Graduation Speech
By John D. Gursky '07

I extend my warmest welcome to everybody here today:  family, friends, faculty, staff, alums, and my fellow classmates.  This morning marks the beginning of a bittersweet day as it is the final time we will be physically together as a community at our home away from home, St. Lawrence University.  I clearly remember on our first day at St. Lawrence in August of 2003.  We all met at this same place amidst a sea of strange faces at the Matriculation ceremony.  The woman who accepted us to become part of the St. Lawrence family, Dean of Admissions Terry Cowdrey, stood where I am and shared with us some wise words.  She said to us “While it may be natural to gravitate toward those who are most like you, you will get much more out of your St. Lawrence experience if you intentionally seek out those with different backgrounds, interests and perspectives.” 

Hopefully you took Dean Cowdrey’s advice because I discovered we not only learn in the classroom, but when we step outside of our comfort zones we can accept the fact that we do not all think alike.

Four years goes by so incredibly fast.  There are two things which make the departure of St. Lawrence so difficult.  First, the people we have met and the connections we have made.  Because of St. Lawrence, we have developed life-long friends from around the country and the world; we have also learned and formed strong relationships with incredible professors.

Now that we are about to scatter ourselves throughout the globe, we will have to work harder to maintain these relationships.

Secondly, we managed to pack more life-changing experiences in four years than many people do in a lifetime.

You have published research, you have won athletic awards.

You have studied abroad on every corner of the globe – from New Zealand to Finland.  You have founded clubs and organizations on campus.  You made Dean’s List.  You have bettered someone’s life through community service in downtown Canton and across the country.  We accomplished a great deal together, both on and off campus and we deserve to be proud.  And we must not forget our accomplishments in college.

Do not stop now.  They must continue.

This occasion should not only be a time to look at the past and reminisce about our college days and accomplishments, but also a time to look forward.

Like it or not, everyone receiving a diploma today has a tremendous amount of responsibility.  It is very easy to forget in this collegial environment that we are a very privileged minority in this world. 

We now have an incredible amount of power to set an example, to teach, to persuade, and most importantly, to bring about change. 

According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, the percentage of students enrolling in college or a certificate program in the United States is about thirty-five percent.  The number of students who will actually walk across the stage in the United States is a mere seventeen percent.  The United States surprisingly stands short compared to several countries regarding the proportion of students who receive a degree.  Out of twenty four countries, some including:  Portugal, Japan, Sweden, Italy Turkey and Mexico, the United States stands at number sixteen. 

Therefore, we are all a minority outside the St. Lawrence bubble.  We are a minority in this world. 

Some of you have already accepted positions to work in New York City, Connecticut, across Europe, Denver, and in Canton, New York.  You are volunteering in Chicago.  You are attending the University of Missouri-St. Louis, joining the Peace Corps, going to Albany Law School, and attending Nursing School.  You are teaching, you are coaching, and you are joining the armed forces.  Several of you have been accepted to pursue your Masters’ Degrees in Creative Writing, Women’s Studies, International Relations, Social Work, and Health Communication, to name a few.  Some of you are just plain clueless, some of you are still considering options. 

Whatever your future may hold, do not forget, as soon as we are handed our diplomas, we will be included in the elite seventeen percent of the population.  Therefore, we cannot afford to remain idle or settle for mediocrity. 

As a very privileged group of people, we must live up to our full potential as many of us have already proven we can as students at St. Lawrence.  If we chose not to use our skills and experiences we gained here, and if we chose not to work to our full potential, who will?
In a few short hours we will all leave St. Lawrence for the last time.  This will mark a new and challenging chapter of life. 

Don’t forget the people you met here and what you learned.  Also, as you leave campus today, don’t forget this:  we will all find ourselves overcoming new challenges and struggles with periods of uncertainty, anxiety, indecision and uneasiness. 
Although sometimes we will avoid the struggles of life at all costs, we must never forget they are important and fundamental for self-growth and a necessary component of taking on responsibility. 

I will leave you with a passage that means a great deal to me. When I was studying in Senegal last January, I was faced with new responsibilities and challenges as we all are today.  My host brother gave me this Muslim passage and it meant a great deal to me because he told me it would help me through stressful times.  The English translation goes like this:
Struggle.  Is the meaning of life.  Defeat or victory is in the hands of God.  But struggle itself is man’s duty and should also be his joy.  

Embrace the challenge.  Thank you.