Dr. Judy Salerno's Commencement Remarks

Good Morning!

President Denning, Trustees, Faculty, Family, Friends, and, Most Importantly, Class of 2021!

Thank you for including me as part of your special day and for this extraordinary honor. I was asked to keep my remarks brief. I was hoping that I could pass on to you as many platitudes about life as I could tick off in under 5 minutes—Lucky for you, I ditched that plan—well, at least for the most part. But I promise you I will be brief and focus on you graduates!

One thing is clear about your time here at Stonehill. You are a graduating class like no other, having spent your entire senior year in new and uncharted waters during this relentless pandemic. It was a year of suffering and grief, with an unfathomable loss of more than 3 million lives across the globe; it has touched each and every one of us, in many different ways. And we have witnessed the multiple plagues of Covid-19, racism and social injustice that, collectively, have shaken our belief in systems that we thought would protect us and preserve our rights.

It was a year of much uncertainty and many unknowns, as well as great loss. But also a time when the strength and courage of so many were on full display and we as a nation showed an indomitable spirit.

So, it is in this spirit that we celebrate you today and focus on the joy that this day brings to you and your families, your gratitude for having received a first-rate education, your accomplishments as scholars, and your new roles as emerging leaders and life-long learners.

So, what’s in store for you, as you face this brave new world that we are calling post-pandemic life? We know that, historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and to re-imagine the world in fresh, new ways. As the writer Arundhati Roy noted: the pandemic is a PORTAL. A portal to transformative change.

Now is YOUR chance to create a world with greater compassion, resilience, equity, and justice, beginning with your own communities. It is your opportunity to use the gifts you have been given to make this extraordinary moment in time a sustained and resounding movement: where “-isms”- racism/sexism/nativism/ageism-- to name but a few—are past history, where collective needs and personal responsibility are harmonized, and where everyone’s life has purpose and value.

That is the task that lies ahead of you—both individually and collectively. You will be challenged to take risks and, at times, to find ways to lift up others, even when you are discouraged.

I have seen how well Stonehill has weathered this tumultuous year and I greatly admire how you have navigated these times. The remarkable sense of community that I experienced on this campus in the early 1970s clearly still endures, which is a great credit to you and to the college’s dedicated faculty and staff.

Trust me, the friends you have made here will be your friends for life.

The road you follow in your post-Stonehill life may have more than a few twists and turns—and perhaps even a detour or two. I speak from experience: In the decade after I graduated, I went from being a newspaper reporter in Brockton, to getting a graduate degree in public health, to working on health reform in Washington, DC, to staffing a US AID project in Egypt, then FINALLY going to medical school. I was the living embodiment of the famous quote attributed to Yogi Berra, baseball hall-of-famer and master of unintentional humor: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it!”

As tortured as my career path seemed, I didn’t stop trying new things until I found what I loved. So my message is simple: don't worry about those twists and turns in your roadway. Be open to trying new things and don't be afraid of change!

Lux et Spes—Light and Hope—it’s more than our school’s motto. It is a direction for how you can live your lives beyond the Stonehill experience. I remember over 40+ years ago, when I was an undergrad here, climbing up the hill in front of The Big House and sliding down on cafeteria trays after snowstorms—(are cafeteria trays still a thing?!)

You too have climbed this hill—and I hope you enjoyed the ride. But know that these past four years were a brief moment in time to help prepare you for your own future. Soon you will be asked to climb more and steeper hills. I urge you to do so without fear, to act boldly and passionately, and to live your lives with open minds and open hearts. And that is the power of light and hope. Whether you become a doctor or a DJ, YOU have the power to change the world.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2021!