2020 Commencement Ceremony

[Music] so so so so so so so so oh so so so so so hey [Music] so [Music] um [Music] huh [Music] so so [Music] foreign so so so so so so um [Music] me man [Music] do so stuff so please stand as you are able for the invocation let us pray god who is beyond name beyond description and whose height surpasses our imagination and whose depth is shrouded in wonder and awe and mystery today is a monument to patience to resilience and to the deep primordial wisdom that is our birthright each course each class both in person and online a brick and the infinite tower of learning carefully coaxed into place by faculty and staff peers and coaches and mentors secured with the curious mortar of students striving for authenticity meaning and purpose seeking to serve the common good by honoring the gifts you have bestowed upon their hearts and minds and bodies and souls we gather at long last to express our awe at this collective accomplishment stretching our shoulders backward and turning our eyes upward to envision all that is yet to be built even as we marvel at what has been constructed thus far we gather at long last exquisite in our diversity children of the cosmos offspring of spirit splendid in our individuality a common humanity progeny of the divine quintessence of wonder put into form our souls standing ajar ready to welcome the ecstatic experiences of life with educated minds and hearts help us to know your presence on this festive morning surrounded by the passionate support of family and friends as we sit together in peace and health and bounty let us remember those for whom peace and health and bounty are only a hope or a wish we also pause to acknowledge all those whose absence we grieve and whose presence we miss at this hour be with the class of 2020 as they move through these most promising and daunting days of transition and uncertainty may their journey into the next calling of their lives be blessed with success wisdom and creativity and the security that only deep connections to other human beings and our very fragile planet can offer help them to focus radically on those troops they hold most deeply to enact those truths in their work and in their lives and may we all be given the gift of gratitude and the companionship of kindred souls as we go from this place and give each of us as we continue beyond the gates of our beloved wake forest the capacity to stay grounded even as we extend our wings and fly be with us now as love surrounds us peace permeates it permeates us and gratitude overwhelms us may it be so amen and you may be seated i now welcome provost rogan curse to the podium well hello again on behalf of the trustees the deans the faculty and staff it is my pleasure to welcome you at long last to the commencement ceremony for the wake forest university class of 2020 [Applause] this is a day of joy and celebration in which we recognize you deserving graduates who not only completed your academic studies and joined our alumni ranks but did so during the wildest ride final semester of college and living memory we will long recall the class of 2020. commencement of course is the central event in the academic life of a university we welcome the families the loved ones the friends of these graduates and friends of the university who join us today here in person and in the argument of the time virtually several members of our wake forest university board of trustees are here today and i ask that they stand now and be recognized [Applause] you know today we celebrate commencement the milestone which acknowledges both an end and a beginning well you have already 16 months ago most of you ended your time at wake forest and launched impressively your new beginnings in the wide wide world we're so thrilled to come together to celebrate your accomplishments and your new phase of connection to this place that you were students for a relatively short four years you will be alumni throughout your lives and we look forward to welcoming you home to wake forest as often as you come back to us i now invite invite by the choice of the class of 2020 president emeritus nathan o hatch to give the commencement address [Applause] good morning [Applause] [Laughter] class of 2020. how wonderful it is to see you gathered here today what a delight to be in person some 18 months after the spring break of your senior year when like a thief in the night covered 19 descended upon us and disrupted the concluding months of your senior year the panic even snuffed out graduation weekend and it's wonderful to be able to meet today to honor you and your time at wake forest i'm so grateful for the resilience and goodwill that you have demonstrated in completing your coursework at wake forest online in working remotely to support your friends and staying touch with so many faculty and staff here on campus and in demonstrating in so many ways the genuine spirit of pro-humanitate i'm heartened by the way you moved out into the world with verve and confidence in the most