Ceremony
Commencement Address from Sue Maes
- Sue C. Maes
- Watch Dean Maes’ commencement address
It is with warmest regards that I greet you today. I’m honored to extend my congratulations to you. While I would rather personally greet you and shake your hand, I realize that you have completed your degree using virtual learning...thus, I greet you through the virtual world. On behalf of President Kirk Schulz, I wish to say that we are gratified that you chose Kansas State University for your degree attainment using the distance learning opportunities afforded to you by the Division of Continuing Education.
My message is forever simple. Now that you have completed a degree from Kansas State University, whether it is a bachelor’s or a master’s, whatever pathway your degree allows you to choose, love what you do. Be good at it and command respect and attention for your efforts. I know that you will bring creativity and courage to every field of your endeavors.
Recently I read a commencement address that Doris Kearns Goodwin gave at Dartmouth University. In the address she recalled a seminar she attended by Harvard psychologist Erik Erikson. Quoting Goodwin, “
he taught her that the richest and fullest lives attain an inner balance of work, love and play, in equal order, that to pursue one to the disregard of others is to open oneself to ultimate sadness in older age, whereas to pursue all three with equal dedication is to make possible an old age filled with serenity, peace, and fulfillment.”Obtaining a degree should be used as a stepping-stone to open new job opportunities, while at the same time taking the time to value quality family time and to re-engage with your community and friends. Thus, let your degree attainment only deepen those bonds and ties. Give back to your family and to the world around you.
Challenge yourself to achieve your fullest potential. As Mark Twain wrote: “
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore! Dream! Discover!”
- Commencement Address
- Sue C. Maes, Ph.D.
- Dean
- Division of Continuing Education
- Kansas State University
A Message from Provost April Mason
- April Mason
- Provost Mason’s Message to Graduates
Congratulations! This is a special day, your graduation. You have worked hard and completed a Kansas State University degree. You are now an alumnus. You are a product of the virtual classroom, a different learning community, where you have brought great diversity of experience to your classes. You have been able to take advantage of the same great Kansas State University education our on-campus students do, access the same respected faculty and course materials. You have done this from many different geographic areas and you represent many different life situations. I know you, your family and your friends are proud of your accomplishment.
Kansas State University is very fortunate to have alumni who are leaders in their field, with high levels of professional accomplishment and distinguished service to their careers. You are now one of the distinguished alumni of our University. Whether you spent much time on our physical campus or no time here, you are a graduate.
Our Division of Continuing Education offers nationally recognized academic programs and award winning faculty who have assisted you in this accomplishment. You will want to stay in touch with your professors, fellow students and graduates. These relationships will serve you well professionally and personally.
I invite you to continue to be a part of the university community. Your degree will be recognized as being awarded from Kansas State University, 150 years old in 2013: a university with a long and distinguished history. You are forever a part of this knowledge institution. Congratulations, again. I welcome you to the ranks of alumni. Be proud of your achievements today and every day. You are a Kansas State University graduate!
- Commencement Address
- April Mason, Ph.D.
- Provost and Senior Vice President
- Kansas State University
