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Good morning graduates, and welcome to the class of 2020 virtual celebration.
My wife Karen, Dean Winner, and I are so glad to be here to celebrate with you.
Today marks the day you can add the word graduate to your list of accomplishments.
I hope you're smiling ear to ear,
knowing you've completed this leg of your academic journey.
I'm certain your family members watching are smiling too.
While we cannot be together in person today, we are together in spirit.
I hope you're gathered with those you love to celebrate this milestone.
In a few moments you'll hear from members of the Wentworth community,
will share their good wishes with you, and acknowledge your accomplishments.
Following these well wishes, we will present the class of 2020 by college,
by major, and an alphabetical order.
It's a great honor to be part of your celebration, and
there's more I have to say a little further into the presentation.
But know this class of 2020, you have so much to offer, and I speak not only for
myself, but for the entire Wentworth community,
when I tell you how proud we are of you, and all that you have done.
You have grown into well rounded citizens armed with a strong foundation to do,
learn, and succeed.
Please nurture that Wentworth spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship.
And now please enjoy the messages from the community, and
the presentation of the graduates, thank you.
Good morning graduates and families.
It's a great honor for
me to welcome you to Wentworth celebration of our class of 2020 graduates.
On behalf of the faculty and staff, order trustees, and
the entire Wentworth community, I extend congratulations to each of our graduates.
Today we celebrate you, you are remarkable, and I admire each of you for
what you've achieved individually and together here at Wentworth.
Over this last year I've had the great privilege of getting to know so
many of you.
I've seen firsthand your accomplishments, the incredible quality of your work,
how you've distinguished yourselves in persevering through significant
challenges, and how you conquer those challenges with your tenacity, grace,
and grit.
These qualities that you have exhibited this year
throughout your time at Wentworth, have made all the difference.
And importantly, they will continue to make you successful in all
that you set out to achieve throughout your lives.
Your class as an incredible spirit, not only that your class has demonstrated
great ingenuity in tackling significant societal challenges.
I feel a great sense of optimism as a class of 2020 graduates, because of you
Knowing that you've prepared yourselves to take on the biggest challenges and
opportunities now, and going forward into the future.
Graduates, while your success comes in large part due to your own commitment and
hard work, I'm sure you will agree that this is also due to those in your
life who's supporting you along the way.
I'm sure that there are some faculty and staff who saw potential in you,
who mentored you, nurtured you, and encouraged you.
And they did this because they care about you.
I'm also sure that there are family members and
friends that provided you support and encouragement, when you needed it most.
They have been your biggest cheerleaders, they may include your mother, father,
spouse, child, sibling, grandparent, aunt, uncle, mentor up here,
who perhaps made sacrifices to ensure that you would be here today.
They also did this because they care about you.
I encourage you to take a moment today to show your appreciation to them.
Today, our faculty, staff, family, and friends, feel immense pride and joy to be
here with you our graduates, to recognize you and all that you've achieved.
I wanna take a moment to thank our faculty and staff for
their commitment to student success, our trustees and university advisors for
their leadership and support, and the families and
friends present today, for entrusting Wentworth with your loved ones education.
Today we celebrate with you virtually, and we look forward to your future
commencement, when we can bring everyone together again in person.
Until we're together again soon,
I wanna leave you with these parting words of advice.
I encourage you to take what you've been given, and combine that with what you've
earned, what got you here today, and seek to live a life of consequence.
Use your talents in ways that make the world a better place,
with a focus on benefiting others.
You have everything you need, to understand and
help solve the complex problems of today and the future.
Be purposeful about it, give the world the benefit of your full
creative capabilities, it's a world that greatly needs you.
I know that Wentworth students and alumni are second to none,
you are in fact the very best.
Please know that we are here, ready and willing to support you and
your needs going forward.
Your connection to Wentworth is one that you will have for your lifetime.
We wish you only the best, congratulations and best wishes to each and
every one of you.
>> Good morning class of 2020.
It is my honor as chair of Wentworth board of trustees,
to be a part of your celebration today.
On behalf of the board, please accept our congratulations on
your graduation from this terrific university.
And know that the entire Wentworth community is proud of you, and
all you have accomplished.
We have something in common you and I, I'm a graduate of Wentworth too,
and I'm an extremely proud alumnus.
But let's talk about you, you've made it,
you have completed college earning your bachelor's or
master's degrees, and now you are ready to move on to an exciting future.
I am sure you feel like time has flown by these past four years.
So much happens from the day you arrive living away from your home,
or balancing a commute, work, and your classes.
You entered college with hopes and dreams, and
they probably have shifted along the way.
But earning your degree at Wentworth, with the support of your classmates,
and our wonderful faculty and staff,
has given you the metal to pursue those dreams, and to learn and grow.
My wish for you is that you will continue to follow your passion, and
continue to be good citizens as you have been here at Wentworth.
