President's Blog: From the Heart

By Eric F. Spina

Good morning CLASS OF 2024!! And what a joyous morning it is!

Congratulations to each and every one of you! Now ... take a deep breath. Pause. Exhale. And let the realization of this moment wash over you. You. Did. It! You are GRADUATING from the University of Dayton!

I offer a special welcome to all of our families, particularly those who traveled far — especially those from overseas — to share this moment. I can feel your happiness, your pride, and yes, even a little bit of relief. This day is finally here! This is a day you’ll always remember and cherish.

Graduates, your family members and friends provided you with support and love that helped to make this day possible. Will you please rise, face them, and give them a rousing round of applause?!

Some of you are first-generation college graduates — the first in your family lineage to graduate from college. You personify the American dream, and you will continue to open doors of opportunity — not just for yourselves, but for future generations of your family. We’re so proud of you AND so proud of the family members who worked hard to enable your dream — and theirs — to come true.

Will all first-generation college graduates please stand for a special round of applause for them and their proud families!?

I also invite all graduating service members, student veterans, and (soon-to-be) commissioned ROTC cadets to stand and be recognized for your service and leadership. Thank you for your selfless service to our country and the ideals on which it was founded.

Members of the faculty and staff: Thank *you* for creating an environment that has allowed these about-to-be graduates to stretch themselves academically, to dream big, to dare to be great. You have prepared them to use their education and faith to make a difference — a real difference — in a world hungry for their community-building skills and innovative thinking.

It’s always a challenge to find the right words to share at commencement. Commencement speakers, including me, strive to find words that touch the heart and soul. Words that resonate years later. Words to live by. Words that will matter to you, the graduates.

For your graduating class, the words practically wrote themselves.

For you, it's certainly a joyful day, but it's also historic. It’s the first time you’ve ever donned a cap and gown, convened with all of your classmates, and walked down the aisle to receive a diploma.

Your class didn’t experience this sacred, coming-of-age ritual in high school. On the cusp of your graduation, COVID-19 shut the world down and laid an uncertain future in your path. Lockdowns, cancellations, isolation, quarantines, social distancing, masking, and virtual classes all became part of the new, unsettling norm for you and your classmates.

During these times that were destined for the history books but that caused uncertainty, anxiety, and even tragedy for so many, you adapted, you persevered, you leaned into uncertainty — and, ultimately, you flourished. This is not the Andy Warhol-style 15 minutes of fame some may have wanted, but the Class of 2024 will be part of the pages of history. You will always share a special bond, united by this singular moment, much as 9/11 or the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. are etched in the memories of previous generations.

Throughout your lives, the University of Dayton, what you have accomplished here, and the legacy you leave behind will be a touchstone — a reminder of just how far you’ve come:

From taking classes over Zoom in your pajamas in your residence hall to awakening to the possibilities for your future when the world opened back up.

From feeling isolated and lonely to developing a resilient spirit, a “we are in this together” mindset.

From watching UD Arena be transformed into one of the first COVID-19 testing centers in the state to donning your Dayton Flyer shirts and cheering wildly again for our men’s and women’s teams;

From creating a makeshift family within your small “COVID bubble” to sprawling on blankets in the Central Mall with hundreds of students to collectively experience this spring’s rare total solar eclipse; and

From taking off your masks in the classrooms and laboratories to appreciating anew the fleeting, simple moments that will stay with you forever — participating in a spirited discussion in a political science class, watching the sun slowly set over Stuart Hill with your intramural softball team, sharing the magic of Christmas on Campus with your little “buddy,” hanging out with roommates and friends on your front porch on a glorious spring day, and so, so much more.

In our modern times, has there been a more anticipated graduation than this one? Your class has navigated through adversity with resilience, grace, and genuine care for each other, and I could not be more proud of you. Let’s take a moment to recognize not just this special day, but to recognize YOU and the monumental achievement you have attained. Family, friends, faculty, and staff — please join me in a round of applause for these extraordinary graduates who thrived in a highly challenging and historic time?!

