I Dare You Not To Tear Up: College Commencement Ceremonies

I went to my University commencement on saturday.

I volunteered. As a staff member, that means I wasn't working, and I wasn't getting paid.

I didn't know even half those kids (using that term loosely, since we have a lot of non-traditional students), but it didn't matter. I didn't know any of their families, and that didn't matter either. That room was so full of pride, relief, and hope, it just oozed all over me until I was as caught up in it as the graduates were. I did not expect to have an emotional response, but I did. I did not expect to be inspired, but I was.

College may not be for everyone. I concede that before you even say it. College degrees may not be as specifically valuable as you think they will be when you start college. They are generally valuable, however. Statistically, college graduates make more money and have lower unemployment than non-graduates--regardless of the type of degree obtained. College has been getting a lot of play in politics lately--people are disillusioned about the value and cost of getting a degree, and it's not so clear these days whether or not a college graduate is going to be able to just go out and get a job worthy of that education. In fact, pretty much everyone who graduates now expects to have trouble finding a job, and that pretty much sucks, since at LEAST half of all college graduates are coming out of their programs with student loan debt built into their monthly budgets.

I get all that, and I agree that the outlook is tough. I have to remember, though, the feeling in that arena on saturday. The people in those robes were not people who were jaded and angry, for the most part. They were proud. They were proud that they'd accomplished this monumental task and were about to be awarded a degree for their efforts--a paper that would forever say how hard they'd worked, and open the doors to ever higher kinds of recognition. These were not people who thought all that work was for naught. Their families sure didn't think so.

There is something intangible about successfully completing a college degree. Even if you only half listened to lectures and skimmed most of the chapters in almost every book, I guarantee you that you would not leave empty-handed from that experience. Even if your degree is in something esoteric or technical down to the tiniest minutiae, you will have gained more than just that special knowledge when all is said and done. What you get from college, if you participate at all, is CONTEXT.

context  (ˈkɒntɛkst)--n


1. the parts of a piece of writing, speech, etc, that precede and follow a word or passage and contribute to its full meaning: it is unfair to quote out of context


 2. the conditions and circumstances that are relevant to an event, fact, etc [C15: from Latin contextus a putting together, from contexere to interweave, from com- together + texere to weave, braid]

Notice the Latin origin--to put together or interweave. Context is essentially the circumstances around facts or events which contribute to the meaning or significance those facts or events have.

College, with all of it's reading, analysis, discussion and interpretation, is in the business of teaching people how to find meaning in and inject meaning into historical and current events, and then, of course, to make decisions or take action based on that meaning or context. College expands your horizons, teaches empathy and critical thinking, and tries to force you to see the world from outside your little box of personal experiences. Even math and science courses do this by insisting on the practical application of their theories and formulas on the natural world, and in society. Calculus may be nothing to you until you take Business Calculus and suddenly see how you can use it in your professional endeavors. In the right context, it is invaluable to you.

What I saw when I looked over the faces of those graduates was a crowd of people who all had been given the chance to learn about what all this means. A chance to learn, and a chance to become a part of the forward progression of society--a chance to make things better. I'm smart enough to know that a good number of those people probably won't do much that's special or extra meaningful to the world as a whole, but they could, if they wanted. They're better positioned to make an impact than they were before they went to college, and that's why we should keep going. Because learning about the world, the people in it, and how to find meaning in the spaces in between--that is never a step in the wrong direction.

Here's to college--and to maintaining access for all those who wish to add context to their lives.

Congratulations, graduates.