Commencement by Ashley Ramsey on 05/20/2009 at 5:06 PM

I remember sitting in the back of the Tom and Kathleen Elam Center. I didn't know any of the people sitting around me.

The guy on my right was kind enough to put my car keys in his pocket since I was wearing a dress and didn't have the forethought to give my keys to my folks. Now that I think about it, it might not have been the best idea to give a stranger the keys to my Honda. The girl on my right smacked her gum through the entire ceremony and make snarky comments about the speaker. The guy behind me insulted my degree, saying it was the easiest program at our school. I was offended, but mostly hurt. Leave it to a stranger to confirm your worst fears about yourself.

After we threw our caps and I got my keys back from what's-his-name, my parents followed me back to my apartment to pick up some of my furniture. No sooner than I opened the door my stepdad started in about my driving and cited both rolling stops I had made in the fives miles from campus to my place.

My graduation day was a letdown. And looking back I see why. I had bought into the entitlement mentality of many college grads. The speech I heard was a lot like the Post- Everything University speech in J. Budziszewski's article today. I wish I had heard something more like the unofficial Christian commencement instead. Something that would have drawn me out of my self-centered expectations and toward the beginning of "something that will never end."

For those of your who recently graduated, what was your commencement speech like?

Commencement by Ashley Ramsey on 05/20/2009 at 5:06 PM

I remember sitting in the back of the Tom and Kathleen Elam Center. I didn't know any of the people sitting around me.

The guy on my right was kind enough to put my car keys in his pocket since I was wearing a dress and didn't have the forethought to give my keys to my folks. Now that I think about it, it might not have been the best idea to give a stranger the keys to my Honda. The girl on my right smacked her gum through the entire ceremony and make snarky comments about the speaker. The guy behind me insulted my degree, saying it was the easiest program at our school. I was offended, but mostly hurt. Leave it to a stranger to confirm your worst fears about yourself.

After we threw our caps and I got my keys back from what's-his-name, my parents followed me back to my apartment to pick up some of my furniture. No sooner than I opened the door my stepdad started in about my driving and cited both rolling stops I had made in the fives miles from campus to my place.

My graduation day was a letdown. And looking back I see why. I had bought into the entitlement mentality of many college grads. The speech I heard was a lot like the Post- Everything University speech in J. Budziszewski's article today. I wish I had heard something more like the unofficial Christian commencement instead. Something that would have drawn me out of my self-centered expectations and toward the beginning of "something that will never end."

For those of your who recently graduated, what was your commencement speech like?

Comments

[1. BDB said the following at 5:18 PM on May 20:]

1

Depends on what you mean by "recent."

At my seminary graduation two years ago, Jack Hayford gave a riveting sermon charging us with the responsibilities of serving in ministry - which was what many of the graduates planned to do. To summarize:

You can do things your way, or God's way. If you try to do things your way, it might work for a while. But what's going to last is what you do God's way.

[2. DEH said the following at 6:06 PM on May 20:]

2

I graduated last week...and I'm sad to confess that I don't remember exactly what the commencement speaker said. It had to do with God's riches and with being servants. But I was so excited about the whole event and about a surprise award I won (and I was functioning with very little sleep) that I kind of spaced out. I remember laughing, though.

[3. BDB said the following at 7:15 PM on May 20:]

3

No one else yet? I remember grad school from 10 years ago. The executive who was giving the address got fired from his executive job just a few weeks before graduation. Here are excerpts:

By my count, I've been fired five times in my life.

When I was in High School, I was good at math. When I got to college, I learned that I wasn't good at math, I was good at arithmetic. In graduate school, I was still good at math, but now they called it accounting.

Frank Biondi, 1999

[4. SarahJane said the following at 7:41 PM on May 20:]

4

I'm convocating next Friday, so I guess I will find out then. I attended the convocation ceremonies of two close friends, last year, and was sadly disappointed by the addresses given. It was so clear to me from many of the traditions that universities were originally founded by the church...but with the current distinction between the two, a convocation ceremony is full of meaningless pomp and speeches.
I recently attended the high school grad ceremony for the Catholic school in which I teach, and I was so encouraged by the Christ-centred messages presented, although I am Protestant. The contrast between the secular university convocation and the Catholic high school grad was actually sad, to me. It revealed the emptiness of traditions without Christ.