It’s tempting to put the pandemic in the rear-view mirror, forget about it, move on. And you shouldn’t be burdened with it or have anxiety about it, but I actually do NOT want you to forget it completely because you grew as a person, learned important lessons, and became stronger. You have lived through unprecedented, challenging, and difficult times that claimed the lives of millions worldwide and left others with long-term health issues. But you survived and thrived — and have been blessed with the opportunity to do something extraordinary with your lives. In the words of “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda: Don’t. Throw. Away. Your. Shot.

History is replete with examples of people rising to the occasion and achieving greatness after devastating tragedies. You have that opportunity, too. After the first wave of the Bubonic Plague in the 14^th century that devastated Europe and Asia, we saw a period of flourishing. Historians call the Renaissance “one of the greatest epochs for art, architecture, and literature in human history.” On the heels of the massive destruction caused by the First World War came the deadly 1918 flu, which ultimately led to advances in public health, greater participation of women in the workplace, and more research into the cause and cure of infectious diseases. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the so-called “Greatest Generation” remade a world torn asunder by unprecedented violence in multiple ways. It tried Holocaust perpetrators for crimes against humanity at Nuremberg and began the process of enshrining human rights in international law, and developed a vaccine for the most feared epidemic disease in the 20^th century world: polio. In these and so many other ways, after mass tragedies the human family reconnects, rebuilds, and remembers.

The future of humanity is in your hands — and I don’t say that lightly. I hold much hope in my heart for your class. You have weathered the greatest public health crisis in generations during a time of growing economic inequality, violence, racism, divisiveness, and the dangerous spread of misinformation in our society. You have aced lessons in resilience. You have learned to cope with adversity. You have developed grit — a mental toughness that will help you conquer challenges and life’s surprising twists. And, educated at this Catholic, Marianist university, you have internalized a moral compass that will guide you to work for the common good and make a difference in a world that needs your intellect, empathy, and heart.

While there’s no pop quiz at the end of commencement, I’d like to leave you with three take-aways. 

1. You can survive and thrive in an uncertain, unpredictable world. You are a resilient, adaptive class, tested by the chaos of the pandemic. You’ve learned that life can change in a heartbeat and have already lived through the trials of uncertainty and ambiguity, pain and loss. The most successful people adapt and change. They recalibrate after setbacks. Life is a journey of continuous learning, so stretch yourself. Be flexible. Be ready, always, to pivot. Your mantra: “Learn. Lead. Serve. Adapt.”
2. Humanity needs your creativity and innovation. It would not surprise me if graduates of your class helped invent a vaccine to combat a future infectious disease. Or advanced the development of affordable, energy-efficient cars. Or used your community-building skills to tackle the country’s epidemic of loneliness and isolation. Go forth today and imagine a better world. Use your creativity and innovation to collaborate with others, particularly those who bring diverse viewpoints and backgrounds to the table — to create positive change. 
3. Community matters. From spirited porch concerts to virtual prayer services, your class built community and showed care for one another during the darkest days of the pandemic. And now as graduates of a Marianist university that prizes community and values the dignity of all people, you are called to be community builders and work across difference to be part of something bigger than yourselves. Together, the members of the Class of 2024 can harness the power of community and find ways to help alleviate food insecurity, tackle the climate crisis, work for peace, improve the lives of children. Working in community, you can achieve far more together than you ever could alone. Far more TOGETHER than you ever could alone.

After living and learning at this Catholic, Marianist university with its dedication to social justice, with its special focus on building community, with its commitment to preparing you to work across differences, I know that you will enter the world prepared to change it.

It’s not just because your résumé is strong, though it is. It’s not just because you are armed with marketable skills, though you are. It’s not just because you hold a college degree, though you now do — proudly.

It’s because you have learned life lessons beyond the textbook. As you imagine and shape your future, I urge you to dream boldly, act with conviction, and lean into the moment. Keep moving forward, without fear, toward lives of great purpose and service. Don’t throw away your shot. Don’t throw away your shot.

As your president — and as a representative of the UD faculty, staff, vowed religious, Board of Trustees, and all of Flyer Nation — I salute you and your accomplishments in this moment of human need and across your time as a University of Dayton student.

Congratulations, Class of 2024! May God bless you and keep you in his grace.

Go, Flyers!