precarious of times you chose to go to medical school in the face of the pandemic you took up the challenge of law school despite despite a fraught and contentious political environment you took up the challenge of teaching in a time when many of you couldn't even meet your students in person and many of you had to begin your professional career out of home offices foregoing the kind of camaraderie that you normally have in an office environment we are living in strange times troubled and perplexing i typically like to glance through newspapers first thing in the morning new york times the wall street journal the washington post but of late this reading with my first cup of starbucks sumatra coffee has become more a chore than a delight our national politics lurches from one extreme to another with little seeming to be done for the common good last january we did not stop an insurrectionist mob from storming the capital we have not conquered a disease for which there are safe and effective vaccines we just ended the war in afghanistan the longest in u.s history with more questions and answers and a sinking feeling in the pit of our stomachs racial contentions continue to fester and confidence in our core institutions continue to wane we distrust government the news media the scientific establishment the police are almost any institution that seems to operate for the common good and internationally to talion totalitarian governments seem to be on the rise frankly as i read the daily headlines there is not much to brighten one's countenance there are not many heroes to cherish and there are very few evident solutions to such acute problems as immigration climate change racial tension the alienation of working class and rural americans these clouds seem to offer little reason to be hopeful yet this morning as you begin your second year as wake forest graduates i encourage you to live in hope despite the spiriting circumstance there's a passage in j.r.r tolkien's the fellowship of the ring that is so appropriate for today a fearful frodo says to the wise gandalf i wish it need not have happened in my time so do i said gandalf and so do all who live to see such times but that is not for them to decide all we have to decide is what to do with the time that has given us what are we going to do with the time that has given us my challenge to you today is to live in hope and i think live in hope for three reasons first we should have hope because so often in history the dawn follows the darkest part of the night time and again even in the worst of circumstances actions inspired by courage and hope led to dramatic changes for the better moses led the slaves of israel out of egypt against the high-handed tactics of the british young and hopeful idealists took up arms against the tactics of george king george and the british army and in the process created the american republic abolitionists women suffragists and civil rights leaders overcame great odds in their struggles to achieve human rights friends our society and our world have a raft of pressing problems that call for your attention your creativity and your innovation the difficulty of the challenge should not deter you maklov hovel the czech intellectual playwright and statesman who helped to lead the democratic movement against communism argued that hope springs not from the likelihood of success but from the rightness of the cause hope is a state of mind he said hope in this deep and powerful sense is not the same as joy that things are going well or will turn out right but rather an ability to work for something because it is good doing the right thing is always a rich sea bed of hope a second reason for hope is that on a local and personal level we see so many positive and restorative actions don't be mesmerized by the 24-hour news cycle that tends to focus on national stories international stories and tends to focus on strife conflict and dysfunction look around and see all the great things happenings in your local neighborhoods and communities one great example is from your own classmate isabella ryan who in high school became concerned about the plight of juvenile defenders in prison in tennessee who are far more likely to have ptsd depression and commit suicide if they were left in solitary confinement she worked on a bill to remedy that and just this year the legislature of tennessee passed that bill [Applause] so take hope in the signs of shalom of healing all around many of which will not make the 24-hour news cycle finally we should have hope because each one of you every member of the class of 2020 has enormous power and creativity to do good to renew family relationships to build positive work cultures to volunteer to build and rebuild local communities to encourage friends facing hard times to build strong communities of mutual support in churches synagogues mosques and other organizations to advance the cause of justice and to begin to work positively in local and national politics someone has said that