[ Music ]
>> Welcome, Badgers, to the
167th spring commencement
of the University of
Wisconsin at Madison.
This ceremony is very different
from the one we planned for.
I had hoped to be
celebrating with you in person
with your proud families and
friends all in attendance.
I promise you that once it's
safe to gather in large crowds,
we will mark this milestone
with an in-person event here
on campus to which
you are all invited.
I hope you'll be there.
You have completed your
degree in the middle
of a life-threatening pandemic
that has disrupted
every aspect of life.
Your resilience and adaptability
deserves appreciation.
I know it hasn't been easy.
Very few of you dreamed
of spending your final semester
back at your parents' house
or locked in your apartment.
Some of you have family
members who have lost jobs
or whose jobs are essential and
you worry about their safety.
Some of you have faced the loss
of family and friends and all
of you have been socially
isolated from your community.
The friends and classmates,
teachers and advisors
who have made this
place your home.
I hope you have wonderful
memories of your time at UW.
Popcorn and brats and
live music on the terrace.
Biking down the lakeshore path.
Building igloos when Madison
got colder than the Antarctica,
and cheering for our
marching band, for Bucky,
and for our top-ranked
sports teams.
The class of 2020 has
helped us set new records
for public service.
You voted in far higher numbers
than your peers at other schools
and helped make UW Madison the
number one school in the nation
for Peace Corps volunteers.
When the coronavirus forced us
to close the campus,
you persevered.
You adapted quickly to online
learning and to a world
where we all stayed indoors
while watching spring
arrive outside.
I want to thank you for
the way you've handled this
and to thank the
family and friends
who have helped you through.
Today, 7,473 of you will receive
bachelor's degrees and 2,134
of you will receive
graduate degrees.
The deans, the provosts, the
faculty, and I are deeply proud
of the work you have done to
reach this day and inspired
by so many of you-- the
doctoral candidates who had
to hold their oral exams
virtually, the master's
of fine arts and other
students in the performing arts,
fashion design, and
other degree programs
that typically culminate in
live performances that had
to be called off, the education
students who helped reach
out to parents who suddenly
found themselves homeschooling
their children, and
the undergraduates
and graduate students
earning degrees in dozens
of other fields who are using
their knowledge to help others
as they watch their own plans
for the future become
less and less certain.
Class of 2020, we are
proud of all of you.
But I want to give special
recognition to our graduates
who will be joining the
frontlines in the fight
against the coronavirus.
The public health and biological
scientists with the skills
to create the forecasting models
that help predict what
the virus will do next.
The engineers with the skills
to design personal
protective equipment.
The social workers
and psychologist trained
to address trauma.
The students earning
degrees from our school
of veterinary medicine where
UW researchers are working
around the clock to develop
a coronavirus vaccine.
The pharmacy students
who figured out how
to mass produce hand sanitizers
to address critical shortages.
And, finally, the graduates
of the school of nursing
and the new doctors of
medicine who are already caring
for patients and who will
continue to put their own health
on the line to save others.
You are all graduating into a
world that looks very different
from the one you planned for.
Just as wars and terrorists
attacks shaped your parents'
and grandparents' generation,
this pandemic will shape yours.
I'm not going to
sugarcoat the challenges.
This will be hard
for some of you.
Some of you will face a longer
job search than you expected.
Some of you will
face personal pain
from unexpected family loss.
And some of you will end
up doing very different
things next year
than you might have expected.
But when we are past
this crisis,
you will also see some
new opportunities.
Opportunities to
reengage the economy,
to rebuild personal connections,
and to figure out how
to live together in ways
that reduce the threat
of future pandemics.
Our world will change
permanently
because of this global
shared experience.
Your diploma from the University
of Wisconsin is your ticket
to be part of that change.
And no matter what
direction your work takes you,
I hope you will carry
with you a commitment
to what we call the
Wisconsin idea.
A commitment to use
our knowledge, skills,
and innovative ideas in ways
that improve peoples' lives.
Graduates, you come from all
over the state of Wisconsin,
all over the United States,
and all over the world.
To all of you, from Shanghai,
China, to New York City,
to Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
and every point in-between,
thank you for being part
of our big badger family.
Please stay healthy and
safe in the near future.
One day, soon, campus will
reopen and we'll gather
to celebrate in person.
The senior class officers will
continue to work with us to plan
that event, but, until
then, congratulations class
of 2020 and on Wisconsin.
