A Toast to the Class of 2004
April 30, 2004
The Great Hall
Delivered by Dr. Don Van Eynde
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Dr. Van Eynde presents the toast at the 2004 Last Great Reception |
You know, one of the things as I was wandering through the room that I became aware of, was that there’s a lot of you that really don’t know each other. You’re the class of 2004! So, we need to remedy that. I’ve noted this every year that I’ve come to these things. Here’s what I want you to do. I want you to turn around; I want you to lock eyes with somebody you don’t know very well. And, by the way, this is your big chance to lock eyes with that person you’ve been wanting to lock eyes with for four years. I’m going to give you exactly one minute to make a new friend. You’ve got 60 seconds. Go! Right now! Go!
(Pause for students/faculty/staff to meet, talk.)
Just think: In the space of one minute, you formed about 200 new friendships. What a class!
First of all, I would like to thank you all very much for selecting me as the person to make a few comments and then, to make a toast at this, your last great reception before graduation.
I’m very honored – and, I must tell you, I’m a little anxious. A little nervous. Why am I nervous? The first thing is because I really want to do good because this one means so much to me; you all mean so much to me.
The other reason is because I’ve been getting so much grief. I mean, I thought I was fine, and then Christina Perry, right there, as I was about to come up, she said, “You are going to represent the last impression we have of Trinity. Do good.” For those of you that have taken my classes, you know we do a lot of experiential learning. There is one professor, who shall remain unnamed, who said, “Don, are you going to have them get touchy-feely and give each other a hug?” Actually, it’s not a bad idea, but I’m not going to do that. Another professor – Mike Kearl – chair of Sociology and Anthropology, said to me, “Don, the only way you’re going to be a success is if you have me in tears.” So, there’s no pressure!
Before I get to the toast, I want to say on behalf of the faculty and staff that I represent, it has been a real honor to have worked alongside you for four years. You have enriched our lives greatly, we’ve learned a lot from you, and we hope that we have passed on some learnings to you also.
This may come as a surprise to some of you, but we also want you to know that when you leave, we will miss you terribly. We really will. We spent a lot of time together in the classroom. We’ve gone to your events, you’ve come to ours. Some of you have eaten dinner in our homes. We’ve spent a lot of time together. So what I want to encourage you to do is stay in touch. Because you know where we are more likely than we’ll know where you are.
Do things like, send us an email. If you’re ever on campus, for gosh sakes, please drop by. What would really be cool – send pictures, not only of yourselves but of those who come after you. What do I mean by those who come after you? For example, several years ago, I had two students in my class, Jenny Craver and Wes Vestal. My fantasy, at least, was that I thought it was in my class that they first met, they fell in love, got married, and this is the picture that they sent me earlier this year. (Shows baby announcement.) Now, if you don’t think we don’t appreciate things like that… we really do.
A quick word about your professional careers: What I’m sure is that each of you knows exactly what you’re doing after graduation and for the next ten years after that, right?
Well, I guess the only thing I can say to you is, if you don’t know, it will straighten out. I can use myself as an example.
In 1959, I graduated from Michigan State with a degree in Forestry. I loved the outdoors, and I loved trees.Well, I went into the army, and while there, I got a Masters degree in Speech Communication and Human Relations. Now I can talk my trees and have relationships with them. At the tender age of 42, I went back to school again and got a degree in Organizational Psychology. Now I could really analyze those trees.And finally, I ended up at Trinity in the Department of Business Administration. And now my trees have grown up into a forest and I have a business plan for them.
But the point is, just relax. You’ll find your niche. It’ll come. For some of you, it may come clear really quick, and for some of you, it may take five years. Just relax.
One last thing before the toast. I think as a class you have progressed though the normal stages of group development. If you think of how groups develop, you think about when you first came to Trinity. You met a whole bunch of new people, you were nervous, you felt a little awkward. But then as time went on, you got to know more people, you bonded, and you ended up with really close friends. Group Development theory says that when you begin to break up, when the period of a class leaving each other comes, you’re going to experience many of the same feelings you had when you first came together. For many of you, it’s going to be hard to say goodbye. You’re not going to know quite how to do it, and you’re not going to know who to say goodbye to.
This is what I want you to do. I have a task. For the students, when you came in, you were given a 3x5 card and a pencil. What I want you to do is think for a moment, and identify anywhere from two to five people who have made a real difference in your life while you’ve been here at Trinity – that might be some secretary who, one day when you were down, she said “Sit down” and talked to you. It might be someone in the Registrar’s office who helped you get a class. Or it might just be a faculty member who you struck up a friendship with. Certainly, your parents. So, your task is, write down the names of two to five people who have made a significant difference in your life here at Trinity.
(Pause for students to write on their cards.)
OK, here’s what I want you to do with that. What I want you to do BEFORE you graduate is, I want you to seek out those people, tell them the impact they have had on you, and thank them. Thank them a lot. Then, if you have a scrapbook, or some kind of a record that you’re keeping, or maybe just stick it in your Mirage, but keep this card as a remembrance. Then, years from now, when you pull that out, I promise you, that card will bring back a flood of really nice memories.
Ok, maybe it’s time to get down to business – what we’re supposed to be here for. Take your glass of champagne.
I offer a toast to the Senior Class of 2004: Ladies and Gentlemen – we salute you. We wish you success in all that you do – and most of all, we wish you health, happiness, and true love. Go forth, do good things, and especially, be proud of who you are. Cheers! To the Class of 2004.