December 11, 2024
President Robert W. Iuliano
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
As Delivered.
Greetings and Opening Comments
Welcome families, friends, and fellow Gettysburgians. We are here this evening to celebrate a remarkable group of seniors and all that they have achieved as members of this community.
To our graduates, let me extend to you a warm welcome and a hearty congratulations on this special day in your lives.
We are honored to have 32 graduates walk across the stage tonight.
Students who have authored a Gettysburg story that is uniquely their own; who have dedicated themselves to excellence and experienced the joys of collaboration and hard work; and who have persevered and succeeded in the face of challenges—all to arrive here, in this moment.
Graduates, you have earned this moment. We are so proud of you!
Of course, as is true for so many of the milestones in our lives, we don’t reach them alone. It is only through the love and encouragement of those around us that we can truly realize our fullest potential.
In that spirit of gratitude, graduates, I’d ask that you please stand and turn to your parents, friends, and loved ones here tonight.
Please join me in extending to them your and our deepest thanks for their support!
Thank you. You may be seated.
Seniors, this evening, I’d like to reflect on a magical display of nature that we witnessed together this fall.
In case you’re wondering, no, I’m not referring to the black bear who visited us for a surprise campus tour.
Or the Instagram famous barred owl who, like all of you, made the wise choice and proudly made Gettysburg its home.
No, I’m speaking about those rare cosmic brushstrokes that colored our night sky in mid-October. The aurora borealis—better known as the northern lights. Ribbons of reds and greens and purples that danced high above Glatfelter Hall.
How many of you remember that special night?
Okay, maybe a harder question for you: how many of you know the science behind the northern lights? Any physic majors? It’s really quite amazing.
You see, our sun emits charged particles and Earth’s magnetic field acts as a kind of shield, deflecting most away into space. But sometimes, during periods of intense solar activity—like solar flares—there’s a surge and more and more of these particles, especially near the poles, are able to sidestep their way into our upper atmosphere.
That’s when something extraordinary happens: Beautiful collisions.
Innumerable tiny collisions between the charged particles and gases in our atmosphere—collisions that light up the sky as energy is released.
It’s a process that at the micro-level is messy, a struggle.
But, at the right distance, and at the macro-level, it paints a truly awe-inspiring scene.
What we’re seeing is change.
Graduates, during your time at Gettysburg College, you undoubtedly experienced your own beautiful collisions.
Perhaps it was meeting a new roommate or classmate or teammate who sees life in dramatically different ways than you do. And yet, despite these differences, you have grown to become lifelong friends.
Or, maybe it was a course taught by our exceptional faculty who awakened something unexpected within you—an inner strength to push a little harder or a curiosity to leave no rock unturned that you will carry with you for the rest of your life.
Or, possibly it was by immersing yourself in a new culture through our Center for Public Service programs, or by attending our annual BurgBurst, or by studying abroad in a country a half-a-world away that has given you a fuller understanding of the world and your place in it.
Every day, your Gettysburg experience resulted in innumerable tiny collisions between the person you were when you arrived here and the one you are today—a leader prepared to walk across this stage and rightly light up this room with pride.
You have received an education that I’m sure in the day-to-day—at the micro-level—could feel a little messy, a little stressful, and at times a struggle.
But given the right distance, in the years ahead—at the macro-level—you’ll come to see just how formative these years have been for you.
How much you’ve grown.
How ready you are for what’s ahead.
And all the ways these beautiful collisions changed you, so you can be the change our world needs.
Again, on behalf of our entire community, we wish you the very best and look forward to hearing about all the great things you’ll accomplish in the years ahead.
Congratulations!
The Charge
At Gettysburg College, we promise every student A Consequential Education. And seeing each of you cross the stage tonight, it is clear just how consequential this experience has been for you.
In reflecting on Professor Ozgur’s powerful message this evening, I am reminded of a quote often attributed to Booker T. Washington.
He observed, and I quote: “There are two ways of exerting one’s strength; one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.”
Graduates, my charge to you tonight is to heed Professor Ozgur’s advice to ensure your “legacy [is] marked not only by your individual achievements, but also by the positive impact you make on the lives of those around you.”
To be a “beautiful collision” in service to others.
Graduates, this is your time. Take all that you’ve learned here and go forth to Do Great Work out in the world.
We believe in you, and we always will.
Now, to conclude our ceremony, I would invite our families, friends, and entire community here this evening to please join me in congratulating our newest Gettysburg College graduates!
Congratulations!