hope is patience with the lamp lit we have hoped not because all is well or that we expect a wave of success sometimes we maintain hope even with devastating evidence to the contrary but a flickering candle can pierce the darkest night and you class of 2020 have the power to light many candles some of those candles will become lamps and some of those lamps will become transformed into five powerful beacons of hope so as you leave this place take joy in doing the right thing even when the future is unknown light those small candles wherever you are and do so even if no one else takes notice of your good work thank you and godspeed [Applause] it is now my pleasure to begin the recognition of the class of 2020. i call upon dean of the wake forest college of arts and sciences michelle gillespie to formally recognize the recipients of the degree of bachelor of art and the degree bachelor of science [Applause] will the recipients of the degree of bachelor of arts and bachelor of science in wake forest college of please stand wake forest college graduates [Applause] it is time it is your time class of 2020 in the midst of an extraordinary set of challenges you have been strong smart imaginative and resilient you were determined to take the reality you were dealt with and make it better and you did i am certain that i speak for everyone here today in stating that we could not be prouder of you or more excited about your future [Applause] at the direction of the faculty marshals graduates please come forward to be individually recognized i have been asked to remind you that you must bring your name card to the stage as it will be used to announce your name i ask that our guests please remain in your seats for the presentation of diplomas professional photographers and videographers are capturing each graduate and these photos and videos will be available as mementos of this day graduates can be seated grant bruce abrahamson john cameron bannis sorry can we can we pause these are the bs's catherine grace beshears abigail marie bergeron emily holland blumenfeld gabrielle lucia bordeaux [Applause] brianja chamel bowser [Applause] lyanna renee cassie jeffrey bernard boyer karen elizabeth brosco hayley cavaccini buggy [Music] natalie hope campisi [Music] thomas ignatius cecil jonathan philippe chen robert thomas claiborne claudia marie costa john hunter crumpler connor malone demayo james august dixon shiny reina ashley echeverria nathaniel eisenmann shelby francis ellis lydia lucille faber hubert hujon fan jessica elizabeth fennelly paige kylie flutterbach alexis noel franco grace princess [Music] angelica garces ali gill sosa cassidy kirsten gilley maggie gingee kayla niquel gorham [Music] nolan michael green [Applause] addie marie harrison mary grace hash robert felton hatcher iii megan elizabeth hayden edward harrison hermann [Music] lindsay catherine hoots [Music] nicole ashley johnson madison amy kalk lauren gabriel kaufman eric michael kaluff cameron mackenzie king victoria may cognac elizabeth wren kasselniak alexandra michelle kratochul matthew lakayo [Music] darius b lacey rebecca ann leonard john morgan lewis david robert lariakis shannon liu matthew taylor lugot malcolm kesuki mcswain emma claire merlin celeste ariela moore taylor michelle moore mackenzie leanne needham kelly taylor needles tucker hayes lloyd rose catherine o'donoghue habibat [Music] drewpod patel sheehan tucker payne aaron christine perry [Applause] odilya swarin ponchon magame catherine kyle reed [Music] aurora rachel recep [Music] catherine taylor riley rihanna alexis roberts tessa may roberts mcrae coletti robertson jasmine kasumi roby kristen nicole rogers madison nicole rose paul keegan rose alexander jason ross chloe elizabeth rothstein grace elizabeth russell [Applause] carlos alberto samaniego allison marie scarlett hudson michael schertz holland lucy scheffler haley lane schultz christina marie scott ellen de'andre smith [Music] molly hannah sohn anna elizabeth speer caroline victoria spursum kirsten emani stewart elena beckmann takus [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] noah hunter watkins [Music] mackenzie lee webster michael erskine white olivia claire williams david edwin wolf andrew joseph wolpert david johannen grace elizabeth [Music] m algonium can we all congratulate the bachelor of science recipients wake forest 2020 and we'll now move to recipients of the bachelor of arts degree who are here representing the class of 20 20. blue cards how are you maya elena abuhamed natalie joy arms zachary benjamin amen abigail sarah anderson eleanor francis anderson grace elizabeth anderson dylan thomas ankerson ashley d atkins chandler hogan everett mary catherine barker madison carey bunnett [Music] robbie chadwick barr kathleen ruth basher [Music] nicholas joseph beglane gabrielle frank bazi bazikri anisa kur burger ashley alexa berry jacob kevin berry kristen grace berry emily ann betts john william barra iii emily carlyle beasle [Music] james samuel bishop sarah dancy blackburn