For photos of the day, see the Gustavus Flickr stream.
On June 1, degrees were conferred upon the graduates of the Class of 2019 at the 157th Commencement exercises of Gustavus Adolphus College.
It was a warm and sunny celebration, even the gnats seemed to relish the day, though there was a twinge of apprehension in the air. Said Megan Eide ’19, addressing those at the student-led Baccalaureate, “We aren’t all on Cloud Nine. Many of us have a small ounce of fear.” Fellow grad Nicole Waskosky ’19 named the elephant on Eckman Mall: “We cannot stay in college forever.”
Nor should they. With a Gustavus degree, “We are now equipped to meet the needs of the world,” Waskosky said. Eide seconded that emotion, and gave thanks to all those who helped the Class of 2019 become who they are today—professors, fellow students, and staff (with special shout-out to Marlys and Deb and the rest at the Caf). “We live out Gustavus values because of the Gustavus heroes who did the same,” Eide said.
Those values (Excellence, Community, Justice, Service, and Faith) were continuously echoed throughout the day, from Chaplain Maggie Falenschek’s prayer of thanks “for the abundance of gifts God has bestowed upon the Gustavus community,” to the music of the Gustavus Wind Orchestra and the Gustavus Choir (including, of course, the “Remember” song and the Gustie Rouser), to the 2019 Edgar M. Carlson Award for Distinguished teaching, given to Margaret Bloch Qazi, biology professor and diversity, equity, and inclusion faculty associate at the John S. Kendall Center for Engaged Learning.
Those Gustavus values in action are the solid platform from which the Class of 2019 can now jump. Said Provost Brenda Kelly: “You leave ready to lead purposeful lives, and to act on the great challenges of our time.”
Will they? Gustavus President Rebecca Bergman calls on each them to do so. “Commit to being a person of action in your communities and in the greater world in which we live. Resolve to always do the right thing. Always, always, always do the right thing.”
“Go with confidence,” President Bergman said. “Go with passion and compassion, to love and to serve.”
It’s very likely this Class of 2019 will answer that call. “You all are people I want to become,” Meghan Gallagher ’19 told her fellow classmates in her Commencement address. “It is extremely humbling to have peers that are also role models.” She noted the ability of Gusties to take a misinterpreted wave and make a lifelong friendship, to wedge a dinner date in their only free 30 minutes of the day. “This is a special place. As you go out into the ‘real world’ and take your next step, show the rest of the world what makes a Gustie different. Wherever you end up next will need it.”
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