Every year when Commencement approaches, I find myself reflecting on the similarities between my Sarah Lawrence experience and yours. I gotta be honest, y’all made it easy this year. I was on campus a couple months ago, and I caught an amazing student performance of Rent.
There I was, sitting in the PAC, watching the show that was THE hit on Broadway as a student and hearing the same songs. They even played Ani DiFranco during the intermission. I asked the students next to me if those were costumes, or just the actors’ clothes. They said “yes.”
I mention all of this to say, and I can’t say it strongly enough, your Sarah Lawrence experience does not end today.
I realize it’s a cliche to say that you couldn’t have gotten here entirely on your own. To be sure, you did the heavy lifting (and believe me, I KNOW how heavy it was… when I was here we still carried actual books! In fact I’m pretty sure Lyde Sizer’s classes came with PE credits). But along with you has been an armada of support: faculty, staff, the loved ones behind you, and the amazing humans beside you.
And the good news, the reason I’m here today, is to tell you that while you may be leaving the College today, you’re not leaving this armada behind. I speak for the twenty thousand strong alumni community. We’re here to continue supporting and helping you navigate through whatever comes next — which, if history shows, will probably be five or six career transitions before you hit forty.
Think about what we’ve been through just to get here today. It wasn’t easy, was it? Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, a Presidential election, earthquakes, conference papers, and… a BEAR? Things that make the pandemic seem like a lifetime ago.
So while it seems like a scary time to be transitioning to a new phase of life right now – and it is, there’s no reason to sugarcoat it – when you look back on all the ways you’ve persevered and the things you’ve achieved in your time here, I think those shared experiences prove how uniquely prepared you, as Sarah Lawrence students, are for this moment.
Nor can I think of a better institution to have prepared you. Many of you are about to enter a new workforce and embark on new careers, and you’re going to quickly discover how much better equipped you are than your peers.
Put simply, we learn faster. We connect, we synthesize. We are perfectly comfortable holding multiple, even opposing, points of view endowing us with critical tools for empathy and understanding, which I don’t think I need to tell you the world could use a little more of right now.
So I’ll leave you with just one request: stay connected and participate. While you may not always agree with everything the College does, I ask you to not let that get in the way of your connection to this remarkable place. Come to alumni events. Drop by campus once in a while. Give your time, your wisdom, and yes, your money when you can.
Staying connected to each other and the College is how we get through the scary times. And ensure that you, and all of those who come after you, keep doing the hard and beautiful things only Sarah Lawrence people can do.
So, on behalf of the Alumni Council, and the entire Alumni Association, welcome now, my fellow alumni, and congratulations!
Remarks as prepared for delivery