Millor Orator
Class of 2005
May 22, 2005
I have been honored to serve as the Senior Class President this past term. It has been a privilege carrying on the great student government tradition at this university. The enthusiasm of the entire student body gives me hope that the imprint of GOOD will continue to grow on this campus and in the community. This graduating class is a tribute to our parents and professors. They have faith in us. That makes today most exciting and not unsettling. But our class is also a testament to the Jesuit mission, which continues to be relevant in 2005.
It all started for me in first grade, when my teacher had my class copy a poem off the blackboard. We were to give it to our mothers for Valentine’s Day. I objected…not because of some brilliant critical observation, foreshadowing my English major. Instead, I objected to the fact that we were all giving our mothers the same poem. This was a defining moment in my life.
John Carroll is not a school where we are given poems to copy. So much of the education we have received cannot be found in books. We can no longer be satisfied with skating along the surface of the ice. Products of this institution crack open the ice and get wet, finding out what is underneath. Over the past four years, we have received an education that invites us to be original, to be attentive, and to take chances. We have all been invited to write our own poetry.
The past four years have tested our openness to growth. We watched our campus transform with the addition of a state-of-the-art science center and stadium. The change on this campus mirrored a changing world. Our school’s search for a new President reflected our Faith’s search for a new Pope. We huddled together in the dorms and experienced September 11, 2001, just a few weeks into our college journeys. World peace has simply not been a luxury we have enjoyed over the past four years.
Our triumph through these tumultuous years is a testament to the education we have received at JCU. Our ability to adapt, react, and grow is a testament to the strength of our character and our spirituality. In a changing setting and changing times, there are parts of us that we refuse to change and refuse to compromise. Our core is what gives us the strength not only to endure through hard times, but to be a beacon of light for others.
John Carroll University is not a Jesuit school because of the Saint Ignatius statue, or the inscriptions on our dorms, or because of the chapel on campus. We are a Jesuit institution because the atmosphere here instills us not only with the skills to succeed, but also with the ability, understanding, and the desire to help others. St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Society of Jesus is our example.
Now, prepared, we must open our eyes. People, young and old, desperately need our help and leadership. One half of the world’s population lives in poverty. Cleveland was recently named the poorest city in America. As we graduate, these troubling statistics are all the job security we require. Whether we are English majors, biology majors, or accounting majors, our field of study is secondary to the priority of being men and women for others. The true gauge of our education is not our marketability, but who we have become.
To all the wonderful people who make up this great university, I thank you. I thank you for setting my compass and adjusting my sails. My classmates and I accept the challenge. We are ready for the journey you have invited us all to embark upon. We do so with great confidence.
For my eighth grade graduation speech, my father helped me memorize an Irish blessing. Inexperienced and quite shaky, I rushed through the blessing, neither appreciating myself, nor properly conveying to those in attendance, the beautiful meaning of those words I spoke. Today, eight years later I would like to try it again. To the Class of 2005:
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
The rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.