cooper george blaze jackson reeves blodgett zachary joseph bowell [Music] benjamin connolly bachmann abigail catherine bodner remy gabrielle bobot james payton bowles [Music] carly feyenn bolton samantha nicole borden donovan reeves borum caroline haley bosch mara elizabeth boston catherine elizabeth bolton [Music] regine janiece boykin [Applause] elizabeth loretta boyle john frank bragg the fourth robert owen brancatella michael lee brandon alexander jonathan brockman barry brett brown ii dylan franklin brown jensen ian brown [Music] lauren alyssa brown [Applause] ella joanne bruggen caleb [Applause] caleb scott bryant [Music] sarah wilder bryan anna elizabeth bunn [Music] jesse alter bunting [Applause] perez burleson [Applause] joseph george maxwell burstin richard emerson burton iv cameron jane califiori michael quay callahan peyton emerson calvert [Applause] isabella laurie caperniti ty matthew tyler capps anthony paul caravello iv riyani anne carr chandler robeson carter ryan benjamin carter samuel lee carter [Music] alexandra grace casale [Music] [Applause] caitlyn walsh clark remy elijah cludfelter catherine elizabeth clower amanda lee cohen joshua alexander cohen megan may collins mary catherine coltrane sydney emma comstock [Applause] hannah elizabeth cook [Music] ryan mcintyre coughlin jacob g coughlin catherine wingfield cowie heather michelle cosey [Music] taylor michael crandall matthew starbuck crawford jr mary haley culbreth [Music] camille pischard cummings alison may curly stephen curtin grace whitcomb daily madeleine luis delis catherine patricia delvano lauren sarah davidson [Music] david oliver diren [Music] dondre trevon delany jamie alejandro delgado [Music] caitlyn aaron della roxanna john de mer eliza michelle dermot timothy william de salvo robin gene devendorf jonathan noah dill ding [Music] mckenna or set dixon eisen dylan sierra dobson [Applause] catherine margaret doherty laura hawkins drawn [Applause] megan sierra elwood drew lauren true drury miriam renee jurgens dupree emily grace dutton isabel bess einhorn hayes houston elliott rachel ann eschem [Applause] ashley ann estrella ryan carl eubank henry kelleher everett wyman starling faison yang fan laura page physicists [Music] john jay ferrara [Music] gray douglas ferrell kyle anthony farah dixie mary finlay madeleine jane fleming emma anita flynn peyton stone fallen logan bradshaw foster taylor brianna volks [Music] nicole elise fox madeleine ray framm gavin edward toshiro fukawa gwen margaret duffy fuller [Music] kiana giselle garcia emily irvin gaskin megan elizabeth gast berham megihal garachu [Music] kelsey and gill samuel raphael golden keegan mayor goode [Applause] thomas joseph gooley kaelin nicole gore caleb neil gorman taylor and growlstein emilia nettles green alexander john wallace gregory ansley miguel groff [Applause] margaret ann grundy annabelle tyler grunbaum elizabeth mary gorilla catherine lauren gusman [Applause] charlotte piper habeeb eric william haddleton andrew richard haysfield samantha kelly halverson richard daniel hamricka mark daniel mullins handler [Music] [Applause] meredith phillips happy anna dixon cameron harkey graham hartig julia rose harvey zachary ryan hatch sally elizabeth hayes kabisia alexa simon heath [Music] sophie lorraine helt jenna elizabeth helfrich [Music] jennifer hernandez gonzalez wallace russell herzog rebecca hudson hill carolyn emma holland alexander jordan holt alexander carl horn william bennett hornbeck margaret hamilton horsley elena london howell alexis nicole hutchinson [Music] emma margot enzor walter turner jackson iv samantha joe jamison brianna bryson jenkins [Applause] [Music] bria chanel johnson [Applause] lillian grace johnson [Music] samantha rose johnson [Music] [Applause] carly megan johnston [Music] darris mcdermott jones catherine alisa mcafee jones mckenna evelyn jones [Music] kai schumacher jordan [Music] timmery maria jordan john joyce sophia delphine giroff joseph wellesley julian ellie amalay emilia kanger carolyn ann carlson chase robert cassell [Music] christian andreas larson ryan benjamin keller [Music] catherine ann der servian kenwood alexandra michelle kidderman kevin reed klingman kate fleming knight christian carolyn knight padima kanate zoe rose lamason ellaria taylor lampson victoria gardner latham catherine marie laws [Applause] emily rose lighter jessie kenneth lewis jingly carlin summer liebik george stewart little eleanor murphy logan elizabeth helen lordy charles preston lowry terrence joseph lubin [Applause] daniel forrest ludov [Music] carter james mackle ellen ann magner [Applause] timothy john muller boston clark mallory spencer bryce marshall alexandra maron donovan azaya isaiah martin [Music] teresa ellen marie martin nico richard martens [Music] daria renee madison carolyn jordan matson ashley bianca maxime william s may eugene o'connell mcallister nathan ben mcardle emma kelly mccauley raven camille mccorkle robert mcgowan virginia harper mcgraw christopher william mchugh sydney alexis