UMSL College of Business Administration Commencement 2020
Welcome graduates family and friends to our 2020 commencement ceremony. It goes without saying that today is a special day. Graduates you have overcome great obstacles made incredible sacrifices and completed rigorous demanding programs to be here today. You should be very proud. I commend you on
your success and I speak for everyone at UMSL when i say that we are all proud of you as well. My hope is that you will look back on your time here at the University of Missouri St. Louis as a transformative time a time in which you made new friendships, gained a valuable education and discovered your path, your mission, your purpose. As you continue on your chosen path, it is my hope that you build and strengthen the relationships and connections that you've made at or through UMSL. And, that your thirst for knowledge remains as strong as the day you joined our UMSL community. I hope you will keep today and all of your memories of UMSL with you always. You've earned it. Congratulations. Now i am pleased to introduce Lexi Neal who will sing the national anthem
Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave? This day goes by two rather different names: Graduation and Commencement. Graduation implies the end of a time but commencement implies just the opposite, a beginning. And so we are left with two different directions in which to look for guidance today; one back, at your recent accomplishments, and one forward, to the beginning of the rest of your life.
But the two directions are not disconnected. As that great financial services juggernaut T.S. Eliot – who produced some of his most memorable poetry while employed in a London bank – once wrote: What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. Today, your UMSL experience and the real people who are a part of it do not disappear. Your time here and the people here inevitably will be a part of what you become. Looking back, a standard line from a freshman convocation used to ask new students to, “Look to your right, look to your left. Four years
from now those people won’t be here.” You are not freshmen and you are not sitting beside classmates; but they are the people who have supported you and befriended you for the past four years. They were the members of your group when you studied for the statistics test. They were there when you presented the case in Business Policy. They cried with you when you bombed the marketing quiz
and celebrated when you pulled out the grade in Information Systems. They carried you back from Blue Berry Hill. Others who have been there for you are family, friends, faculty and staff. You should be proud of your accomplishments, but they are not yours alone. Please take a moment to thank all of those who have helped you along the way. They are a part of your growing network.
Looking forward, you graduate into the least certain of times so far this century. now more than ever you will need to Now, more than ever, you will need to rely on others to make your way in the world. As you leave this place and look to the future, it is also important to remember the role of others in your future success. Little is accomplished by one person alone. The worldview that recognizes the need for collaboration and values the ability to work together toward a common goal is the view based in reality. The Christian evangelist Paul offered his followers in Corinth some advice on team building. Using the analogy of a human body he admonished “…there are many members,
yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. … If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored,
all rejoice together with it.” In business, networking is vital. But in a real sense, our whole lives revolve around networking – be it human or divine. In short, we need each other. We need the strong and we need the weak. You have the knowledge and skills for good decision-making. As your career path unfolds before you, I encourage you to continue to acquire the wisdom to use those skills for the benefit of all. Your classmates, the university faculty and staff are the beginning of your new network. Carry the network you have begun here with you, and develop the human relationships that will sustain you in all your endeavors. As you move on from here, you will take on jobs that will sustain you in all your endeavors as you move on from here you will take on jobs that require the talents of others, as well as your own, and you will need to form diverse teams to accomplish goals. Maintain your network and you will have a ready supply of team members.
Cultivate diversity and you will accomplish goals that you and folks with the same skills as yours will not be able to accomplish. And when a task seems too difficult, call upon those other members of the body. Indeed, the end we mark today is yet another beginning, one in which we all are participants, one in which we all have a stake. We will now proceed to the awarding of academic degrees. Interim Dean Womer will present the doctoral candidates. Chancellor, I have the honor to present to you these candidates.
They have completed the requirements prescribed for doctoral degrees and are recommended by the graduate school and the graduate faculty of the College of Business Administration. By virtue of the authority invested in me by the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri, I hereby confer upon you the degree in your field with all the rights honors privileges and responsibilities pertaining to this degree. Congratulations. Dean Womer will now present candidates for master's degrees in the graduate school. Chancellor, I'm honored to present these candidates. They have completed the requirements prescribed for master's degrees and are recommended by the graduate school and the graduate faculty of the College of Business Administration.