[5. Mike said the following at 7:58 PM on May 20:]

5

I remember the speech being about the need for engineers to take a more active role in government, and something to do with improving education. Quite likely true, but uninspiring. I guess the valedictorian speech was more the 'inspirational' kind of 'take pride in your profession' and 'do great things' kind of talk.

I didn't think much of my convocation day either, it was merely a day for my extended family to attend and feel validated that they had been invited to witness me complete my degree (regardless of whether or not they had played a role in my studies).

[6. Sarah said the following at 9:17 PM on May 20:]

6

I graduated this past Saturday, and it was a wonderful time for me. I was surrounded (literally) by friends, the rain held off, and my roommates and I managed to clean like crazy and avoid a late-checkout charge! Though like DEH (#2), I was functioning on little sleep and I don't remember exactly what was said during the commencement speech - I sort of spaced out - but my mom said it was good.

Although, what I did hear I appreciated (it was so much better than the previous year's). Ron Sider was our speaker and he challenged us with the question of "Will you be different?" He mentioned how the rates of divorce and such are pretty much the same among Christians as they are among non-believers, and he challenged us to be different from the world and different based on what we've learned in the past four years. It was rather sermon-esque at times, but in a good way.

Congrats to all the other grads out there! :-)

[7. Melisssa S. said the following at 10:06 PM on May 20:]

7

After five years of college, I graduated last year. The speech said that America had dug a massive hole with social security and that it was on our shoulders to fix it. The speaker didn't say how. He also said that we should arrive to things on time and wear sunscreen. Oh, and a lady watered a plant as a symbol of some ancient tribal ritual to honor Mother Nature. It was a bit of a let down. I didn't expect anything Christian, naturally, but thought that we might at least hear something that had to do with graduating or life responsibilities, etc. Maybe social security is a responsibility that we bear but I doubt many of us were planning to make a career out of it. And why bring up social security over any of the other current issues at the time? It seemed really pointless.

[8. Kelsey said the following at 11:07 PM on May 20:]

8

I just graduated from a large Christian university last Friday with a B.S. in biochemistry. :-D
Our commencement speech was nice. The speaker talked about how uncertain jobs are in this market, but how God is faithful. He used the "God takes care of sparrows and flowers, so how much more you" passage as a reference. I don't remember most of it, because I was so excited, and my fiance, who had to work that morning, was running late, so I kept looking up to where our familes were sitting. He got there about halfway through the speech. Besides the bible verses, the only other thing I remember from the speech is an interesting story about a guide dog almost getting killed because he didn't make it into an elevator (the leash was attached to the student, and to the dog's neck). But the dog survived and jumped onto the next elevator and went to the class to wait for his owner. The commencement speaker used that story to basically say, if a dog can faithfully do what he said he would, God is defintely able to do just that.

[9. Allison said the following at 12:54 AM on May 21:]

9

I graduated on Sunday, and I took away more from the two students who spoke than the invited speaker. They both reminded us that our education truly had prepared us and that we were (are) ready to go out into the world and apply what we have been taught and learned. It was meaningful to me because as much as I have looked forward to life after college, the transition is hard; I came to dearly love the community I was a part of and when it came time to drive away, I was loathe to leave it.

[10. Sarah P. said the following at 9:21 AM on May 21:]

10

I work at a Christian college, where I graduated a few years ago. I think the Commencement this year was the best we've seen. It was so solidly focused on Christ and on humility.

I don't remember the speech from my own Commencement at all. The one major memory I have is the college's financial aid officer standing by the road and offering each graduate a washcloth tied with ribbon, saying to each of us, "Welcome to a lifetime of service."

At the time, as someone expecting to go change the world immediately with all my incredible giftings, this act struck me as odd and even a little ominous. Now, a few years removed, I think that little towel and those few words were an amazing gift. They stuck with me through this difficult, humbling time of realignment. :P

[11. Jesse said the following at 9:36 AM on May 21:]

11

I don't remember a single word. But, my friends, family, and I had an absolutely amazing day grilling ribs and sailing the rest of the day. Good barbecue, good weather, and memories of rich blessings. That's how I finished college.