meadows [Music] connor joseph maeger [Music] amen mood mackenzie elizabeth melville hannah sydney meniker sarah jane mill miles john drew mender [Applause] catherine juliet million brandon defoy miller connor patrick miller catherine marie mitzi [Applause] [Music] lindsay sarah moran jacqueline sanders moray margaret lily morgan scott carlos morgan jacqueline alyssa morris madeline mccall morris [Applause] donna carol mosley [Music] rachel lauren mount julia jeanette morose vera natasha mudray devin robinson monroe andrew thomas murphy jonathan e najarian sarah kathy catherine najar [Applause] lucy dayton nelson a meet near jonas joshua winston najee eliza boswick noison henry jennings nowin [Music] tiffany crystal nunes grace ashlyn o'halloran brian michael palazzo solo natalie elizabeth parent rebecca mckinley parsons colin ferdinand patrick deasia janae patterson [Applause] emily t patterson jorge andres panaranda [Applause] benjamin hassana penrose jessica lauren pianco elizabeth jane pittenger danielle paulette poole peter john purcelli iii luis daniel puentes benjamin rex putnam guadalupe ramirez rios caroline olivia rasenfoss [Music] nicholas william ratcliffe alexandra zielinski rhodes christian samuel chapin ricci [Music] michael clay rorty lawrence nelson roberts jr stephanie resa robinson [Music] zachary william robinson caroline o'day roche monica jeannette rodriguez emma grace rogers zoe hamilton rogers phoebe claire ronderos juliana rubia rubinetti serrano isabel ruiz jennifer emily ruth isabella margaret ryan [Applause] [Music] sophie ann sacks emily wyman sanderfer [Music] warren michael patton schmidt lilly betros snyder zoe loren claire schneider eric ernst schultz zachary david chute caitlyn and sebastian anna catherine sarah finney tariq a shanks [Music] spencer maxwell shapiro liliana rose shepherd [Applause] j nicholas cheryl [Applause] jocelyn segura [Music] with bet you marou shimalash elizabeth heath sims james reed simpson iii amy marie sinenburg julia snyder dylan reed solomon natalie virginia sanye [Music] nicole cervero sydney amanda spector [Music] natalia michelle super brophora samuel maxwell stanton nicholas andrew stella aspen marie stevanoski julia baldwin stevens [Music] alexandra jean still caitlyn norris stillson [Music] colson john straight matter samantha stroudser talini duran suren alesa tsukanani samuel riley sutton elizabeth lee swear sophie rebecca talton peyton elizabeth terry william blake taylor benjamin mark towerson [Music] hannah caitlin thiessen whitley catherine thomas [Music] avery dyer thrush julia brooks tillman [Music] ethan todd carolyn elizabeth thompson elizabeth torres ramirez cara elizabeth towery emily elizabeth tyson jessa maxine vanderwight rita vinnette [Applause] tyler james ventura collins wilburn's vise [Music] virginia davidson walking matthew lafrance wallace john kenneth walsh alyssa ann walton jennifer ann ward madeline grace ward nicole amy worgo [Music] charlotte rebecca warren alexis dare webster matthew ian weiss [Music] [Applause] mary glenn west [Music] brady robert whitmore [Music] andrew bernard wigan noah lofton williams [Music] emily rose mullmik [Music] andrew bolin wilson [Applause] kaylee kaylee monet wingates [Applause] seth thomas wood caleb william woody [Applause] samantha kennedy your hero [Music] nicholas john zappa luke john zingle xander trey zimmer [Music] catherine grace zurlo let's all give a big round of applause to the wake forest college bachelor of arts recipients i now call upon the interim dean of the school of business michelle rheem to formally recognize the recipients of the degree of bachelor of science in the school of business [Applause] okay business school let's show them how it's done [Applause] will the recipients of the degree bachelor of science in the school of business please stand [Applause] congratulations to these emerging leaders in this truly extraordinary time your hard work commitment to academic excellence and passion for learning brought you to this significant milestone we are so very proud of you and all that you have accomplished class of 2020. at the direction of the faculty marshals graduates please come forward to be individually recognized i've been asked to remind you you must bring your name card to the stage as it will be used to announce your name and we ask that our guests please remain in your seats for the presentation of diplomas professional photographers and videographers are capturing each graduate and those photos and videos will be available as mementos of this day oh sure [Music] [Applause] atauda michaela margaret bailey samuel waller baker marcella valdez perez de barros jed samuel bergman william theodore blyker courtney alexis benini sarah elizabeth bowen [Music] caroline mannery boyce emily paige boylan elizabeth joan brown [Music] kelly elizabeth buchholz karen quinlan burns lincoln alyssa cahill suzanne marie camp sabrina catherine cera samuel jack chason [Music] matthew yayoon chang [Applause] elena camille kloninger