Pierpont holds commencement ceremony for spring 2023 graduates

“As college-educated adults, you have new and fascinating lives ahead of you,” she said. “You can plan for how you expect the world to carry you through your career and new educational opportunities, but you must also be willing to take, as Robert Frost has written, the road less traveled. …

“I would encourage you to be creative and to stretch your views on what career options lie before you. Do not be afraid to explore the unknown, nor to challenge yourself when opportunities open up before you. While you think you may know what you will become, keep open the wonder of the unknown and the unexpected.”

The graduates also heard from Pierpont Student Government Association President Shauna Burns, who received her diploma Friday evening along with her peers. Burns spoke about her trials in life and in education, but noted that it’s failures which lead to ultimate success. She also spoke about the importance of always dreaming.

“So often, we get set in a pattern and flow of life that puts us to sleep, which you would think would lead to dreaming, but leads to living our life on autopilot, doing the things that need to be done and that we are comfortable doing even if it sucks the life out of us,” Burns said. “We let people tell us that our dreams are silly or worse, and convince ourselves that those people are right. …

“My challenge to you is to not count failure as a loss. We can learn so much from the setbacks we encounter. … [Understand] the importance of failure, of learning from the mistakes, setbacks and heartaches. This is not an easy challenge, but it is an important one.”

Throughout Nelson’s keynote speech, the interim president talked about the importance and imminence of change, noting that if the graduates are ready and willing to embrace whatever comes their way in life, they can respond to failure and achieve anything they want.

“You are, today, a different person than the one who first walked into Pierpont to explore what going to college would mean for you,” Nelson said. “Each of you have, through your inner strength and determination, achieved you academic and technical degrees. You have changed, and you have changed us. …

“The greatest gift we could ever give to you, our students, is the sense that deep inside, you have a full measure of an educated person. You will build upon your past lives and create futures which are bright and full of promise. No matter what the past entailed, your future is new.”