Cheers to You!
5/18/2007
Candle and Rose happened on another perfect evening. I think it's rained on this oldest and most cherished graduating student tradition only twice in 80-something years.
I opened the new Chronicle of Higher Education just now and found all manner of silly stuff going on at other schools around this time of graduations. At Union College students run laps naked around Nott Memorial. At Harvard some rub the foot of the statue of John Harvard for good luck but others urinate on it instead. Young scholars at the University of Pennsylvania consider it a must to crawl under a 16-foot sculpture on campus and have sex there prior to commencement. At Duke they have sex in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens and in the stacks of the Perkins Library. At the University of Virginia students run naked through the quad before sprinting back and planting a kiss on a statue of Homer—"preferably on his posterior."
Some odyssey.
Now I'd be the first to acknowledge that there may be traditions among our own Dominican graduates with which I am not fully familiar, and this personal ignorance is, perhaps, A Very Good Thing. Nonetheless, I would contend that at least some of our graduates' traditions are a little deeper, rather more emotional, a bit more profound. For instance, the president toasts the graduates with champagne and strawberries after a beautiful Baccalaureate Mass. And of course and most of all there is this Candle and Rose.
For those who have been part of it, no explanation is necessary, and for those who haven't, none will really suffice. But it's hard to think of it now without smiling. I tried to write about it last year and my words didn't and don't capture the feeling. It's about relationships made and sustained. There is ritual and song, regalia and tradition, laughter and tears, candles and roses, of course, and words—heartfelt and genuine words from some of our students heading out, and up. Here's what some of them said on that perfect night two weeks ago:
Dominican welcomed me right away from the torch leaders unloading my car, to road tripping to Michigan City with my freshmen roommate, and to having Spice girl dance parties with the third floor Coughlin girls, I felt at home…. Ice cream sandwich fights at two in the morning, driving six hours to watch the baseball team at nationals, singing Britney Spears and Ashlee Simpson in the car, ruby Tuesday dinners, the stripe shirt wall, spending a weekend watching the men's volleyball team, Halloween parties, ice skating downtown, late night talks with a bowl of cheetos…
Another:
Even after four years, on my way to class I still find myself staring at the quad, distracted by its charm and its inviting energy. The quad's design is quaintly simple, yet symbolic. As you can see, it is surrounded on three sides by Power, Mazzuchelli, and Lewis Halls. The fourth side is open to the gate that separates our campus from the rest of River Forest. One of my favorite views of the quad is from right here, preferably lying on the grass, but that wouldn't be very conducive for this speech. In the spring, I loved to lay right here and soak everything in. Each year the same thoughts crossed my mind "I should be doing homework." "What is that music they're blasting on Power 4?" "This is so comfortable." And it was; it was nice to let my mind wander while feeling sheltered and protected by Dominican's campus. And now, when I'm most comfortable, it's time to uproot and move on. There will be no more movie nights or snowball fights on the quad. No more Frisbee and football, no more games of tag, piles of leaves, or piles of books…no longer will we have this enclosed, convenient, safe space.
After the ceremony tonight, we'll turn away and leave the quad. But I can bet that tomorrow you'll find yourself here again, camera in hand, on graduation day to take a little piece of the quad with you. And rightfully so, because it really is beautiful whether it's the backdrop for a conversation on the cloister or a coveted view out of your dorm window. And of course, it's no coincidence that it was designed with the fourth side open. Not only does this invite people into our community, but it urges us to take Dominican's spirit with us out into the world. The three walled sides of the quad are symbols of our foundation, our education, and our community and the fourth side, vast and limitless as it is, symbolizes our future. Standing here tonight it might be easy to think "I could be here forever." But, if you turn around, and take a look, there's still so much more that we have to discover. The possibilities are, dare I say "Amazing."
And a third:
I would like to propose a toast to you, Dominican. A University who generously welcomed me as a late transfer. You were a hope fulfilled from the get go. A University whose professors continually challenged me to think outside my box and forced me past the assumptions I brought. A University whose faculty and administration have supported me above and beyond all my expectations, who melded academic rigor with understanding and nothing short of grace, incurring in me a debt that I can only pay forward … and fully intend to do. A University who paired me with an advisor who saw more in me than I saw in myself … who believed in me when I faltered … who always found a way to help me navigate past my failures and capitalize on my successes … whom I will forever call my friend. A University who opened amazing doors … where a rising senior such as I was, who was seeking a summer internship in a highly competitive field, after exhausting all leads for that needle in the haystack, experienced what it means to have the support of the Dominican team behind you and somehow, some way, to have the gift of a Dominican alumnus getting the resume noticed and, along with another member of this class, having the opportunity to work at a tier one global investment bank…
To you, to each one here, both student and faculty … and the families represented, I toast the Future: No matter what obstacles personally or globally may confront us, may we take the tools, the training, the experiences, the support, the knowledge, the wisdom and the potential accrued here at Dominican, to become the best that we can be, and together fulfill a destiny greater than our individual selves. May we become in the words of Ephesians 3:20 "exceedingly abundantly beyond all we hope or even think, according to the Power at work within us." Thank you, Dominican. Thank you, My Friends. Here's to you. Cheers to you.
No, Matt. Cheers to you. To all of you. Congratulations graduates!
Did you hear, do you remember, what that commencement speaker said to us the next day? Be careful you don't get too good at doing something you hate—or they'll make you do it for the rest of your life.
Or as it's been said by another: Follow your bliss.
Or even better by one even wiser: Contemplate, and share the fruits of contemplation with others.
