Celebration was the word of the day as 375 undergraduates and 100 graduate students took part in commencement exercises Saturday, May 17 at the St. Paul RiverCentre.
Large crowds of family, well-wishers and onlookers greeted the students at the processional and then heard from Acting/Interim President Kathy Murray, United States Senator Tina Smith and student speakers Anna Deibert ’25 and Josiah Weist ’23.
Senator Smith described the concept of “civic faith” and its impact on individuals and communities.
“Society doesn’t work if we are not connected to our neighbors,” Smith said. “In a healthy society, we practice a kind of civic faith, the one where we are all aligned around a core set of shared values…which are often consistent with all of the world’s religions.
The dogma of our civic faith is the recognition that we owe something to one another, not just to ourselves,” she added. “As with religion, the truest expression of our faith is in our actions.”
Deibert spoke to her fellow undergraduates about the power of connection, as well. “Don’t lose that care, that compassion,” Deibert urged, “but share it. Search for it in other people and recognize that you aren’t the only one who aches for change.”
In his speech during the graduate ceremony, Weist urged his peers to have confidence in their potential for impact. He focused on the tendency of people to talk themselves down and said, “as humans, we often undermine our purpose. However, we must never forget the value we bring to society.”
Both ceremonies can be streamed on demand at portal.stretchinternet.com/hamlineadmin.
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