colleen blair cody jackson david kogar helen haley condo amanda noel connor owen breen corrigan thomas holmes crimmons jr [Music] [Applause] federica lincoln dimas caitlin victoria derry liam patrick destefano olivia quinn devos liam casey dillon tara dilmani [Music] bradley tucker daughterage [Music] scott bradford douglas amy logan drews isabelle anna duffy andrew christian durham christina ann dwyer sean patrick edgar sarah joanna elia grace kistler firestone claire frazier fletcher [Music] madeleine angelique flores benjamin matthew folds michael joseph foley augustus henry fortune susan jess fowler brandon alexander freeman [Applause] daniel forrest gantt francesca marie gentilly faith garrity richard julian gerhart john william gibson the third lauren nicole goff alejandro tomas gonzalez [Music] andrew george gomez [Music] [Applause] catherine wallingford grabowski matthew kevin grubb megan mary grand chen yoon gu vincent michael gaglarty jared michael gurdock james v halsey iii haley jane hammond [Music] jenny and hannah [Music] eric paul harris jonathan david hartness [Music] [Applause] christine madison harvey mary alice heaney cooper disc hearn alexandra hope heffas harrison blaine hetrick abigail harold hodgin ryan michael hughes [Music] blair louise huntley [Applause] [Applause] spencer mckenna t jenkins sean lockhart jensen drew mckenna johnson zoe alexandra johnson taylor jane johnson haley elizabeth jordahl mary louise kahaya charles cheatham kennerly madeleine burke kenny stephen christopher clemash anna canteen nightly [Music] isabella kelly kornitzky tanner jeffrey cramp zoey lazonski kreutzer [Music] austin wyatt leday skyler fan liang [Music] margaret and fisher lindsey [Music] christa nicole lavanos nicole hope lefredo [Applause] stephen joseph mahoney jr cal benjamin mayer rachel jean mayer colin gilchrist matheson kara lynn mcdermott henry joseph mitch [Applause] liam philip modesty [Applause] jackson robert moat blake stephen mueller morgan christiana murchison [Music] elwynn gray murray iv [Music] [Applause] andrew leonard nash [Applause] robert ford naumann [Music] annabelle claire nemeth benjamin casey neubauer patrick m newman catherine elizabeth nielsen [Applause] ishana nagin [Music] elissa claire oliver rowan fortune o scanlon [Music] christine margaret pangborn hadley jones parker eric michael paciello read frank pernit sloan irwin faff harrison potter pop william scott purdy john galvin quill christopher michael raiola jr emily grace randall connor daniel reardon sarah lynn renfro salvatore albert restivo [Applause] ryan stockton rhodes armani camille robinson kelly ann rose [Music] nicole marie rosinski andres niels rampaters [Music] jackson tyler shapiro michael alexander shinkovich tyler raymond sisk brook lee smith victoria page smith rachel brianna say sarah hope schmerler [Music] julia marie spurfera alexander gregory stevens matthew stephen solvietti joshua harrison sokoloff james edward sowa [Music] cassidy faith spatnagle bradford winston dorowatsbury joseph michaels posado [Applause] nicholas young stabinski olivia yarborough street [Applause] daniel timothy sullivan ryan patrick sullivan ethan jack terrell [Applause] kelsey and terry nicholas david trigani caroline debrew tripode jamie diane van horn kenneth carter van winkle sophia marie vega catherine elizabeth verlander jacob harris wake off john lewis walker [Music] gordon william walsh ella margaret webster brandon martin widger evan james wilkinson [Applause] peyton alexander willey catherine blinn williamson thomas kendrick windus chengdu young alexandra jean jarrosh ji yong yeah philip samuel yochinko [Applause] jack hunter zeldas zhao yun jo [Music] dylan jared zuber john dwyer zeusnet could we all salute the graduates of the school of business with the bs degree for 2020. [Applause] we now have the glorious opportunity to hear from your class president melanie messen [Applause] hello class of 2020 or as we meet as we may otherwise be known the almost class of october 2020 and definitely the class of september 2021 for much of the last year and a half gathering with this many familiar place faces seemed like an impossibility which is why i am thrilled to be here in person with all of you today and eternally grateful to all the faculty and staff who worked tirelessly to make this day happen for us we now get to join the ranks of thousands of demon deacons who've celebrated their graduations donned in regalia amongst friends and family on hearn plaza if you were to take a photo of this moment it would look nearly identical to commencement days burned into the memories of those who came before us and yet as i'm sure we are all painfully aware this day is utterly unique to us i had the privilege of addressing you all in may 2020 during our virtual ceremony highlighting the fact that our college experience was so much more than the two months we missed out on and in the time between now and then we've done a lot of living and growing up we've had the same conversations about