Baccalaureate Address to the Class of 2003

May 17, 2003

Members of the Class of 2003, parents, family members, friends and colleagues ...

Here you all are sitting in caps and gowns with your families and loved ones once again sitting behind you. For most of you, the last time you were assembled in these medieval robes was four years ago, when you marked another great right of passage - graduation from high school. At that time you looked forward to going away to college, to Tufts, with great enthusiasm and anticipation. You knew what the future held, at least for the next four years. Now that time has come and gone, for most of you far too quickly, I suspect. Tomorrow you will graduate and begin yet another chapter in your life.

While many of you are going on to jobs or graduate school, for others the future holds great uncertainty. You face a difficult economy, an uncertain job market. You are armed only with your Tufts education, your wits, and the support of family and friends. While uncertainty can be frightening, it can also be liberating. Imagine how dull life would be if you could look into a crystal ball and know in advance all that awaits you; if you knew precisely what your career path would be; who you would fall in love with; where you would settle; what great opportunities or challenges you would confront; or whether you would find happiness and fulfillment, or even know them when they found you. One reason your future is so exciting is because it is so uncertain.

Because your future is not ordained, you have the freedom to shape it. Take responsibility for your future. Do not be passive. Be willing to explore, to challenge yourself. Be prepared to take risks, and be prepared to fail. There is no harm and no shame in failure as long as you learn from the experience. Indeed, the challenge in life is to make new mistakes. Each one represents yet another opportunity to grow and learn.

You are not the first graduating class to face a difficult job market, and you will not be the last. Many of your parents have confronted far worse. Just as they have told you stories of how they struggled when starting out, you now will have the opportunity to do the same with your children. Your parents overcame difficult times, and so will you.

You are likely to get lots of advice about jobs and career as you make your way in the world. Listen carefully, but in the end, the voice that you should respect most is your own. I spent three years attending law school in large part because I thought it was expected of me. My father was a lawyer. I always thought I would be a lawyer. But after interning for a law firm the summer after my second year of law school, I concluded that the practice of law was not for me. Instead, I realized that I was drawn to the scholarly life. And while this decision necessitated a difficult conversation with my father, it is a decision I have never regretted. And with the benefit of hindsight, even he now agrees that I made the right choice.

You will be confronted with similar choices. Do not always take the easy path. Be prepared to follow your heart. While the financial rewards may not always be equal, there are few greater joys in life than to find true meaning and satisfaction in your work. In my case, teaching offered the opportunity to work with exceptional young people like you. I have always been challenged by my students. I have had the opportunity to make a difference in young people's lives. I have worked on interesting problems. I have been blessed with great colleagues. What could be better?

While you may be graduating from Tufts, tomorrow does not mark the end of your education. One reason tomorrow is called commencement is that it is the start of what we hope will be a lifetime of learning. As Sol Gittleman always says, your tuition seems a lot more reasonable if you amortize it over forty years as opposed to four.

During the past four years you have learned much at Tufts. You have read great literature, studied history, politics, philosophy, economics, mathematics, science, engineering, and religion. Many of you have studied abroad where you have mastered new languages and have come to understand and appreciate cultures very different from your own. However, more than mastering any particular body of knowledge, I hope during the past four years you have also developed an innate curiosity about the world. I hope that we have taught you how to learn, how to parse new problems, how to listen, how to express yourself, and how to understand and appreciate the ever-changing world that you will inhabit.

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking at the reunion luncheon for our Medical School. There I met a remarkable man, Dr. Robert Sherman. Dr. Sherman graduated from Tufts College in 1934 and went on to graduate from the Medical School in 1938. A practicing obstetrician for many years, Dr. Sherman went back to school later in life to get a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Today he is 92 years old and still works as a volunteer physician in a rehab clinic for drug addicts. During his spare time, he organizes gatherings of seniors at his synagogue, offering them advice on how to deal with aging gracefully, a skill he mastered long ago.

Dr. Sherman is an inspiration for all of us. He has never stopped learning, and he has never stopped helping others. Neither should you.

Over the past two years that Adele and I have been part of this special community, we have enjoyed seeing you and getting to know you in many different settings. We have been with you on this campus, in Talloires, at the Tufts in London program, and even in Greece where we heard the Tufts Symphony perform. We have encountered you in the gym, the pool, Balch, Tisch, and Cohen. I have run with many of you (not on the Quad) but elsewhere. Some of you even ran with me from Hopkinton to Boston on Patriot's Day. We have proudly witnessed all of the great things you do for our neighboring communities - Kid's Day, Read by the River, and The Giving Camp, to name just a few.

Perhaps what has impressed us most is your capacity to multitask. Most of you always seem to be doing three things at once. However, as you make your way in the world, try not to let your desire to do everything squeeze out time for contemplation and reflection. Try to create some sacred space in your life free from other obligations, where you can provide for your own renewal, spiritual and otherwise. Make sure you leave time to enjoy life's simple pleasures, especially the joy that comes from the company of good friends and loved ones.

Commencement is a bittersweet time. While we take in the beauty of a campus bursting with spring's bounty, we also bid farewell to those who have been an important part of our lives over the past four years.

At times like this, I am reminded of the story of the student who just prior to commencement decided to pay one last visit to one of her professors. She knocked on his office door. He invited her in. "Professor," she said. "I am graduating tomorrow and before I left I just wanted you to know that if I had one hour left to live, I would want to spend it in your classroom." Feeling quite flattered he responded, "Thank you. And why would that be?" She said, "Because you would make that one hour seem like a lifetime."

I speak for all the faculty and staff at Tufts when I say that it has truly been our pleasure to work with you over these past four years. You have inspired us, challenged us, and motivated us. We have loved watching you grow and mature personally and intellectually. To your parents, thank you for sharing your sons and daughters with us. You have raised them well, and you should be justly proud. And to you, our graduates, thank you for giving us the opportunity to teach you. We will follow your careers with interest. Regardless of what you do you will always be our students. Please stay in touch.

Good luck to you, Class of 2003, and Godspeed.