{"id":33678,"date":"2024-08-12T16:39:51","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T20:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=33678"},"modified":"2024-08-12T16:39:51","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T20:39:51","slug":"provost-pontari-reminds-summer-2024-graduates-of-their-resilience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/provost-pontari-reminds-summer-2024-graduates-of-their-resilience\/","title":{"rendered":"Provost Pontari reminds summer 2024 graduates of their resilience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Beth Pontari\u2019s full remarks from the Aug. 10, 2024 summer commencement<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you, President Davis.\u00a0 Good afternoon to our degree candidates, their family and friends and members of the Furman community. It is nice to see so many people here to celebrate the accomplishments of this group of students who are receiving their Bachelor\u2019s degrees and Master\u2019s degrees.<\/p>\n

As you might expect, our summer commencement ceremony is much smaller, or as I prefer to describe it, more intimate.\u00a0\u00a0 Because of that, we try to share some details about our graduates that are a bit more personalized.\u00a0 So, we reach out to faculty and advisors to get a sense of our graduates.<\/p>\n

So, before I go into what might be traditional commencement remarks, I wanted to share some themes that emerged from learning about our students graduating this afternoon. I won\u2019t name names, (I see a slight look of panic on the graduate\u2019s faces) but I think you will get a sense of the graduates that we celebrate today.\u00a0 So here goes.<\/p>\n

All of these graduates got here today (like many of our graduates) by being resilient.\u00a0 Many experienced adversities and challenges but they kept their focus, they learned from setbacks, they persisted and here they are.<\/p>\n

They were determined (one graduate was described as having \u201cremarkable perseverance\u201d, another as having demonstrated \u201cgreat fortitude and flexibility\u201d).\u00a0 But they also channeled this determination and encouraged those around them \u2013 they helped others to be determined.\u00a0 They stayed positive and were able to inspire their peers.\u00a0 Especially for our students graduating with Master\u2019s degrees \u2013 their paths are often unique and they draw great support and strength from their cohorts and maybe even the students they teach.<\/p>\n

It is not surprising then that these soon-to-be graduates made Furman a better place \u2013 a more welcoming place – and that they contributed to our community in ways that aren\u2019t listed on their transcript.<\/p>\n

These are creative individuals \u2013 they are artists, musicians, and writers \u2013 whose accomplishments at Furman go well beyond papers, presentations and exams.<\/p>\n

Many are leaders.\u00a0 Researchers and readers. \u00a0Volunteers in our community.\u00a0 Experts in pop culture.\u00a0 Even video game designers.<\/p>\n

Many of our graduate students are responsible for educating the K \u2013 12 students in our community \u2013 one of the most important jobs that anyone can do.\u00a0\u00a0 As we know, across the nation, educators face challenging headwinds. It\u2019s in that context that we are so appreciative that our graduate students here this afternoon have trusted Furman with the opportunity to continue their own learning as educators and leaders in the state.\u00a0\u00a0 We thank you all so very much for your dedication to your craft and your willingness to go even further in your training to obtain a graduate degree.\u00a0 Your level of commitment and passion for what you do is inspiring to all of us.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure I am missing many roles and accomplishments of our graduates.\u00a0 But these students here today have been described as: Curious. Passionate. Hardworking. A Stand out. Insightful. Tenacious. Uncommonly decent. Independent. A legendary good egg. \u00a0Generous with time and support in serving others. Open minded. Warm hearted. Favorites among their peers.<\/p>\n

It is clear that each of you made your mark at Furman and that many of you have made your mark outside of Furman. We are so proud of your hard work and resilience, and thankful that you shared your gifts and talents with our Furman community and the community beyond Furman.<\/p>\n

As you made your mark on Furman, we hope that Furman made its mark on you.\u00a0 Our intention is to help every student \u2013 every<\/u> student – develop into a purposeful, successful graduate \u2013 we want to graduate individuals who, when they leave here, are poised to make a difference in their communities, to bring with them the skills they have gained and the experiences they have had, to whatever their next thing is, to start the next chapter with confidence and meaningful determination.\u00a0 From what we learned about all of you, what you have brought to your Furman experience and hopefully what you have taken from it, we have no doubt that you are on your way.<\/p>\n

