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This is marathon weather:
Not too hot, not too cold, no rain, no sleet, no snow.
And it's appropriate. You've run your marathon.
After four long years of study, you've made it.
On behalf of the University faculty, staff, administrators,
Let me congratulate you. This is YOUR day of joy,
YOUR day of triumph. [applause]
We thank you for this class of 2009, for all that they have accomplished,
and for all that they have meant to each other and to the University of Rochester.
We thank you also for all those who have helped and supported them along the way,
for parents and other caregivers who have paid bills,
listened to sobbing phone calls, sent care packages, cards and laundry money,
who have welcomed them home with open arms
and sent them out into the world again with encouragement.
This is your day to stop, take stock, congratulate yourself.
Put that hand right on your back
You have successfully completed one of the major steps in life's long journey,
and you've done it in one of the outstanding educational institutions in the world.
These past four years have surely been a fast but incredible ride.
College for us has meant four years in Rochester, mostly cold,
where we evolved both academically and socially.
Think back to our first year here at U of R.
It was a time when triples were a rarity
and we spent all our time studying in management.
when the mail express was our only dining option,
[cheers]
and Connections didn't exist.
Looking back on college, places like the painted tunnel,
Rush Rhees library, and Wilson Commons
will be what forever comes to mind, filled with the memories we made of them.
You have come to a really special school, as you know.
The degree that you have won from the University of Rochester will be a door opener for you all over the world.
and I hope you will take a moment today
to think about all of those who have gone before
to make this such an extraordinary university.
So what I want most for you --
and believe me, because this university means so much to me,
you have no idea how much you mean to me --
I want for you to go out from this university, and this city,
remembering that this was a place of learning, but also a place of a lot of love.
A place of opportunity, and a place that throughout the rest of your life,
will have great meaning for you.
and you will know that because of the friends and the education you have gotten here,
the teachers who have taught you,
all the great experiences you have had,
that you are really ready to go out and take on life.
God bless you, graduates. Best of luck.
Today your relationship to the University of Rochester changes.
You've become alumni.
From this day forward, the University of Rochester is your alma mater.
Go forth with confidence and pride in your accomplishments,
knowing that your faculty, and all of us who've had a role
in nourishing your intellectual and personal growth here.
are immensely proud of you. Thank you.
[cheers]