On Saturday, Franklin Pierce University held its 58th Commencement ceremony Saturday, celebrating the class who as freshmen had their first year of college interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a result, built a unique resiliency.
A total of 465 degrees were conferred on Saturday, including doctoral, master’s, bachelor’s and associate degrees. Students were led into their graduation ceremony, as is Franklin Pierce tradition, by Phyllis Zrzavy, the most-senior member of the faculty, carrying the academic mace. The mace, carved by professor Stellan Wollmar, has led the graduation procession since the 1969 ceremony.
Frederick W. Pierce IV, chair of the university’s board of trustees, said in his opening remarks that the Class of 2023 was “the most-unique graduating class in the history of FPU,” as the start to their education had come at a turning point for the world – the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Most of you are fourth-year, senior graduating students, who your freshman year was interrupted by COVID,” Pierce said.
But the experience created a group of students that faced special challenges, which built in them certain skills.
“What that produced was a freshman class that wanted to persevere. It wanted to come back; you wanted to come back,” Pierce said. “You wanted your college experience. What it produced was what we in academia call ‘retention’. But I call it also ‘perseverance.’ That we retained your class at a level that we haven’t seen at Franklin Pierce in forever. I think it’s a combination of what you had to experience, with that COVID interruption, and who you are and what this university is.”
In her valedictorian speech, Kelly E. Hayes, who graduated with degrees in English and secondary education, as well as a certificate in Women, Gender and Leadership, said Franklin Pierce was built by the people that worked and studied there.
“Franklin Pierce is a community of communities, tied together not only by leadership and membership, uniting in their challenges of the status quo, their fights for places of free and meaningful expression and their desire to learn from one another,” Hayes said.
Hayes intends to work in education and library sciences, with hopes to teach middle- or high-school students, or work in a school library. She concluded her speech with a quote from her grandfather, Donald Hayes, reminding her fellow graduates, “The truly educated man never graduates.”
In addition to conferring degrees to its students, Franklin Pierce also bestowed two honorary doctoral degrees this year.
Those recognized were Tia Brown McNair, a leading diversity, equity and inclusion scholar, and Steven V. Camerino, a prominent attorney and business executive.
McNair currently serves as the vice president in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and as executive director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C. In her remarks to the Class of 2023, she asked them to be thoughtful citizens of the world.
“Graduates, as you enter your next phase in life, please remember that our journeys are interconnected and there is enough in this world for you to receive your blessings and enough for your friends and your colleagues to receive theirs, without us being at odds,” McNair said. “Nurture your relationships, value difference, embrace your narrative and listen deeply to the narratives of those around you. And when circumstances challenge you, turn to a place of reflection first. Pause, and then act.”
Camerino was a member of the university’s board of trustees for 10 years, between 2012 and 2022. He is currently the chief executive officer of McLane Middleton, responsible for overseeing the operational, financial marketing and human resource functions of the firm.
Their degree might mark the end of formal education for many of Saturday’s graduates, but Camerino encouraged them to never stop learning and questioning.
“Graduating from college or graduate school is a great achievement to be sure. And for many of you, today likely marks the end of your formal education,” said Camerino. “Equally important, however, it marks the day when responsibility for your education shifts definitively and almost exclusively to you, from the teachers who nurtured your growth along the way. Don’t forget to listen. You’ll be amazed at what you can learn simply by listening, really listening, especially to those you think have it wrong.”
The university also, as is tradition, awarded the Honorable Walter R. Peterson Citizen Leader Award. The award, named for the late New Hampshire governor, who also served as a president of Franklin Pierce, acknowledges commitment to public service, high moral character and contributions to higher education. This year’s recipient is JerriAnne Creary Boggis.
Boggis is executive director of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, an organization that preserves, celebrates and honors African-American history in the state. She is also the founder and director of The Harriet Wilson Project, which is devoted to honoring the New Hampshire native, who was the first Black woman in the United States to publish a novel.
Boggis asked students to listen for the call to serve, and to step up when the time came.
“When that hand of fate touches you, you need to answer that call,” she said.
A recording of the ceremony is available for viewing at fpuadminstream.com.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.