[12. Jesse said the following at 9:45 AM on May 21:]

12

Oh! Actually, I remember one thing. I was one of several hundred in one of several other graduation ceremonies for FSU. It was held in the packed out Tallahassee Civic Center. My brother and I were texting back and forth. I texted him "watch this." Then, in the middle of a speech, I shot up and did "the sprinkler/cabbage patch" which solicited a loud cheer starting from my family and working its way around the audience and student body.

I don't know why I did that, but it's the only thing I remember from the ceremony.

[13. JenR said the following at 11:10 AM on May 21:]

13

"...and that's when World War Three nearly broke out..."

That is a line commonly used among my family when relaying the story of my college graduation ceremony.

Some things must be first acknowledged:

For starters, it was a stifling humid 90-something degrees, and we graduates were packed in a non-air-conditioned room, swathed in the required black polyester gowns. It was so miserable there were "runners" passing water out to us during the commencement, making sure we didn't pass out.

Second, for whatever reason, we were running late. No one was happy about that.

Third, no one was allowed to clap for the graduates when they got their diploma until after everyone had gone cross the stage. It was eerily somber, and this was before the speech.

So it was a bit "off" for everyone. Many of us were a little cranky before the revolt started. Not that this in any way excuses the resulting reactions, but it certainly didn't help when our commencement speaker stepped up to the podium.

Ah yes, our commencement speech.

It might have actually been interesting and enlightening speech.

(You can read the text of it here:

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=29768

In case you're wondering, he didn't get ot the last two paragraphs. The last phrase I recall was "Arrogance of Power." Then again, I couldn't hear much over the group of guys chanting "USA!" in the row behind me).

I remember the girl next to me commenting, "Are we supposed to take notes?" It did, indeed, feel like one of the lectures from a history class. I was trying to pay attention. I was also not trying to turn into a polyester puddle.

(This article gives a glimpse of the crowds reaction to Dr. Junker's speech:

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=29730

Not necessarily agreeing with all the reactions, but I will state that it all did happen.)

At least our speaker didn't try to give us meaningless flowery praise, right? He wanted to give us information that would challenge us and make us think about our place in the world.

But I'm sure he didn't expect to be booed off stage before he could finish.

I was offended for him, though. While I do think it would have behooved him to perhaps "know his audience" a little more, he certainly didn't deserve the disrespect that was shown to him.

But by golly, if it wasn't the most interesting graduation ceremony I've ever attended.

(Sorry for the weird formatting. Didn't realize how much I rely on html.)

[14. Tami said the following at 12:08 PM on May 21:]

14

Sarah P. wrote about receiving "...a washcloth tied with ribbon, saying to each of us, 'Welcome to a lifetime of service.'"

What a neat gift.

[15. Elise C. said the following at 12:27 PM on May 21:]

15

I graduated last year and my commencement speaker was Chuck Norris.

Enough said.

[16. Tamara (from Canada) said the following at 3:00 PM on May 21:]

16

Well, does "recently graduated" include four years ago? ;)

The speech at my commencement was apparently very good, but none of us who were graduating actually heard it. All of the speakers for hearing the speech were pointed out to the people watching, and as grad sitting on the stage we heard a few of the more emphatic words, and nothing more. My parents said it was a good speech . . . would have been nice to hear it.

[1. BDB said the following at 5:18 PM on May 20:]

1

Depends on what you mean by "recent."

At my seminary graduation two years ago, Jack Hayford gave a riveting sermon charging us with the responsibilities of serving in ministry - which was what many of the graduates planned to do. To summarize:

You can do things your way, or God's way. If you try to do things your way, it might work for a while. But what's going to last is what you do God's way.

[2. DEH said the following at 6:06 PM on May 20:]

2

I graduated last week...and I'm sad to confess that I don't remember exactly what the commencement speaker said. It had to do with God's riches and with being servants. But I was so excited about the whole event and about a surprise award I won (and I was functioning with very little sleep) that I kind of spaced out. I remember laughing, though.

