bryn athyn college commencement
The Confidence to Make
a Difference
The Rev. Eric H. Carswell
C
ongratulations to all of you who will be walking across this stage today:
Associate, Bachelor’s, Master of Arts in Religious Studies, and Master of
Divinity. Congratulations to parents, friends and faculty who have supported
you in your long journey to this day. I hope you already have a strong sense
that the education you have received at Bryn Athyn College has prepared you
on so many levels for the next stage of your life.
Do you recognize how it has challenged you to develop spiritual purpose,
to think broadly and critically from a variety of perspectives, and to build
intellectual and practical skills? Do you feel prepared to make a difference in
this world? I have confidence that you are prepared.
I hope those of you who are graduating from college realize what an
accomplishment this is. As of last year, just one-third of the adults in the
United States ages 25-29 had attained a college degree. Two decades ago it was
less than a quarter of adults that age.
It is a rich, varied and challenging adult world that many of you are
entering. Some of you may be cheered by the thought that you have taken
your last academic class, turned in your last paper, completed your final exam,
and received your concluding set of grades. All these things may have indeed
occurred. I think you will find that the adult world you are entering – some
might call it the school of experience – will not be entirely different.
One way in which it is fundamentally different is that in real life no one,
absolutely no one, gets a straight A. There is no 4.0 average in real life. The real
world of adult life finds us all sometimes responding in ways that deserve a low
C grade or outright failure. This can actually be a harder realization for those
of you who have found academic perfection somewhat attainable.
As has been observed, one thing about the school of experience is that it
often repeats a lesson you flunked the first time. As one man in his 30s stated,
“I realized the common factor in all my failed relationships with women was
me.” From this realization, he found the energy to work on being a different
human being from what he had been before.
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