Graduation a welcome rite of spring

This Side Up

John Howell
Posted 5/5/15

“It’s green out there,” Carol said with a sense of relief.

Yes, trees are starting to bud, grass is no longer a burnt brown, and the forecast this week is for some real spring weather with …

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Graduation a welcome rite of spring

This Side Up

Posted

“It’s green out there,” Carol said with a sense of relief.

Yes, trees are starting to bud, grass is no longer a burnt brown, and the forecast this week is for some real spring weather with temperatures reaching into the 70s. I can’t remember spring taking so long to arrive. In fact, it really doesn’t seem like it’s arrived yet.

Can you believe it’s time for graduations already? I was in disbelief when Susan Groh called Friday to remind me that the New England Institute of Technology commencement was Sunday at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

It’s still cool enough to crank up the heat in the car and leave on the seat warmer, I was thinking, and it’s time for graduation? Sue must have had the wrong week, but instinctively I knew that couldn’t be the case. She arranged so I could talk to Philip Noel, who would be receiving an honorary degree, prior to the ceremony. I would also get a chance to chat with former New England Patriots lineman Vince Wilfork.

New England Tech always has interesting commencement speakers, and I thought for sure that Wilfork would get a rousing reception even though his football career has now taken him to the rival Houston Texans. Just about anything to do with the New England Patriots is bound to play well in these parts. I was on target – Wilfork was given a hero’s welcome and applauded loudly when he declared he would always be a Patriot.

Former Governor Noel was in his element Sunday morning as those in the procession gathered to be robed at a level above the commencement. He’s a big man, a fact that was all the more apparent as he was joined by Wilfork. Now there’s a man that’s built like an oak tree, solid, imposing and not the guy you’d want glaring at you from behind a facemask. On Sunday, Wilfork did a lot of smiling.

Noel knew most of the people around him, and if he didn’t there was no hesitation to introduce himself and strike up a conversation. He’s good at that.

Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, who would bring the greetings from the city, and Supreme Court Justice Francis Flaherty, who is a New England Tech trustee, gathered and posed for a picture of past and present mayors. There was the atmosphere of expectation that precedes happy events like weddings and graduations.

People lingered in the corridor outside the massive hall with its rows of seats, stage and giant screens so even those in the back would get to see close-ups of Wilfork and, most important, that family member or friend walking across stage to receive his or her degree. They carried programs listing the “order of exercises,” the names of the graduates and quotations from some of the prior commencement speakers.

Here is what some prior speakers had to say:

“There are no shortcuts to being successful. In the end, it is being prepared and doing everything you can do competitively to win,” said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who was the 2004 speaker.

In 2008, football coach Don Shula advised, “Have the peace of mind to know that you’ve done the absolute best you can do. If you do that, you’re a success.”

In 1997 actor, director, producer and writer Leonard Nimoy said, “People who are holding jobs and raising families while reaching for education already have a foot planted in the right direction. I would encourage them to go in that direction. The more education, the better the opportunities will be.”

And then there was Doug Flutie, the NFL quarterback who in 2009 told the graduates, “No matter what people say, no matter what happens, I never believe I’m defeated. I never say never.”

Wilfork told his life story, the challenges he faced and his second thoughts about when times became tough. He focused on “the doubters,” urging the graduates to never believe them lest they question their own ability.

The weeks to come will be filled with graduations. Similar calls to pursue dreams, be true to oneself, overcome adversity and take risks will be made in different ways by class valedictorians, high school principals, college presidents and commencement speakers. You might argue they are merely platitudes, all too often repeated at this time of year.

I suppose the one place you won’t hear that advice will be at the pre-school graduations. That’s really starting early. But still, I like those exhortations to excel and pursue one’s dreams. I will never tire of them.

As Carol observed, “It’s green out there.” The cycle of renewal, moving on and embarking on new ventures, has started again. It’s never too early to leave winter behind.

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  • mthompsondc

    "New England Tech always has interesting commencement speakers." True. Curious readers might want to know how much they're paid.

    Monday, May 11, 2015 Report this