值得等待:大学在特别的百年毕业典礼上庆祝2020届毕业生

As part of Homecoming Weekend, 网赌上分平台(University of New Haven)为其百年校庆班级举办了一场现场毕业典礼. 研究生s officially completed their degrees in 2020, the University's Centennial year, 但由于COVID-19的影响，直到现在才能够举行现场仪式.

2021年10月21日

By Dave Cranshaw, Office of Marketing & 通信

在网赌上分平台百年纪念课堂上的演讲 in-person 毕业典礼 由于COVID-19的影响，仪式推迟了近18个月， 英语 教授 Randall Horton, Ph.D.他对毕业生们说:“没有你们撞不垮的墙.”

He knows from experience. More than 20 years ago, 他被关进了马里兰州的罗克斯伯里惩教所, convicted of smuggling cocaine.

“我的生活撞上了23号牢房的石墙，”他说. “要跨过那堵有形的、隐喻性的墙，唯一的办法就是处理好眼前的情况. I needed to run toward the problem. There was no other way living inside a box.”

他成了一个如饥似渴的读者，并参加了一门社区大学课程以获得学分. At the end of that class, 教授请他在他们每年举行的颁奖典礼上作主讲.

“今天,, I get the honor and privilege to stand before you today, 见证, 作为一个活生生的例子，证明没有你不能打破的墙,霍顿说, a recipient of a 2021 American Book Award. “当我们问自己:在网赌上分平台面对难以想象的事情时，哪个班级表现出了最大的弹性，2020届毕业生肯定会成为我们的参考点。? You are that class.”

‘You are indeed special’

As part of the in-person ceremony held during Homecoming weekend, 霍顿分享了他为近350名毕业生写的一首特别的诗, 其中许多人自大流行爆发以来首次返回校园, and who completed their degrees in 2020, the University’s Centennial year.

“Literally in midsentence, before the final paper could be completed, 在你人生故事的最后一段写出来之前——你以为你知道的世界——颠倒了, became topsy-turvy, a balancing act you had to negotiate,霍顿说. “I heard your personal stories of hardship, but I also I felt the determination, 不愿承认失败，不愿放弃如此接近的东西, 然而如此遥远, 当时.

“你总是能够将你为获得这一伟大成就所经历的一切，与你人生旅途中可能出现的任何障碍相提并论。,他接着说. “祝贺2020届毕业生，你们真的很特别.”

‘I am extremely thankful’

毕业生中有20岁的安娜·唐斯(Anna Downs)，她后来回到哈佛大学，担任招生和招生沟通部副主任. “我非常感谢自己选择了网赌上分平台, which cares about its students,”她说。.

In beginning his remarks, President Steven H. 卡普兰 looked across Zolad Stadium, 说, “这太酷了。,，并赞扬了班干部们为他们举办了当之无愧的亲临仪式.

他说:“疫情对我们所有人都产生了深远的影响. “也许, 虽然, there was no one impacted more, 作为一个群体, 比在这个前所未有的时刻努力完成学位的百周年纪念班的成员还要多. 你们和你们的同学以及来自全国和世界各地的同学都即将结束你们的学业，并期待着与你们生命中这一重要里程碑相关的所有传统.”

‘You are uniquely prepared’

卡普兰校长说，让他印象最深刻的是毕业生们面对挑战的反应，并成功地克服了挑战.

“我非常感激我们今天有机会安全地聚在一起，对你的决心和你加入我们校友行列以来所取得的成就表示感谢, 同时也要庆祝你无限的潜力，继续在这个世界上发挥作用.”

In concluding his remarks, President 卡普兰 quoted Maya Angelou who once said, “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”

“Each of you exemplify and embody this sentiment,” he said. “Thanks to your resilience and resolve, you are uniquely prepared, 也许比你们之前的任何一届毕业生都要多, to respond to adversity.”