By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri, I hereby confer upon you the degree in your field with all the rights honors privileges and responsibilities pertaining to this degree. Congratulations. Dean Womer will now present candidates for bachelor's degrees in the College of Business Administration. Chancellor, I am honored to present these candidates. They have completed the requirements prescribed for bachelor's degrees and are recommended by the faculty of the College of Business Administration. All bachelor's degree candidates, by virtue of the authority vested in
me by the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri, I hereby confer upon you the degree in your field with all the rights honors privileges and responsibilities pertaining to this degree. Congratulations undergraduates. If you are wearing your cap gown and tassel - and it's okay if you don't given the circumstances - it is now time to move your tassel from the right side of your cap to the left signifying the conferral of your bachelor's degree. Congratulations to you all. Dean Sanchez will introduce graduates in the Pierre Laclede Honors College. To graduates of the Pierre Laclede Honors College, the primary mission of the honors college is to provide challenging enhanced intellectual experiences to a select group of highly motivated undergraduate students. With an academic community that emphasizes service and engagement drawn from all academic disciplines, these students pursue a certificate unique to the honors college with an emphasis on interdisciplinary courses and developing writing and communication skills.
Pierre Laclede Honors College graduates are prepared to serve their communities and lead in their professions. It is a particular honor to congratulate today's group of graduating students. I very much miss the opportunity to shake your hand and congratulate you as you walk across the stage but your grit and determination in your classes and your efforts to maintain the honors community during co-ed have been an inspiration. For that i want to extend a sincerely felt thank you as well as congratulations.
Chancellor, I present these students to receive special recognition for their accomplishments in the Pierre Laclede Honors College. On behalf of the Board of Curators, I give special recognition to you for the rigor of your curriculum and for your academic success. Congratulations. We are excited that now is the time for the presentation of graduates. The graduates announced here are group first by their semester of graduation and then by degree level achieved. A student marshal - a class representative selected by each college - will introduce their fellow graduates.
Graduates will be recognized by customized slide as their name is announced. Any other year we would ask that you hold your applause until all of the graduates have been announced. In this case, let's all be sure to cheer loudly as the UMSL grad is celebrated here today. Graduates it's time. Hello class of 2020. my name is Anna Foppe and I'm a master's of business administration graduate in the College of Business Administration. I am proud to present the spring and the summer graduates who have earned advanced degrees in the College of Business Administration.
I am so proud to call myself one of the many graduates who has put forth so much hard work this year and passed to earn their degrees.Congratulations graduates. Mello class of 2020. my name is Michael Brothers and I'm a bachelor of science and business administration graduate in the College of Business Administration. I am proud to present the spring and summer undergraduates who have received a bachelor's degree in the College of Business Administration. I'm especially proud of all the hard work and perseverance we've put in, specifically in the past year where much adversity was faced during this pandemic. Congratulations everybody. Hello class of 2020 my name is Maureen Mohan and I'm a master of accounting candidate in the College of Business Administration. I am proud to present the fall graduate candidates eligible
for advanced degrees in the College of Business Administration. We did it. Congratulations graduates. Hello class of 2020 my name is Shannon keys and I'm a bachelor of science and business administration candidate in the College of Business Administration. I'm proud to present our fall undergraduate candidates eligible for bachelor's degrees in the College of Business Administration. We all have so much to be proud of this year. We did it. This concludes the inspiring presentation of graduates.
It is now my pleasure to welcome back Lexi Neal to sing our alma mater. Rising high between two rivers history yet to tell, Stands an honored Alma Mater, our UMSL. Came to seek more understanding for my life to be.
Found my need for knowledge answered gratefully by thee. Dreaming dreams about tomorrow, as I've learned today. Now this heart deep in Missouri seeks a better way.
When at last my journey's over may its value be, That it honors state and nation but above all, thee. It's now time for a moment in our ceremony that has become a tradition here at the University of Sissouri St Louis. It's one I personally enjoy and believe is really important. It's a moment of gratitude and thanks. Let's take this moment to recognize the people who didn't graduate today but still held a meaningful role in making this day happen. All those who've made the goal of achieving an education a possibility for their loved ones: moms, dads, grandparents, guardians, spouses, children and other family members and friends along with your UMSL faculty and staff those here and those remembered.
We see you. We thank you. Congratulations and gratitude to each of you as well.
2021-03-16 11:48