[3. BDB said the following at 7:15 PM on May 20:]

3

No one else yet? I remember grad school from 10 years ago. The executive who was giving the address got fired from his executive job just a few weeks before graduation. Here are excerpts:

By my count, I've been fired five times in my life.

When I was in High School, I was good at math. When I got to college, I learned that I wasn't good at math, I was good at arithmetic. In graduate school, I was still good at math, but now they called it accounting.

Frank Biondi, 1999

[4. SarahJane said the following at 7:41 PM on May 20:]

4

I'm convocating next Friday, so I guess I will find out then. I attended the convocation ceremonies of two close friends, last year, and was sadly disappointed by the addresses given. It was so clear to me from many of the traditions that universities were originally founded by the church...but with the current distinction between the two, a convocation ceremony is full of meaningless pomp and speeches.
I recently attended the high school grad ceremony for the Catholic school in which I teach, and I was so encouraged by the Christ-centred messages presented, although I am Protestant. The contrast between the secular university convocation and the Catholic high school grad was actually sad, to me. It revealed the emptiness of traditions without Christ.

[5. Mike said the following at 7:58 PM on May 20:]

5

I remember the speech being about the need for engineers to take a more active role in government, and something to do with improving education. Quite likely true, but uninspiring. I guess the valedictorian speech was more the 'inspirational' kind of 'take pride in your profession' and 'do great things' kind of talk.

I didn't think much of my convocation day either, it was merely a day for my extended family to attend and feel validated that they had been invited to witness me complete my degree (regardless of whether or not they had played a role in my studies).

[6. Sarah said the following at 9:17 PM on May 20:]

6

I graduated this past Saturday, and it was a wonderful time for me. I was surrounded (literally) by friends, the rain held off, and my roommates and I managed to clean like crazy and avoid a late-checkout charge! Though like DEH (#2), I was functioning on little sleep and I don't remember exactly what was said during the commencement speech - I sort of spaced out - but my mom said it was good.

Although, what I did hear I appreciated (it was so much better than the previous year's). Ron Sider was our speaker and he challenged us with the question of "Will you be different?" He mentioned how the rates of divorce and such are pretty much the same among Christians as they are among non-believers, and he challenged us to be different from the world and different based on what we've learned in the past four years. It was rather sermon-esque at times, but in a good way.

Congrats to all the other grads out there! :-)

[7. Melisssa S. said the following at 10:06 PM on May 20:]

7

After five years of college, I graduated last year. The speech said that America had dug a massive hole with social security and that it was on our shoulders to fix it. The speaker didn't say how. He also said that we should arrive to things on time and wear sunscreen. Oh, and a lady watered a plant as a symbol of some ancient tribal ritual to honor Mother Nature. It was a bit of a let down. I didn't expect anything Christian, naturally, but thought that we might at least hear something that had to do with graduating or life responsibilities, etc. Maybe social security is a responsibility that we bear but I doubt many of us were planning to make a career out of it. And why bring up social security over any of the other current issues at the time? It seemed really pointless.

[8. Kelsey said the following at 11:07 PM on May 20:]

8

I just graduated from a large Christian university last Friday with a B.S. in biochemistry. :-D
Our commencement speech was nice. The speaker talked about how uncertain jobs are in this market, but how God is faithful. He used the "God takes care of sparrows and flowers, so how much more you" passage as a reference. I don't remember most of it, because I was so excited, and my fiance, who had to work that morning, was running late, so I kept looking up to where our familes were sitting. He got there about halfway through the speech. Besides the bible verses, the only other thing I remember from the speech is an interesting story about a guide dog almost getting killed because he didn't make it into an elevator (the leash was attached to the student, and to the dog's neck). But the dog survived and jumped onto the next elevator and went to the class to wait for his owner. The commencement speaker used that story to basically say, if a dog can faithfully do what he said he would, God is defintely able to do just that.

[9. Allison said the following at 12:54 AM on May 21:]

9

I graduated on Sunday, and I took away more from the two students who spoke than the invited speaker. They both reminded us that our education truly had prepared us and that we were (are) ready to go out into the world and apply what we have been taught and learned. It was meaningful to me because as much as I have looked forward to life after college, the transition is hard; I came to dearly love the community I was a part of and when it came time to drive away, I was loathe to leave it.

