Forecasted rain threatening to dampen an idyllic outdoor ceremony delivered just a few droplets as more than 350 黄色短视频 seniors participated in the institution鈥檚 61st Commencement on May 19.
The event kicked off at 8 a.m. with a grand procession from Hough Quad to a tent filled with nearly 5,000 family and friends on South Beach Field.
Faculty Marshall Mary Meyer McAleese, Ph.D., bore the ceremonial mace while the students, faculty, executive staff and trustees found their respective places to begin the celebration.
President Jim Annarelli, Ph.D., offered a warm welcome to the graduates who he acknowledged had entered, as first-year students, a very different campus than they were leaving behind.
鈥淚n the face of the challenges of the pandemic, you adapted and, indeed, thrived,鈥 Annarelli said. 鈥淎t the end of this ceremony, you will march off to show the world that 黄色短视频 changes lives, and 黄色短视频 graduates change the world.鈥
The New York Times bestselling author and Eckerd alumna Ashley Rhodes-Courter 鈥07, LCSW, addressed the Class of 2024, saying she was thrilled to be back on what she described as a considerably upgraded campus.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 help but feel personally responsible for the questionable forecast and dicey weather. You see, during the first few weeks of my freshman year, the campus was evacuated four times for major hurricanes,鈥 Rhodes-Courter explained. 鈥淚 thought that was a disruptive way to start college, but it is nothing compared to the hurdles these graduates leapt while navigating a global pandemic. Life is full of micro- and macro-disruptions. We would love for our days to remain in sync with our planning, ideas or wishes. Instead, we must be prepared to embrace the discomfort of disruption and see it as a catalyst for change and innovation.鈥
Rhodes-Courter challenged the graduates to embrace life鈥檚 disruptions and find the positives in adversity.
鈥淵ou get to decide for yourselves what you want your life to look like. I encourage you to maintain a flexible growth mindset that will allow you to transcend barriers,鈥 she said. 鈥淏e creative. Be open to possibilities that you have yet to imagine.鈥
The faculty and trustees granted Rhodes-Courter an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree鈥攖he first of several awards presented at the ceremony.
Trustee Emeritus Helmar E. Nielsen was awarded the inaugural Helmar E. Nielsen Medal, the highest honor bestowed on an individual by 黄色短视频, which recognizes those who have demonstrated exceptional devotion to the College and to its mission of undergraduate liberal arts education through extraordinary service, advocacy and generosity. Nielsen鈥檚 gifts to Eckerd over the years have made him the namesake of The Helmar and Enole Nielsen Center for Visual Arts and the 鈥攁s well as established an endowed professorship, the Christian Nielsen Professorship in Film Studies, which was named in memory of his brother.
Associate Professor of Marine Science Amy NS Siuda, Ph.D., received the John Satterfield Outstanding Mentor Award, which honors the special and vital role of the mentor in a student鈥檚 life at Eckerd.
But the lifeblood of the ceremony flowed with the contributions from鈥攁nd honors bestowed upon鈥攖he graduates themselves.
Ash Murphy 鈥24, an anthropology graduate from Ansonia, Ohio, read the College鈥檚 land acknowledgment to kick off the ceremony.
A quartet of graduates鈥擨sabelle Margaret Clemons 鈥24, Graham Scott Hempstead 鈥24, Colette Estelle Rybinski 鈥24 and Benjamin Kenneth Stolarczyk 鈥24鈥攐ffered a harmonic rendition of 鈥淭he Star-Spangled Banner.鈥
Four Tritons were honored with faculty-selected awards: Aarushi Gandhi 鈥24, a biology graduate from Bangalore, India, received The Philip Lee Honor Award for scholarly achievements and superior future promise; Ava Marie McLeod 鈥24, a marine science and French graduate from Wylie, Texas, received The James H. Robinson Award for contributions to the experience of underrepresented students at Eckerd and a fuller appreciation of cross-cultural values throughout the whole Eckerd community; Madalyn Ryan 鈥24, a political science graduate from Denver, Colorado, received The Ronald Wilson Memorial Award for significant contributions to the total College community; and Andrew Kennedy 鈥24, an anthropology and animal studies graduate from Ann Arbor, Michigan, received The Miller Award for life activities that best exemplify the ideal of unselfish and public-spirited service to the community, off campus as well as on campus.
To represent them at the podium, the Class of 2024 elected Bradley Steven Case 鈥24, an environmental studies and communication graduate from Howard City, Michigan, to offer greetings.
鈥淚 believe that it is through the power of collective action and community that we will persevere,鈥 Bradley explained.
鈥淭his means we must transcend the constructs of gender, race, ethnicity and class and recognize that climate change affects each and every one of us despite our differences. The fight against climate change has only just begun, and if we are to foster a more sustainable future, it must be done as a community.鈥
He encouraged his fellow graduates to keep moving forward into the world of unknowns.
鈥淲alking across this stage means walking into the next chapter of our lives,鈥 Bradley concluded. 鈥淭here will be new struggles, new adventures and new characters, but there will also always be the pages that came before. Do not overlook the importance of the communities and calluses you have formed, and do not forget them as your story continues.鈥
Watch the full ceremony and read the remarks and more about award winners at .