I want to take a moment to thank the faculty and staff who have supported you along your pathway, some of whom are here today.\u00a0 We appreciate the dedication and passion that you bring to your work in helping the students we celebrate here today to reach their potential and to deliver the promises of The Furman Advantage \u2013 helping students craft individualized pathways through challenging in-class learning, paired and complemented with opportunities for hands-on learning \u2013 mentored by faculty and staff with the goal of achieving success and a life of purpose after Furman.<\/p>\n

As with most traditional commencement speeches, I leave you with a charge \u2013 one that I hope will resonate with you and that is pretty straight forward.<\/p>\n

Graduates.\u00a0 We need you.\u00a0 The world needs you.\u00a0 We need your minds, your skills, your passions, and your genuine care for others.\u00a0 We need you to apply your critical thinking skills, your communication skills, your leadership and teamwork skills, your ability to dialogue across difference \u2013 all of these things – to bring light and optimism to wherever you land next and whatever comes next for you.<\/p>\n

We are confident that you will succeed. Employers and graduate schools tell us how competent, talented and effective our graduates are \u2013 so we know you are ready.<\/p>\n

But it will take more than the skills and abilities I just listed.<\/p>\n

As most commencement remarks leave graduates with three points \u2013 here are my 3 \u2013 3 C\u2019s.<\/p>\n

It will take courage.\u00a0 The world can be a challenging place.\u00a0 There is polarization, mistrust and even unrest.<\/p>\n

So it will take courage to continue to do the right thing.\u00a0 To speak out. \u00a0To continue to stretch yourself and be open to the uncomfortable – \u00a0\u00a0because as you have demonstrated \u2013 the uncomfortable is where a lot of the learning and growing takes place.\u00a0 It will take courage – to keep the determination that you showed here at Furman \u2013 but now out there in a different and perhaps more challenging and less-structured context.<\/p>\n

It will take compassion.\u00a0 For others.\u00a0 To find common ground. \u00a0World events, and local events continue to show us how hard this seems to be.\u00a0 We need leaders who can help us navigate through with a steady hand and an open mind and open heart.<\/p>\n

We often find ourselves in the uncomfortable spaces because of our relationships \u2013 because of our interactions \u2013 so it will take compassion for others to make progress.<\/p>\n

But also compassion for yourselves.\u00a0 We know Furman students and graduates are hard on themselves.\u00a0 We have high expectations and you have high expectations and generally that is a good thing.\u00a0 At the same time, as you have already demonstrated, it is important to give others and ourselves grace so that we have the opportunity to make change \u2013 to learn from our successes and our setbacks \u2013 so that we can get to the final \u201cC\u201d \u2013 Community.<\/p>\n

It will take community.\u00a0 Finding people and a place where you feel supported and understood, where you will make a difference – like you did here at Furman, is so very important to your next chapter.<\/p>\n

We hope that you found community at Furman. And we hope you continue to come back to this community, to stay connected to it, to continue to lean on it.\u00a0 The Furman faculty and staff who may be here today, or who shared their stories about you with us, they will still be there for you.\u00a0 Your Furman peers and friends will be there for you.\u00a0 To support you when you face challenges and to celebrate with you when you succeed.<\/p>\n

We know that if you take your Furman education, and lead and live with courage and compassion, you will help the new communities you enter or create thrive.\u00a0 Courage, compassion and Community.<\/p>\n

In closing,\u00a0WE NEED YOU.<\/p>\n

You now have an undergraduate or a graduate degree. This is not something to under appreciate or under value.\u00a0Be mindful of the talents and gifts that you have to offer.<\/p>\n

Have compassion for others and yourself and find your people.<\/p>\n

Take the skills you have gained, the lessons you have learned and the passions you have fed during your time at Furman<\/p>\n

Be courageous to contribute to your communities.<\/p>\n

We are thankful that you chose Furman and that you contributed to the vitality of our community\u2026<\/p>\n

We are excited to see what the future holds for all of you.\u00a0 We wish you the very best in your next chapter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pontari told the commencement attendees that “these soon-to-be graduates made Furman a better place \u2013 a more welcoming place – and that they contributed to our community in ways that aren\u2019t listed on their transcript.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":389,"featured_media":33635,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,2773],"tags":[2955,2217],"class_list":["post-33678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-administrative","category-commencement","tag-pontari","tag-summer-commencement"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/389"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33678"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33679,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33678\/revisions\/33679"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}