Good morning, Class of 2023!
Welcome to our honorands and trustees. Welcome to our faculty, staff, and alumni. Welcome to our Brunswick neighbors, and welcome especially to family and friends who are here to celebrate this joyous occasion. Thank you for traveling from all parts of our country and the world to be here on the beautiful campus of the College we love. And to our graduates, my classmates, one journey ends today and another begins for you and for me.
So, to all, welcome to this glorious celebration.
This is our 218th Commencement. In 1806, when our first Commencement took place on these grounds, Thomas Jefferson was in the White House, Congress was in only its ninth term, and it would be three years before Abraham Lincoln was born. While the design of this campus has changed a touch, Massachusetts Hall just over there, our first building, was standing. Very few institutions have been as durable as Bowdoin, a place that embraces both change and a steadfast commitment to our core values as essential elements in providing a great liberal arts education.
So, class of 2023, can I ask you to stand up. Now, turn and face your parents, family, and friends—those who have supported you and who love you. Consider all that they have done to help you get here today, and thank them with your applause.
And now, it would be great to thank the faculty and staff that made this amazing Bowdoin experience possible.
I want to add my great thanks, and that of Julianne, to our faculty and staff at Bowdoin. You have been fantastic colleagues and every day in countless ways you make Bowdoin the special place that it is. Thank you for everything you do for the College and for your partnership and friendship over these past eight years.
So, Class of 2023, here we are. Four years later. I stood right about here. You sat right about there. It was a beautiful August evening, and we all came together for the first time.
Yesterday at Baccalaureate, I talked about the historic and historically difficult challenges that you faced, and the strength, character, and skills that you have built as you overcame so much during the last four years.
This morning I want to share two other thoughts with you. The first is about what it means to be a Bowdoin graduate, and the second is a personal reflection that I have shared with every class.
Over the past few months, we have seen recent graduates of the College live their principles under difficult circumstances, and in one case, surrendering freedom to an oppressive regime in service of these principles.
I am talking, of course, about Evan Gershkovich, class of 2014, and Justin J. Pearson class of 2017.
Facing different circumstances, Evan and Justin provide examples of believing in something and staying true to those beliefs, even in the face of intense criticism, threats, and in Evan’s case the complete loss of his freedom under terrible circumstances. They are models of dignity, of principle, and of strength in service to the common good.
As you may have read this past week, Evan’s pretrial detention has been extended three more months and continues to be denied access to US consular officials. It is hard to imagine the nightmare that he is living, and that his parents are going through. We very much hope that Evan is home soon.
We are grateful for the work being done at the highest levels of the US government to obtain his release, and hope that this attention is unflagging for as long as it takes. We have been inspired by the outpouring of support by the Bowdoin community – on campus by so many among our students, faculty and staff – all of you - and among our alumni and parents around the world. And we are inspired by those in the media who are keeping Evan and his situation in full view of the world. Among them are Andy Serwer, class of 1981 and trustee, and Lucy Gilmour, a Bowdoin parent, both here today. Thank you.
To support Evan, have a look at the story pinned to Bowdoin’s home page or visit FreeGershkovich.com on the web.
Can I ask that we show Evan our support and love for him this morning – let’s make sure he can hear us in Moscow!
Please keep Evan in your thoughts and hearts.
Now to my personal reflection—one that I have shared with each graduating class in my time as president—it’s about your happiness. Your happiness will have nothing to do with your GPA, or fancy titles you’ll have, or the money you might make. It is about your heart and soul.
Find and nurture the special relationships that make you whole.
Find those people who will love you completely and without question—they are out there—and give them the same. Grow the friendships and relationships that draw out the best in you, with those who love you for who you are and who are there for you as you are for them—they are magical and life changing.
No amount of money, no material symbols of success, can come close to the satisfaction that comes from these special relationships. Nothing else—nothing—will sustain you in the same way and nothing else will make you or your life as good.
On that note, and as I prepare to depart Bowdoin, I want to thank my wife and partner, Julianne, for all that she has done for me, for our family, and, over the last eight years, for the College. While she is often quietly behind the scenes—she is someone who really does not like the spotlight—the truth is that whatever I’ve accomplished in my time here, and in my life, was only possible and only meaningful because her. Thank you, Julianne.
Class of 2023, congratulations on your remarkable accomplishments at a historic time. We cannot wait to see what you will do.
