smile, or a random act of kindness, choose to give of yourself and when you cannot muster even that, and this is perhaps even more important, accept that light from someone, something, somewhere, ANY where. Do not give up. Know that light is coming.

Sometimes light must be pointed out to us. We can help each other find the rays of light peaking over the horizon illuminating a path forward, a way to see compassion, see grace, see love. But first, we must seeone another. Now more than ever, we must view the world deeply through the multiple perspectives which is reflective of an education rooted and grounded in the liberal arts tradition. We are indeed each other’s keepers and our ability to survive let alone thrive is directly tied to our ability to listen, to question, and to seek understanding.

"Let choosing to be a light become a part of your routine. Whether it is a kind word, a warm smile, or a random act of kindness, choose to give of yourself and when you cannot muster even that, and this is perhaps even more important, accept that light from someone, something, somewhere, ANY where. Do not give up. Know that light is coming."

In closing, I say that to those whom much is given, much will be required. You have been given much. You have received an outstanding education from some of the best teachers, scholars, clinicians, and practitioners in the world. You have learned how to think, speak, write, and act critically, creatively, and analytically. Your professional training has prepared you for success in your chosen field.

And now before you go forth into the world, remember that you are not just graduating from here, you are launching from here. Wherever you go, please think of us often and know we will leave a light on for you. In the words of Neil Diamond, “Turn on your heart light. Let it shine wherever you go. Let it make a happy glow for all the world to see.” You came here as a spark, but now you are a beacon - of light, of joy, of possibility. May you light a path for others and may you know this place will always be home. Congratulations!