As was said earlier it's a beautiful day to celebrate
but even more importantly what a beautiful audience in front of me today
I'm blushing right now so thank you for that
Thank you I am honored and I am
humbled to have the opportunity of representing such a unique and talented
collective of students today
I've learned that in moments of humility it can be helpful to draw upon
the words of someone
who was much wiser than yourself. I would like to begin today
by reading an excerpt from someone who inspired me to think big
from a great thinker and a great doctor
who many of us have spent countless hours studying
Dr. Seuss. I will begin today by reading an excerpt from a Oh, The Places
You'll Go.
if you know the words feel free to sing-along. Congratulations
today's your day your off to great places
your off and away. You have brains in your head
yes feet in your shoes you can steer yourself
any direction you choose you're on your own
and you know what you know and you
are the one who'll decide where to go oh the places
you'll go. For many of us
this is not the first time we have heard these wise words from Dr. Suess.
Whether that be seated politely on the gymnasium floor next to other wobbly
four-year-olds
or packed together in an auditorium full of other giddy high school seniors
at so many points of transition in my life I have found comfort
in the journey of our nameless hero trying so hard to figure out where they
belong and
finally finding it. For many of us
Dr. Seuss' story is simply that, a story.
However, if College has taught us
anything let it be this that we should never be afraid to ask a good question
that there should be no topic
safe from critical analysis and that even includes you Dr. Seuss.
When read as an adult his work stands out
me in ways that did not reveal itself fifteen years ago
let us examine the title. Oh, The Places You'll Go.
notice the fact that Seuss does not say oh the spaces you'll go. To me
there's something very significant and how we should understand the differences
between
a space and a place you see a space is physical
space is objective space is finite let's
try to understand space within the context of our own surrounding
at this very moment here we are at a space
we call Old Main lawn 40,000 square feet of grass
a few overarching trees and a couple thousand chairs
Lets extend this further here we are at a space we call Hamline University
sixty acres of urban land stretching between Minehaha
and Pierce Butler are a few dozen brick and concrete buildings
several hundred white boards several thousand desks
what about this space we call earth? 71 percent of it covered by oceans and
water the other 29 percent of it
composed almost entirely of mountains and desert
I know right not the most optimistic way of understanding the world that
surrounds us.
Now let's understand this concept
of place together. Place is like so many other concepts I've had the chance to
learn about these past four years
see place, place is a social construct
this does not mean place does not matter rather it means that place
like our race like a gender like so many of the other identities
we identify with matter because of how we ascribe meaning to it
as individuals and as a society now let's try to reunderstand the
very place that surrounds us at this very moment
let's think about this place we call earth. How improbable
for us humans to sprout life from a world that is nearly completely
uninhabitable
of the mountains we have moved on broken backbones of the rivers
redirected by calloused hands of the ingenuity that the people of this
earth are capable of
how about this place we call Hamline University
the first time sitting down in your Fysem wondering if this is where you really
belonged
the first night figuring out the location of all the buildings on campus
by playing a midnight game of capture the flag
the first time you kissed someone in the blue garden
the first time you sat in your dorm room and called your mother
worried and anxious about the future forgetting that she's
almost always the first to call you.
And here we are today at this place we call
Old Main lawn remembering that it is not the grass
underneath our feet that makes this moment special
it is not the bleachers that we sit upon it is not even the robes
we wear the tassels that hang from our caps or even the diplomas
we work so hard to receive
place matters to put it simply because we matter
the most important thing I've learned in my four years at Hamline University
has not been calculating dead weight loss or trying to figure out what the
allegory of the cave actually meant
the most important thing i've learned my four years at Hamline University
has been how to negotiate space in place how to make both
the people and the environments in my life matter.
Here we are at Old Main lawn
celebrating. But it is important to remember
we did not simply appear in this place today
no movement is an essential action when understanding place
as good as the physics department here at Hamline University we have yet to
discover the technology a teleportation
our presence here is the culmination of a
journey many decades in the making like the nameless hero in Seuss' story
Oh, The Places You'll Go oh the places we have been
for many of us coming to Hamline was
a journey of only a few miles.
for many others of us Saint Paul was a destination literally
half a world away and of the mental journey
for some we are the grandchildren of a long line of doctors and lawyers and
maybe even pipers
for others graduation
is a beautiful and hard-fought first for the family
I think about my own mother and father a story far too common
throughout this world they fled a country that did not allow them to belong
spent years in refugee camps along the Thai border
came to the United States of America wide eyed and unsure how this new place
would greet them learned first hand how cruel it can be to be a person
with nowhere to call home learned first hand how important it is
to create place for others
whether that be your mother and father or parent who had to be both
whether that be your friend who held you before you jumped whether that be
a teacher who believed that you could be something greater
whether that be yourself when there was no one else there
we're all here today because of someone
And how beautiful is that all of us
from all different walks of life sharing this place here today
my time here at Hamline has taught me how beautiful this
act of sharing can be interacting with communities and world
views that I may have never even knew existed
finding belonging where I least expected
even in moments where I felt lost my time here is taught me
how important it is to create a place for others
but with the act of creation comes the gigantic responsibility it is not enough
to simply
create a place where others can feel safe no it is the responsibility
of all of us to create places where we can feel brave
to voice disagreement to empower one another and to belong
in order to share place we must not simply
understand where we are similar or where we agree
we must begin understanding how to share our differences
because you alone may be wise
you alone strong you artistic
you technical you passionate you romantic
you reflective but together we
all of us together sharing this place we
are powerful beyond measure
on this day of celebration do not simply see today
as the culmination of four years of hard work no
do not simply see today as the destination finally reached
or finish line finally crossed
see today as a golden opportunity
to set forth to share
at the create place for ourselves and others
someone once told me that in moments of great discovery
it can be helpful to speak the words of someone who
has traveled a path much farther than yours
on and on you will hike and I know you will hike far
and face up to your problems whatever they are you get mixed up
of course as you already know you get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go
sure when you step step with care and great tact and remember that life
is a great balancing act just never forget to be
dextrous and deft never mix up your right
foot with your left and where you succeed
yes you will indeed 98 and three fourths percent guarantee
kid you'll move mountains
so your name Buxbaum or Bixby of Bray or Morticai
Alli Van Allen Oshay your off to great places
today's your day your mountain is waiting
so get on your way.