. . . and other memorable moments from Carthage College’s 2012 commencement . . .

*** Sunday in the Park –  A little commencement day tradition of mine for the last ten years or so is to avoid the parking and traffic nightmare that engulfs the Carthage campus on a day like this. To avoid the headaches and especially the headache of trying to leave campus at the same time as 2500 other people,  I choose to park in a little park that’s a couple of blocks off of campus.  It means walking down a large grass embankment and across the four-lane divided highway of Sheridan Road, but it allows me to avoid the bumper-to-bumper grind of exiting the campus.  Maybe more importantly, that little walk there and back also gives me an opportunity for a little bit of mental and emotional centering on what always turns out to be a very emotional day.

*** When a Tie is a Win – Somehow it came to the attention of several members of the Carthage Choir that I own an Avengers tie,  so I decided to wear it Sunday under my academic gown, but took a second during the choir’s last practice to unzip my robe and show off the tie to a couple of the students.   I’m not exactly the grooviest of college professors, so I have to seize such moments when they come along.   But as you see from the above photo,  I had a second tie with me in my pocket- a bright red tie from China- which I slipped on right before it was time for some post-commencement photos.

*** The Strongest Part –  The big musical fun I got to have that day was accompanying the Carthage Choir on a brilliant, thundering piece by Ralph Vaughan WIlliams called “Let all the world in every corner sing,”  the last of his Five Mystical Songs. . . and I even got to play it on the sparkling new Steinway Grand Piano.  The strangest thing was that the piano was positioned off to the side of the choir, right next to where many of the faculty were seated.   So I felt like I was almost in the lap of Psychology Professor Dan Miller and Chemistry Professor Chris Blaine – and I warned them that I was likely to deafen them before the piece was done.  But they didn’t seem to mind and the choir and I and Maestro Garcia-Novelli had a smashing good time with this piece.

***  Applause by Amy –   Music colleague Amy Haines is hardly ever around for commencement because she usually has to be up north, taking care of the Door County which her family owns and operates during the summer.  But for some reason, this year (maybe because commencement was a few days earlier than it sometimes has been) she was able to be there- and as luck would have it,  she and I were assigned seats right next to each other.   It was a real joy to share the day with her- and I especially liked how she clapped for every graduate who for whatever reason did not seem to be receiving any applause as their name was called and they walked across the stage.  Thanks to Amy, no one walked across that stage to complete silence.

***  Degrees of Separation – There was a touching moment during the distribution of diplomas. . . right after former Dean Kurt Piepenburg announced the name “Brandon Lindsay.”   He’s the young man who collapsed and died the evening of September 1, 2008 – before he had even attended his first class as a Carthage freshman.   Professor Piepenburg said the name, and then paused ten seconds before reading the next name.  The silence that came over that huge crowd was profound and complete, as though no one was moving a muscle.   And on a day when there was so much to celebrate,  I hope this tribute helped make every student and every parent in that room even more grateful to be there.

On a happier note,  there was also the touching moment when President Campbell, at the start of his remarks towards the end of the ceremony,  gave greetings to the parents and other relatives of Nidal Kamal Alkafarna, who were watching the ceremony via Skype from their home in the Gaza Strip.  And like the tribute to Brandon, I hope that in recognizing this graduate whose family was on the other side of the globe,  the graduates and their families who were together that day were made more mindful of the blessing of being able to share such a happy occasion in person.

***  Familiar Faces –  Most of the time when people are honored at commencement,  I don’t know them personally. But this year, there were two friends up on that stage.  One was Bishop Jeff Barrow,  who by virtue of his office is also on Carthage’s Board of Trustees.  He was given an honorary doctorate as well as the honor of speaking – and he made the most of it with some exquisitely-chosen words that provided just the right balance of seriousness and lightness.  Maybe his most important point was when he reminded everyone there that a liberal arts education is not about training you for a job – but rather about helping you find your vocation, your calling.   “They don’t put that in the brochure,” he said with a chuckle – but what he was saying was absolutely true.

In addition to Bishop Barrow,  there was also a nice moment in the spotlight for Norm McPhee, the artistic director of the Racine Theater Guild for several decades until his retirement in 2002,  but still active there as a guest director.  (He directed my wife in “Glorious” back in January.)  He was given Carthage’s New Town Award, which is the school’s highest honor given to a member of the Kenosha or Racine community,  and it was a neat moment for him and for all of us there who admire him and appreciate his legacy.

*** When the Evening Gently Closes In –  For many years now,  I have been part of a tradition begun by President Campbell about 20 years ago.  Every September, the new freshmen are welcomed to campus with a New Student Convocation, during which I lead the singing of John Ylvasaker’s hymn “I was there to hear your borning cry.”  Every May at commencement I lead the singing of that very same hymn.  This year I was singing that hymn with a lump in my throat the size of a basketball, because there is no way to know if this tradition will remain in place after President Campbell’s departure – or if someone else will be tapped to lead it.  Anything is possible,  so I was singing it this year acutely aware that this could be the last time, which definitely did not make it any easier!

*** In Praise of Togetherness –   A couple of months ago, as soon as I found out that senior music major Mari Panzer had been elected by her classmates to be commencement speaker, I plopped down next to her after choir rehearsal and gave her some unsolicited advice:  Be yourself up there.  Be authentic.  Be real.  Don’t try to sound like a professor with their doctorate. Speak as who you are: a brand new college graduate.  That’s the best way to speak on behalf of your classmates, and the best way to say something that will mean something to them.    I said that not because I had reason to worry about what Mari would say- but only because so very often the student speaker at commencement delivers a talk that’s cold and stiff and heavy handed.   As it turns out,  I probably didn’t need to say a word- especially after hearing what I real and heartfelt talk Mari gave.   Her main point, which was right on target,  is that the central facet of college life which she and her fellow graduates were leaving behind was the joy of togetherness- of experiencing things with each other. 

And thanks to Mari’s talk,  I saw a very familiar sight in a completely different light this year.  One thing that has always frustrated me about Carthage’s commencement is that when it’s all over,  there isn’t one single place where everyone congregates.  Frankly, there isn’t one space that’s both handy and big enough to accommodate that huge crowd.  So there’s a kind of scattering to the winds that happens which makes it challenging and perhaps even impossible to see everyone you might want to see afterwards.   But in light of Mari’s remarks,  I realized that it’s actually sort of appropriate that this happens because that’s a big part of what graduation is.   It means heading out into the world,  and to some extent it means a slow dissolving of the tight connections of togetherness that you formed at Carthage.  Yes, you’re still the class of 2012…. but never again will you all be in the same room at the same time.  “Real Life” is way too complicated to ever allow that to happen again,  and the scattering might as well begin as soon as the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance” have just begun to die away.

***  Empty Chairs –  At the New Alumni Convocation on Friday,  President and Mrs. Campbell were named honorary members of the class of 2012…. and at the end of Sunday’s ceremony,  they took their place with the graduates, sitting in two empty chairs with their names on them.  And there they were as the Carthage Choir sang “The Blessing of Aaron” to the class of 2012 and to everyone else there.  It was a precious and powerful moment,  and one could not think of a better way for the Campbell presidency to draw to a close than for he and his wife to take their place with the students they have done so much to serve over the last 25 years.

pictured above:  I did manage to track down my voice student David Duncan in the chaotic scattering-to-the-winds, thanks mostly to the fact that David is 6 feet 5 inches tall.