The Honorable Madeleine Albright, other speakers encourage the Class of 2012 to focus not on the challenges ahead, but on the ceaseless opportunities to make a mark

Public Affairs, Roger Williams University

English

HELIN Digital Commons

Commencement 2012: For Graduates, an Urge to Inspire Change

DOCS@RWU

Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUFeatured News Story The Week at Roger5-19-2012Commencement 2012: For Graduates, an Urge toInspire ChangePublic Affairs, Roger Williams UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_newsPart of the Higher Education CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Week at Roger at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in FeaturedNews Story by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationPublic Affairs, Roger Williams University, "Commencement 2012: For Graduates, an Urge to Inspire Change" (2012). Featured NewsStory. 28.https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_news/28 News ArchiveCommencement 2012: For Graduates, anUrge to Inspire ChangeThe Honorable Madeleine Albright, other speakers encourage the Class of 2012to focus not on the challenges ahead, but on the ceaseless opportunities tomake a markMay 19, 2012Bristol, R.I. – With words of wisdom imparted by an array of speakers – ranging from one of themost accomplished women in the history of American government to a philosophy major bound forthe West Coast for an internship in Hollywood – 1,124 graduates in the Roger Williams UniversityClass of 2012 culminated their college careers on Saturday at the University’s annualCommencement exercises.On a day that boasted bright sunshine and an abundantly agreeable 72 degrees on thethermometer along the bayside campus, approximately 6,000 people turned out under the bigtent in Bristol to watch the graduates cross the stage.In addition to awarding bachelor’s and master’s degrees to the candidates, RWU President DonaldJ. Farish conferred honorary doctorates to two special guests: the Honorable Madeleine K. Albright,the 64th U.S. Secretary of State, and Ms. Trudy Coxe, chief executive o cer and executive directorof the Preservation Society of Newport County.In a speech both heartfelt and humorous – Dr. Albright at one point noted that her own collegeexperience dates back “about halfway between the invention of the iPod and the discovery of  re” –the former Secretary of State urged graduates to focus not on the challenges handed down byprevious generations, but in the opportunities to inspire change. And continued education is key tosuccess, she promised.“As you look ahead, realize that the demands of the workplace will continue to change and thatmaintaining a certain level of knowledge is no longer enough,” Dr. Albright said. “Whether yourprimary goal is personal success, community service or a combination of the two, you will have tokeep learning because there’s always more to know. For this you should be grateful because thequest to learn more is a vital part of what it means to be alive.Citing words of wisdom from Alfred Lord Tennyson and Boris Pasternak alike, President Farish urgedgraduates to live, not to prepare for life.“You must ask yourself whether you are going to observe life or participate in it,” he said. “Whetheryou wish to be a passenger or the driver. Whether your objective is merely to survive for as manyyears as you can or instead to plan on leaving a legacy – something that marks in a positive way, yourtime on Earth, and makes a di erence in the lives of those whom you know and love and for thosewho will follow.”Noting the less-than-ideal economic and employment prospects that will face many job seekers,student speaker and philosophy major R. Bradley Bermont ’12 told his classmates that while it’snatural for graduates to venture into post-collegiate life with trepidation, there is no need toproceed cautiously.“You know as well as I do: We’re fully mobile, maximally capable human beings with an eclectic mixof knowledge,” he told his classmates. “We have graduated having learned something aboutliterature, science, math and history. We’ve seen business models and physics problems,  oor plansand electrical grids.“Let’s face it: We’re polymaths – Renaissance men and women. Roger Williams has equipped uswith an education  t for a jack-of-all-trades, but we’ve elected to make ourselves a specialist of one.It makes no sense to treat the unknown with trepidation, consternation, fear of panic. We are youngand the world – this transforming, shape-shi ing world – is at our  ngertips.”In her remarks, Dr. Albright also noted how much she enjoys academic ceremony and that shetreasured the chance to participate in Commencement 2012 at RWU.“It’s a special pleasure to visit this  ne university,” she said. “A er all, Roger Williams is one of therising universities in the Northeast featuring an outstanding new president, a host of options forstudy abroad, a commitment to community service, a beautiful waterfront campus and aCommencement process led by bagpipes. So, what’s not to like?”In what’s become an annual tradition since its establishment in 2007, 12 students representing theirrespective schools and colleges took home the President’s Core Values Medallion in recognition oftheir academic, professional and community-based accomplishments.Recipient Ashley Aliengena ’12, an at-large nominee from the Feinstein College of Arts & Sciences,said she was both humbled and surprised by the award: “I see our University’s core values as a callfor students to  nd a permanent home in learning and commit themselves to serving others,” shesaid. “It was deeply gratifying to see that a er four years of hard work, my values were re ected inmy University's values – it made me feel sure that I had made the right choice in coming to RogerWilliams.”During the ceremony, Interim Provost Robert A. Potter presented the University’s Fi h AnnualExcellence in Teaching Award to Professor of Accounting Richard A. Bernardi of the Mario J. GabelliSchool of Business.The Class of 2012 featured a number of academic  rsts at the University, including the graduation ofthe  rst 11 students from College Unbound at Roger Williams University, a non-traditional highereducation model for  rst-generation and adult students developed by Big Picture Learning andlaunched in 2009 in collaboration with RWU.Of the 119 graduate degrees awarded, eleven students earned master of science degrees inconstruction management, the  rst cohort of graduates from that program. Among theundergraduate day students who graduated, the  ve most populous majors included criminaljustice, architecture, psychology, management and communication.One day earlier, 183 students were awarded juris doctor degrees in a Roger Williams UniversitySchool of Law ceremony highlighted by an address by the Honorable Jack B. Weinstein, one of themost respected and in uential jurists in America.For a Commencement 2012 At-a-Glance fact sheet, click here.Share This: REQUEST INFO VISIT CAMPUS APPLY MAKE A GIFTMap & DirectionsContact UsDirectoryNewsEventsAthleticsrwu.eduUndergraduate SiteGraduate SiteSchool of LawSchool of Continuing Studies    © 2018 Roger Williams University. All rights reserved.GMAIL AT RWU BRIDGES MY RWU IT HELP SITE POLICIES WORK AT RWUOne Old Ferry Road, Bristol, RI 028091-800-458-7144

https://docs.rwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&amp;context=weekatroger_featured_news

Commencement 2012: For Graduates, an Urge to Inspire Change

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

HELIN Digital Commons

DOCS@RWU

HELIN Digital Commons