New Beginnings
There is a certain symmetry, I find, to the closing days of one semester and the first days of a new one. Both are filled with excitement laced with just a touch of apprehension. New graduates go through joyous yet somber ceremonies signifying that they have completed their undergraduate years of college and are ready to face a new world of possibilities open to them. As the next semester starts, new and returning students will buy their books and walk to classes where they will meet new professors and friends and prepare to learn new lessons.
In the Honors College, we just celebrated the December Class of 2007 at a wonderful Commencement Ceremony for our graduates. WSU President Elson S. Floyd joined us as our inspirational guest speaker, and he also helped present student awards and took great pleasure in handing each graduate his or her Honors Medallion to wear at graduation.
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Dr. Floyd’s message to the graduates, their families, and friends, and Honors faculty and staff, emphasized "excellence, quality, and accountability." He told the students, "We appreciate you for being here (at WSU), and we thank (your) parents for entrusting us with your precious sons and daughters. We’re better for having you here."
He applauded the graduates for applying themselves in the classroom and in their communities. These are messages that resonate well with the students starting classes in January. The opportunities are great for our students to interact and communicate with their peers, to study abroad, and to learn more lessons about their roles in our global community. That sense of community, we believe, forms definitively in the Honors College.
Dr. Floyd closed his Commencement presentation with words that apply very appropriately to Honors students closing one chapter of their lives (or ending one semester), and starting a new one.
"Thank you for what you have done," he said, "and what you will do. And remember this: wherever you go, you go as a Coug!"
--Libby Walker, Ph.D.
Honors College Interim Dean