Connor Parker enjoyed her time at Bridgewater State University so much, just before graduating Saturday afternoon, she was ready to do it all again.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” said the Worcester resident and psychology major. “I’ll be back again next year for my master’s, so it doesn’t feel like much is changing.”
Ms. Parker was one of nearly 2,100 students who received their bachelor’s degrees in the arts, sciences and education as BSU held its 175th commencement convocation on the Boyden Quadrangle.
Undergraduate majors from the Ricciardi College of Business, College of Education & Allied Studies, and the Bartlett College of Science & Mathematics were awarded their degrees during the morning ceremony. Graduates in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences received their diplomas in the afternoon. The event marked the first undergraduate commencement ceremony presided over by Bridgewater President Frederick W. Clark Jr., ’83.
During his address, the president shared stories with the graduates about a few of their classmates who not only found success in the classroom, but have also given their time and energy in the service of others. One example cited was Brittany Baillie who as a sophomore volunteered 300 hours of her time helping Brockton preschoolers develop literacy skills. Brittany also mentored a student with severe mental disabilities. She plans to earn a master’s in special education so she can teach in an urban school.
Graduates like these, the president said, “exemplify what is best about Bridgewater.”
“BSU opens doors, creates opportunities to take risks and grow, the chance to work hard on ideas that matter with a passionate faculty dedicated to helping students achieve their full potential,” President Clark said.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts addressed graduates during the morning ceremony. “Bridgewater State is a school the rest of the country can look to for excellence,” she said.
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012, Sen. Warren is recognized as one of the nation’s top experts on bankruptcy and financial pressures facing middle class families. She is widely credited for the original thinking, political courage and persistence that led to the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, she served as chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel for Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Sen. Warren told the graduates how her life took many twists and turns. Growing up, she never expected to become a lawyer, never mind a U.S. senator, she said. Then, invoking the recent headlines and prompting the loudest laughter of the ceremony, Sen. Warren added, “I never imagined I’d get into a Twitter war with Donald Trump.” The senator has been an outspoken critic on social media about the de facto Republican presidential nominee.
She used stories from her own life as an object lesson for the graduates.
“So, that’s the great message, ‘get ready,’” the senator said. Be focused, but flexible, she added, find out who you are and be ready to fight for what you believe in.
Sen. Warren was also presented an Honorary Degree in Public Service.
Ashley DeCosta of Dartmouth, an elementary education major, delivered the student address at the morning ceremony. She advised her classmates what they should when the chips are down.
“[W]hen we are scared and we don’t have anywhere else to turn the only place to look is within ourselves,” she said. Her advice for her fellow members of the class of 2016 was simple: “Embrace this new chapter in life and trust that your education has given you every tool you need to be successful.”
The sunny skies held out for the afternoon ceremony, where James T. Brett, president and chief executive officer of The New England Council, delivered the keynote. He also received an Honorary Degree in Public Service.
Before joining The New England Council in 1996, Mr. Brett served for more than 15 years as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he held many leadership positions. He has served in leadership roles on many boards and is a tireless advocate for the physically and mentally challenged. President Clark called him, “A champion for the rights of the voiceless.”
Mr. Brett told the story of his brother Jack who was born with an intellectual disability. His mother, against the advice of doctors and others who said the child should be institutionalized, opted to raise the boy at home.
In this, Mr. Brett found inspiration that has lasted a lifetime.
“Each of us has a personal responsibility to care for persons with disabilities,” he said. “In this way, our brother was a gift, a blessing to us. He opened our eyes and our hearts to the needs of the disabled.”
He urged the graduates to affiliate themselves with an organization that helps the most needy He promised the rewards would far outweigh the necessary commitment.
Kayla Scott of Mansfield, an English major, addressed her fellow graduates in the afternoon. She told how over the years she has watched the struggles her classmates have endured in the name of higher education, and how those experiences have shaped them.
“There is no such thing as a cookie-cutter Bridgewater student,” she said. “We are all aware of the struggles that others may face, and because of that, we’re kind… If there’s anything that Bridgewater has taught me, it’s that when there’s a shared drive for success and a tendency for kindness, as well as an appreciation for and understanding of our diversity, we can achieve great things.”
At the afternoon ceremony, Dr. Joseph H. Huber, founder and program director of the Children’s Physical Developmental Clinic at the university for more than 40 years, was given a Distinguished Service Award. In introducing Dr. Huber, President Clark called him, “a true Bridgewater hero.” (Story by John Winters, G ’11; and Eva T. Gaffney, G ’01; photos by John Winters and Erin O’Leary, ’17, University News & Media)