[10. Sarah P. said the following at 9:21 AM on May 21:]

10

I work at a Christian college, where I graduated a few years ago. I think the Commencement this year was the best we've seen. It was so solidly focused on Christ and on humility.

I don't remember the speech from my own Commencement at all. The one major memory I have is the college's financial aid officer standing by the road and offering each graduate a washcloth tied with ribbon, saying to each of us, "Welcome to a lifetime of service."

At the time, as someone expecting to go change the world immediately with all my incredible giftings, this act struck me as odd and even a little ominous. Now, a few years removed, I think that little towel and those few words were an amazing gift. They stuck with me through this difficult, humbling time of realignment. :P

[11. Jesse said the following at 9:36 AM on May 21:]

11

I don't remember a single word. But, my friends, family, and I had an absolutely amazing day grilling ribs and sailing the rest of the day. Good barbecue, good weather, and memories of rich blessings. That's how I finished college.

[12. Jesse said the following at 9:45 AM on May 21:]

12

Oh! Actually, I remember one thing. I was one of several hundred in one of several other graduation ceremonies for FSU. It was held in the packed out Tallahassee Civic Center. My brother and I were texting back and forth. I texted him "watch this." Then, in the middle of a speech, I shot up and did "the sprinkler/cabbage patch" which solicited a loud cheer starting from my family and working its way around the audience and student body.

I don't know why I did that, but it's the only thing I remember from the ceremony.

[13. JenR said the following at 11:10 AM on May 21:]

13

"...and that's when World War Three nearly broke out..."

That is a line commonly used among my family when relaying the story of my college graduation ceremony.

Some things must be first acknowledged:

For starters, it was a stifling humid 90-something degrees, and we graduates were packed in a non-air-conditioned room, swathed in the required black polyester gowns. It was so miserable there were "runners" passing water out to us during the commencement, making sure we didn't pass out.

Second, for whatever reason, we were running late. No one was happy about that.

Third, no one was allowed to clap for the graduates when they got their diploma until after everyone had gone cross the stage. It was eerily somber, and this was before the speech.

So it was a bit "off" for everyone. Many of us were a little cranky before the revolt started. Not that this in any way excuses the resulting reactions, but it certainly didn't help when our commencement speaker stepped up to the podium.

Ah yes, our commencement speech.

It might have actually been interesting and enlightening speech.

(You can read the text of it here:

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=29768

In case you're wondering, he didn't get ot the last two paragraphs. The last phrase I recall was "Arrogance of Power." Then again, I couldn't hear much over the group of guys chanting "USA!" in the row behind me).

I remember the girl next to me commenting, "Are we supposed to take notes?" It did, indeed, feel like one of the lectures from a history class. I was trying to pay attention. I was also not trying to turn into a polyester puddle.

(This article gives a glimpse of the crowds reaction to Dr. Junker's speech:

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=29730

Not necessarily agreeing with all the reactions, but I will state that it all did happen.)

At least our speaker didn't try to give us meaningless flowery praise, right? He wanted to give us information that would challenge us and make us think about our place in the world.

But I'm sure he didn't expect to be booed off stage before he could finish.

I was offended for him, though. While I do think it would have behooved him to perhaps "know his audience" a little more, he certainly didn't deserve the disrespect that was shown to him.

But by golly, if it wasn't the most interesting graduation ceremony I've ever attended.

(Sorry for the weird formatting. Didn't realize how much I rely on html.)

[14. Tami said the following at 12:08 PM on May 21:]

14

Sarah P. wrote about receiving "...a washcloth tied with ribbon, saying to each of us, 'Welcome to a lifetime of service.'"

What a neat gift.

[15. Elise C. said the following at 12:27 PM on May 21:]

15

I graduated last year and my commencement speaker was Chuck Norris.

Enough said.

[16. Tamara (from Canada) said the following at 3:00 PM on May 21:]

16

Well, does "recently graduated" include four years ago? ;)

The speech at my commencement was apparently very good, but none of us who were graduating actually heard it. All of the speakers for hearing the speech were pointed out to the people watching, and as grad sitting on the stage we heard a few of the more emphatic words, and nothing more. My parents said it was a good speech . . . would have been nice to hear it.