what it was like to be the covid class a hundred times and so now it may admittedly feel a bit strange to be back on campus almost like we've time traveled to an alternate reality where we get to have the day we lost out on typically commencement is the cherry on top of the last semester of college the final and brightest firework or at least that's what i imagine it's like seeing as if i'd had that experience i probably wouldn't be standing in front of you all today nonetheless the pomp and circumstance is traditionally part of the whirlwind that is the end of senior year when many may not fully understand what's just happened and what is coming to an end and this is where our class differs we've had the time and space to process the ways in which our experiences on this campus have irrevocably shaped who we are as people we've begun to see the fruits of our academic labor pay off in our personal and professional lives and we've seen the relationships that we've built here become a life raft during one of the most isolating times in living history so now as we finally don our regalia it is not just for the final adventure in the whirlwind of senior year it is an intentional commemoration of the time we've spent here and who we've become as a result if the last year has taught me anything it's the importance of truly savoring this opportunity to celebrate this milestone with the people that we love as we conclude this celebration let me remind you of the faculty reception immediately following the recessional followed by the class of 2020 tailgate just before we cheer our demon deacons on against florida state i look forward to seeing you all there and now i'd like to welcome fellow i'd like to welcome brianna coppolino and julian zu to the stage to lead us in singing of the alma mater thank you for your presence here today and your support please stand and join me in singing in the alma mater [Music] is fame constant untruth we give thee awful praise [Music] mother [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] see [Music] is [Applause] with the graduates please remain standing guests may be seated and let me just say that in 35 years of hearing the alma mater is my single favorite rendition thank you to the singers and to the class [Applause] before we leave here today i want you fabulous members of the class of 2020 to remember back in time with me to the long humid days of august 2016. most of you had moved into your residence halls and we gathered together in a circle at the other end of hearn plaza most of you didn't know anyone back then you didn't know the adventures that had weighted you you couldn't have realized how much in this place and beyond you would change and develop and grow it was the first time we officially got to welcome you into the wake forest family we gave out pins i love that many of you are wearing those on your regalia today and we sang the alma mater for the first time and i remember so well how pretty much all of you just hummed along today gathered here again we are awake forest family ready to see how you will leave this home again and chase after your adventures after these five years of preparation of toil of trial and victory you're ready for what's to come you're ready to step in this moment with courage and resilience and yes it must be said the spirit of prayer humanitate just take a second and look around you graduates see the faces who were complete strangers five and chain five years ago and change are now family let me emphasize as you leave you will always be as president hatch and i have emphasized today welcome here you always have a home here and you will always be called a demon deacon it's a long tradition on this campus for new alumni to recess the receiving line of faculty waiting to offer their congratulations your predecessor classes have noted this as a highlight of the event so if you'll allow that receiving line to form we ask our guests to please be seated and to keep the center aisle clear as we recess and then as the graduates move through the tunnel we then invite every graduate and guest here today to join our faculty for a reception on the back half of hearn plaza in new redulda hall at the end of the faculty tunnel thanks to you all for your presence here today and your support of these graduates and of wake forest graduates to make this moment official you have one last wake forest requirement find that cap of yours and firmly grasp the tassel it is time to symbolically make the passage to wake forest graduate in good standing all over again would you move that tassel together from right to left and now take off that newly removed newly transformed graduates cap and get ready to hurl it to the clouds family friends special guests i give you the class of 20 20. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] so hey so you

Channel: Wake Forest University

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Length: 97min 5sec (5825 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 18 2021