Sunday, May 26, 2013

Commencement addresses

Re: the previous post: if you graduated from college and showed up for commencement, do you remember anything the commencement speaker said?

Alan Alda spoke at my commencement (Fordham College ’78). I remember one thing from his speech: he asked those graduating to ask themselves, every so often, this question: “What are my values?” Sounds trite, I know, but it works, or at least it’s worked for me.

If you remember something, anything, of what you heard at your commencement, fire away in the comments, please. Let the wisdom, or whatever, accumulate.

[Commencement : what a weird word. Alda is Fordham College ’56.]

comments: 2

Daughter Number Three said...

My graduation speaker was Daniel Patrick Moynihan. I confess I don't remember anything he said, being more caught up in my opinion of him and his support of tuition tax credits for private schools. I and a friend had painted small signs that said NO TUITION TAX CREDITS on top of our hats.

I'm not sure if I knew or understand Moynihan's political, historical, or policy significance at the time. He was just a fixture of New York politics.

Geo-B said...

When I graduated from Northwestern University in 1971, the commencement speaker was Margaret Chase Smith, who had been senator since the year of my birth, 1949. I was more impressed that she was a female senator than remember anything she said.