Congratulations!
In this Issue: Commencement thoughts
Congratulations to the Class of 2024 and all our P’24 parents and families! Commencement weekend has concluded and it has been a joy to celebrate all of you as you take your victory lap at WFU before moving on to Life After Wake Forest.
My responsibilities today did not allow me to do a proper Five Senses post, but I can sum up my impressions of today using a few adjectives. Here goes.
Fortunate. For those of you who arrived on Friday or Saturday, you saw monsoonish rains at times. But despite a really wet Saturday, we lucked out weather-wise for both Baccalaureate and Commencement, with no rain in sight. And while today got a touch on the warm side for those sitting in the sun, it was not as warm as it could have been (my Commencement was in the low 90s and humid), so Mother Nature did us a solid today.
Touching. I am a people watcher by nature, and I loved seeing all the proud families’ cheers, hugs, smiles, and tears as your Deacs crossed the stage. I happened to catch what I assume was a dad hugging his daughter after the ceremony ended and the look of pure joy and intense pride he had for her was so moving. It warmed my heart. Beautiful to witness.
Multigenerational. We had guests who looked to be in their 80s and 90s and babies who were under one. I loved seeing the proud grandparents. And I loved seeing the younger siblings who were here to support their big brothers and big sisters (so many of our youngest guests had adorable outfits on, and looked happy to be doing a ‘grown up’ thing). I love that Commencement is a full-family event.
Poignant. I spoke to more than one family who talked about their graduate feeling more than a little sad that they would be having to say goodbye to their best Wake friends in a matter of hours, and worrying that those bonds of friendship might not last. If I were a betting woman (and I am!), I’d bet you that most of those friendships endure. I’ve been out of Wake for 30+ years and still do a girls’ weekend with my Wake besties every other year, and sometimes get to see them in between. While the parting might feel sad to your graduates, it is likely a few more years before they start getting partnered up and having children, etc. In other words, your graduates likely will have a good many years to tend to their Wake friendships and keep them solid before life gets super busy – and even then it will be just a few years until their kids/jobs get to a place where it is easy to focus on their friends (and themselves!) again.
Uneventful. This is perhaps the thing I was most grateful for of all. Nothing unusual happened to take away the joy of this day. It was solely focused on the achievements of the Class of 2024, and our pride as parents, family members, faculty, and staff for all this class brings to us.
To our P’24s who get the Daily Deac, I always think of the opening of the Irish Blessing on Commencement day: May the road rise to meet you. And on this particularly beautiful Commencement Monday, the end of the blessing seems especially fitting:
May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.
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