On Saturday, May 13th, I had my graduation ceremony at Alfred University. After a four year period: I had grown personally, academically, and professionally; I met various interesting people; and I was able to engage in activities which allowed me to work with people on shared interests. It has given me plenty of good memories from my activities in the history club, to interesting class discussions, to the occasional odd occurrences. I had graduated with a bachelors in History, with departmental honors (which I gained for my honor’s thesis on the history of the temperance movement in 19th century Western New York), and the distinction of summa cum laude.
President Zupan and the provost made the initial opening remarks and then went on to presenting honorary degrees and did the commencement ‘speech’. Honorary degrees were presented to George Beall, one of the leading scientists at Corning Incorporated, who has been a prolific innovator in glass science and engineering, Warren Sutton, and the commencement speakers, Richard and Victoria Mackenzie-Childs. Warren Sutton was a member of the class of 1961 and one of the top basketball players in Alfred University history. He had prematurely left the university due to the fallout from a relationship with the daughter of the university treasurer at the time, to avoid the possibility that the treasurer might seek to expel him. After history professor Gary Ostrower had mentioned this story to president Zupan, who then decided to send a hand written letter of apology to Sutton and then later helped further make amends by granting him degree he should have received long ago. The story can be seen in detail here.
Richard and Victoria Mackenzie Childs were fine arts graduates from the university, who had gone on to found the luxury home products company Mackenzie Childs. Their commencement speech was not a speech in the vernacular sense of the word. It was rather a sort of performance art. The basketball hoop descended with a banner saying “Its About Flexibility”, a group of people proceeded to hang decorated streamers over top us, and handed out these sock purse things to the graduating class, which were filled with miscellaneous items. Initially there quite a few graduating students talking amongst themselves wandering what the heck was happening, before they figured out this was the commencement speech and was some sort of performance art about the value of flexibility.
The ceremony then proceeded onto the part where certificates were handed out. It proceed in the order of college subsections and the students within them arranged in alphabetical order. The college of Liberal Arts and Sciences was the second section to go, following the grad students. When it came time, I proceeded on stage, received my degree, shook the university president’s hand and the provost’s hand, proceed to an area off stage where pictures were taken, and then headed back to my seat to wait. After the graduating students all got our degrees, final comments were made, and then the procession was made for us to exit the ceremony.
After the ceremony ended, I found my family members, and headed to the after graduation reception for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, at Ade Hall. I spent some time there eating and speaking with some of my professors who gave me congratulations on my graduation. Including some of the professors I was most acquainted with in my time at Alfred: Professor Ostrower, Professor Churchill, Professor Westacott. Professor Ostrower also wanted to make sure I caught the part of his speaking on stage, where he took a minute to mention some the students who were graduating this year, which included listing my name. After finishing with the reception, my relatives and I then headed home.
That was the conclusion of the 2017 graduation ceremony at Alfred for me, and the end of my education at Alfred. Now I shall continue forward pursuing my education and career in the historical field, and like those others who had graduated, continue on into the next chapter of my life.
