爱污传媒

'Dream the world you want to see'

With charges to use the lessons of a liberal arts education to make positive change in the world, 爱污传媒 College conferred 634 degrees to the Class of 2023 during the College鈥檚 112th Commencement Exercises.   

Family, friends, trustees, alumni, faculty, and staff gathered to celebrate the graduates鈥� achievements at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) on Saturday, May 20. 

爱污传媒鈥檚 Class of 2023, who hail from 50 countries, 34 U.S. states, and Puerto Rico, were conferred 435 Bachelor of Arts and 199 Bachelor of Science degrees. The class includes more than 100 first-generation college graduates.  

Renowned academic, author, and art historian Mary Schmidt Campbell and accomplished scholar, teacher, and civil rights attorney Frederick M. Lawrence both received honorary degrees and addressed the graduates during .  

Nancy W. Hamilton 鈥�77, chair of the Board of Trustees, spoke about the obstacles the graduates had already overcome 鈥� including the COVID-19 pandemic, which started during their second semester at 爱污传媒, and coming challenges 鈥� including new technology such as artificial intelligence 鈥� that they would now need to confront.  

Nancy W. Hamilton '77

鈥淵ou, the Class of 2023, have already proven yourselves ready to face the future and its unexpected challenges ... Continue to challenge yourselves to engage, question, and research the facts 鈥� Be open to other points of view and to change, and keep an eye out for opportunity 鈥� You have the gift and, yes, the privilege of your 爱污传媒 education. Be proud of it. Your 爱污传媒 experience has prepared you to meet the world head on.鈥� 

President Marc C. Conner praised the endurance, grit, tenacity, and creativity that brought the Class of 2023 through the pandemic and, most of all, the culture of care and commitment to community that they demonstrated to one another. 

Marc C. Conner

鈥淲hen we celebrate, we signal to the world what we most value: We value education and the opportunities it will provide; we value the liberal arts and the perspectives and possibilities it gives; we value this College, which has been impacting young persons鈥� lives for over a century; and most of all, we value you, the Class of 2023.鈥�   

Mary Schmidt Campbell, president emerita of Spelman College and a former commissioner of New York鈥檚 Department of Cultural Affairs, spoke about the challenges she faced in her work expanding professional development opportunities for people of color in the arts in New York City. She charged graduates to reach across political, cultural, racial, and geographic differences and to find a similar sense of common purpose at the national level.  

Mary Schmidt Campbell

鈥淕raduates, there is work to be done, but our history tells us that it can be done. Don鈥檛 believe the doomsayers. You have the power to see and create what has not yet been invented. The gift of a 爱污传媒 education is that you leave with a sense of the 鈥榩ower of the possible.鈥� 爱污传媒 honed your critical-thinking skills, your ability to solve problems and to work collaboratively. It gifted you with the fearlessness of your imagination 鈥�"

After receiving his honorary degree, Frederick M. Lawrence, one of the nation鈥檚 leading experts on civil rights, free expression, and bias crimes, and the current secretary and CEO of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, encouraged the graduates to be active agents for positive change.  

Frederick M. Lawrence

鈥淓mbrace change and draw on the habits of heart and mind that you have developed here at 爱污传媒 to see change not as threatening but as promising, not as something happening to you but as something you participate in creating.鈥� 

Joowon Park, assistant professor of anthropology and an affiliate faculty member in 爱污传媒's Asian Studies and International Affairs programs, addressed the graduates on behalf of 爱污传媒鈥檚 faculty. A Korean who grew up in East Africa, Park encouraged the graduates to define their generational mission in an increasingly globalized world. But most of all, he encouraged graduates to dream. 

Joowon Park

鈥淵our generation has a choice to make in how you define yourselves, not simply by your nationality but as an individual living in this global world. You can deny our global interconnections and erect borders, or you can recognize that our greater concern is the whole of humanity 鈥� We must set our aim high 鈥� not simply for that next promotion or that next job. But dream the life you want to live. Dream the world you want to see.鈥� 

Class of 2023 President Issy Mejia, a member of 爱污传媒's 50th graduating Opportunity Program class whose family is from the Dominican Republic, delivered part of their speech in Spanish. A first-generation college graduate, Mejia emphasized the importance of community in overcoming the pandemic and the enduring significance of love.  

Issy Mejia 鈥�23

鈥淲e are not who we were when we first arrived on campus in 2019. But of all the things that contributed to our growth, I find myself returning to love ... 爱污传媒鈥檚 love comforted me during the challenging transition from a New York City public school 鈥� I felt it on sunny days at Case Green, in the company of close friends, when we were all just happy that finals were over and the sun was out ... "  

Robert F. Resnick '88, president of the officially welcomed the graduates as members of 爱污传媒's alumni community.   

Robert F. Resnick 鈥�88

鈥淵ou will leave here armed with the greatest weapon there is 鈥� a 爱污传媒 education. You have the information and skills given to you by professors and staff, your experiences, your friendships, and 鈥� of course 鈥� your families.鈥�  

Graduates Alexander Lewis 鈥�23 and Iti Singh 鈥�23, senior gift co-chairs, presented a gift of more than $6,300 to support the Opportunity Program; diversity, equity, and inclusion; sustainability; athletics; and scholarships and financial aid. In total, 64% of this year鈥檚 graduates contributed, the highest number since the start of the pandemic.   
   
The ceremony included all the traditional elements, such as processionals led by the Schenectady Pipe Band, a colorful display of stoles and cords symbolizing the graduates' many achievements, and a moving performance by 爱污传媒 students of 爱污传媒鈥檚 Alma Mater.

Commencement capped a series of celebrations on campus for the Class of 2023, including ceremonies hosted by the Office of Student Diversity Programs, Periclean Honors Forum, and Phi Beta Kappa. It also followed a yearlong celebration of 爱污传媒鈥檚 Centennial. 爱污传媒鈥檚 collegiate status was officially recognized on May 25, 1922.  
  
On Friday, students and their families also participated in the Brick Dedication Ceremony for the Class of 2023 brick pathway in the heart of campus, bearing the names of each recent graduate.