Candle and Rose happened on another perfect evening. I think it's rained on this oldest and most cherished graduating student tradition only twice in 80-something years.
I opened the new Chronicle of Higher Education just now and found all manner of silly stuff going on at other schools around this time of graduations. At Union College students run laps naked around Nott Memorial. At Harvard some rub the foot of the statue of John Harvard for good luck but others urinate on it instead. Young scholars at the University of Pennsylvania consider it a must to crawl under a 16-foot sculpture on campus and have sex there prior to commencement. At Duke they have sex in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens and in the stacks of the Perkins Library. At the University of Virginia students run naked through the quad before sprinting back and planting a kiss on a statue of Homer—"preferably on his posterior."
Some odyssey.
Now I'd be the first to acknowledge that there may be traditions among our own Dominican graduates with which I am not fully familiar, and this personal ignorance is, perhaps, A Very Good Thing. Nonetheless, I would contend that at least some of our graduates' traditions are a little deeper, rather more emotional, a bit more profound. For instance, the president toasts the graduates with champagne and strawberries after a beautiful Baccalaureate Mass. And of course and most of all there is this Candle and Rose.
For those who have been part of it, no explanation is necessary, and for those who haven't, none will really suffice. But it's hard to think of it now without smiling. I tried to write about it last year and my words didn't and don't capture the feeling. It's about relationships made and sustained. There is ritual and song, regalia and tradition, laughter and tears, candles and roses, of course, and words—heartfelt and genuine words from some of our students heading out, and up. Here's what some of them said on that perfect night two weeks ago:
Dominican welcomed me right away from the torch leaders unloading my car, to road tripping to Michigan City with my freshmen roommate, and to having Spice girl dance parties with the third floor Coughlin girls, I felt at home…. Ice cream sandwich fights at two in the morning, driving six hours to watch the baseball team at nationals, singing Britney Spears and Ashlee Simpson in the car, ruby Tuesday dinners, the stripe shirt wall, spending a weekend watching the men's volleyball team, Halloween parties, ice skating downtown, late night talks with a bowl of cheetos…
Another:
Even after four years, on my way to class I still find myself staring at the quad, distracted by its charm and its inviting energy. The quad's design is quaintly simple, yet symbolic. As you can see, it is surrounded on three sides by Power, Mazzuchelli, and Lewis Halls. The fourth side is open to the gate that separates our campus from the rest of River Forest. One of my favorite views of the quad is from right here, preferably lying on the grass, but that wouldn't be very conducive for this speech. In the spring, I loved to lay right here and soak everything in. Each year the same thoughts crossed my mind "I should be doing homework." "What is that music they're blasting on Power 4?" "This is so comfortable." And it was; it was nice to let my mind wander while feeling sheltered and protected by Dominican's campus. And now, when I'm most comfortable, it's time to uproot and move on. There will be no more movie nights or snowball fights on the quad. No more Frisbee and football, no more games of tag, piles of leaves, or piles of books…no longer will we have this enclosed, convenient, safe space.
After the ceremony tonight, we'll turn away and leave the quad. But I can bet that tomorrow you'll find yourself here again, camera in hand, on graduation day to take a little piece of the quad with you. And rightfully so, because it really is beautiful whether it's the backdrop for a conversation on the cloister or a coveted view out of your dorm window. And of course, it's no coincidence that it was designed with the fourth side open. Not only does this invite people into our community, but it urges us to take Dominican's spirit with us out into the world. The three walled sides of the quad are symbols of our foundation, our education, and our community and the fourth side, vast and limitless as it is, symbolizes our future. Standing here tonight it might be easy to think "I could be here forever." But, if you turn around, and take a look, there's still so much more that we have to discover. The possibilities are, dare I say "Amazing."
And a third:
I would like to propose a toast to you, Dominican. A University who generously welcomed me as a late transfer. You were a hope fulfilled from the get go. A University whose professors continually challenged me to think outside my box and forced me past the assumptions I brought. A University whose faculty and administration have supported me above and beyond all my expectations, who melded academic rigor with understanding and nothing short of grace, incurring in me a debt that I can only pay forward … and fully intend to do. A University who paired me with an advisor who saw more in me than I saw in myself … who believed in me when I faltered … who always found a way to help me navigate past my failures and capitalize on my successes … whom I will forever call my friend. A University who opened amazing doors … where a rising senior such as I was, who was seeking a summer internship in a highly competitive field, after exhausting all leads for that needle in the haystack, experienced what it means to have the support of the Dominican team behind you and somehow, some way, to have the gift of a Dominican alumnus getting the resume noticed and, along with another member of this class, having the opportunity to work at a tier one global investment bank…
To you, to each one here, both student and faculty … and the families represented, I toast the Future: No matter what obstacles personally or globally may confront us, may we take the tools, the training, the experiences, the support, the knowledge, the wisdom and the potential accrued here at Dominican, to become the best that we can be, and together fulfill a destiny greater than our individual selves. May we become in the words of Ephesians 3:20 "exceedingly abundantly beyond all we hope or even think, according to the Power at work within us." Thank you, Dominican. Thank you, My Friends. Here's to you. Cheers to you.
No, Matt. Cheers to you. To all of you. Congratulations graduates!
Did you hear, do you remember, what that commencement speaker said to us the next day? Be careful you don't get too good at doing something you hate—or they'll make you do it for the rest of your life.
Or as it's been said by another: Follow your bliss.
Or even better by one even wiser: Contemplate, and share the fruits of contemplation with others.