I hope that you pay it forward to others, the way others have supported you.
Your family, your friends, your community,
and your Wentworth family have all contributed to this outcome and
believe in you, now continue to believe in yourself.
There will be setbacks and successes as you move on,
learn from them, use them to keep moving forward, find ways to help others.
Rely on our Wentworth foundation, and remember that your connection to
this university does not end, because you are no longer here every day.
You are elected for life, and Wentworth will always be here for you.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be a part of
your journey, congratulations class of 2020.
>> Dear class of 2020, it is a privilege to honor you,
it is a joy to celebrate with you.
Please consider today's virtual celebration your last class.
When this last class is dismissed,
I hope you take the lessons of today and your time at Wentworth with you,
as you begin your life as an alum of this great university.
Please consider your last class,
this virtual ceremony a review session of all you have learned.
Do not worry if you did not do the readings for
today's class, there are no readings, you lived it.
Like any good review session,
there are lessons to be reminded of, and lessons to be learned.
These lessons have come from peers, professors, and
the many people at Wentworth and beyond, who have helped change your life.
Today is also a day to remember the lesson of being grateful and giving
back A lesson you've learnt from all who have contributed to your education.
As the names of graduates are presented look carefully for
not only your name but the names of your classmates.
And take note of what you have learnt from them so
many lessons to be learned from the class of 2020.
So many lessons for all of you to still learn.
If I may start you on your path to further learning,
this month marks the hundredth year anniversary of
the passage of the 19th amendment to the US Constitution,
which guarantees women the right to vote.
I recommend that you read Professor Allison Lange's recently published book
picturing political power, images in the women's suffrage movement.
Let me leave you with one last thought.
When your degree arrives in the mail, and
you hold it in your hands remember it is not only
the degree you earned, but the deeds you do with it.
May those deeds be disruptive, may those deeds be designed for
good, and may those deeds fulfill your wildest dreams.
Good luck to each and every one of you.
Congratulations, Class of 2020.
>> Good morning graduates, how I wish we were physically together today so
I could see your beautiful and brilliant faces.
As we celebrate all the amazing accomplishments you have achieved during
your time at Wentworth, your place in the history of
the university has certainly been cemented, as has your place in my heart.
I'm so incredibly proud of every one of you.
It has been such a privilege to watch you move from orientation to graduation,
and witness the transformation each of you have made.
I thank you for allowing me the opportunity to walk with you on
the individual and collective journeys that led you to this day.
The journey however does not end here.
As you finished your last project or typed the words of your final paper,
you may have felt for a moment that the hard work was finally behind you.
But my friends the reality is the most important work is still ahead of you.
The world needs you now more than ever.
You have the ability and responsibility to positively impact
the world with your skills, your innovation,
your moral compass, your humanity, and your social conscious.
I may be a bit biased but I think it's safe to say there isn't a group of
graduates more prepared than you to solve the many global problems facing us today.
So go out, go out and shake things up.
Don't settle for good enough say no to the status quo, be disruptors.
And in the words of the late representative John Lewis,
never be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.
My friends I wish you the best of luck and all the health and
happiness possible on the next leg of your journey.
No matter where life takes you, know that I'm only a zoom call away.
Be safe, be smart.
Take care of each other and as always make me proud.
I miss you already, congratulations.
>> Hello fellow graduates, I'm Jasmine Maya Andrade,
Wentworth 2020 bowl recipient, and your student voice.
I'm here to uplift our spirit with some congratulatory words of encouragement.
We have achieved a great milestone.
We have poured countless hours investing in ourselves.
We are sure to share our gifts, our authentic voices, and
our differences to make this world a better place.
We are the most remarkable, unstoppable, and resilient class ever.
We are everything this world needs and more.
This is our opportunity to change everything.
It's what we do right now that defines our future and the future belongs to us.
The doers, the makers, the dreamers,
the leopards, we've chosen to believe in our dreams.
So in this moment let's smile, laugh,
dance and celebrate our monumental accomplishment.
This is the beginning of a new journey on the quest to
continuing the pursuit of our dreams.
Fellow graduates, I see you.
Congratulations, we are Wentworth's class of 2020.
Let's rise.
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Now it's time to make things official.
Before you join your faculty for the zoom gatherings.
There are two things we're gonna do together.
The first, please place your cap on your head and
the tassel on the right side and stand.
Now please move it to the left.
This simple act signifies your transition from student to alumnus and
the continuation of your unique, meaningful and
lifelong relationship with Wentworth.
The second I asked Karen Dean Whiner to join me as we raise the glass and
honor of the class of 2020.
Our wish for you is to pursue your dreams.
Achieve success in your careers, continue to learn and grow.
You are the dreamers, the makers, creators of your own destiny.
And we are proud of you.
Congratulations class of 2020.
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