The Story

Brokaw Delivers Address at 2009 Commencement

May. 18, 2009 | By Stacey Marin, DSJ Editor in Chief

“Rain or shine, this is a glorious day,” William and Mary President Taylor Reveley said to begin the 2009 Commencement ceremony. “Let’s celebrate, indeed friends, our 2009 graduates.”

Celebrate they did. A typical Williamsburg rain did not put a damper on the Class of 2009’s commencement ceremonies, which took place May 17. The main ceremony followed the traditional walk across campus, in which graduates walk through the Wren Building, across the Crim Dell Bridge and to William and Mary Hall. Walkers were equipped with umbrellas, ready to fend off the rain, as they made their way across campus up to Kaplan Arena.

Reveley and Chancellor Sandra Day O’Connor opened the ceremony. O’Connor referenced one of the College’s most notable alums when she quoted Thomas Jefferson: “If the condition of man is to be progressively ameliorated, as we fondly hope and believe, education is to be the chief instrument in effecting it.”

“You will leave here to start developing the rest of your lives and futures; do it well,” O’Connor instructed the graduates. “But always… remember William and Mary and why you came here.”

NBC’s Tom Brokaw was the featured speaker, and he received an honorary degree of doctor of humane letters. Brokaw, who anchored NBC’s Nightly News for over 20 years, encouraged graduates about their futures despite the country’s troubling economic environment.

“We may not have given you a perfect world,” Brokaw said in his address. “But we have given you dynamic opportunities for leaving a lasting legacy as a generation that was fearless and imaginative, tireless and selfless in pursuit of these monumental problems, a generation that emerged from this financial tsunami and re-built the financial landscape of their lives with an underpinning of sound values and an eye for proportion, knowing in fact that, in some occasions, less can be more.”

Brokaw warned graduates about becoming too dependent on technology, noting “that somehow before Blackberries and iPhones, laptops and video games, great and welcome chance was achieved.”

Despite the draw of technology, specifically mentioning Twitter, Facebook and Google, Brokaw warned they are not the answer to solving the world’s problems. “You’ll not solve global warming by hitting the delete button; you’ll not eliminate reckless avarice by hitting backspace; you’ll not make society more just by cutting and pasting,” he said.

He spoke of the Greatest Generation, who grew up during the Great Depression and World War II, and the sacrifices that members of that generation made in order to better the country in which we live. He also discussed the importance of youth in bringing about change in the world. “Those kinds of commitments need not take up your life but they will enrich it if you make a conspicuous effort to dedicate some of your time on this precious planet to helping your fellow men and women who are not as fortunate as you are,” he said.

Brokaw warned that the “real world was junior high,” and that graduates would be “astonished by how much of the rest of your life will be consumed by the same petty jealousies you encountered in adolescence, the same irrational juvenile behavior, the cliques, the dumb jokes and hurt feelings.” He urged the Class of 2009 to look beyond this, relying on each other and using each other “in a common cause of restoring economic justice and true value, advancing racial and religious tolerance, creating a healthier planet, in leaving a legacy.”

Following Brokaw’s speech and the conferral of his honorary degree, honorary degrees were given to William and Mary alumni Sherman Cohen and Linda Lavin. Cohen also received an honorary doctor of humane letters, and he and his wife, Gloria, are helping to fund the new career center, which will be named The Sherman and Gloria H. Cohen Career Center. Lavin (’59) is a Tony award winning actress best known for her role as Alice Hyatt on the TV show “Alice.” She was awarded with an honorary doctor of the arts on the 50th anniversary of her first degree from William and Mary.

Justin Schoonmaker (’09) was the student commencement speaker, and he spoke of his initial rejection from William and Mary. Schoonmaker encouraged his peers to make the most of life’s setbacks and the importance of overcoming challenges. “On this day, we celebrate more than just the achievements of the past few years,” he said. “We celebrate our ability to persevere in the years to come.”

Schoonmaker lauded the College for teaching its students the importance of persevering: “William and Mary - one of the finest colleges in the nation - has bred us to overcome. And so we soldier on, knowing that a rejected application can indeed make us stronger. That a layoff may be the doorway to a better job. That a turbulent economy need not author our destinies: these things, after all, will pass. We must advance confident in our ability to navigate the life ahead.”

President Reveley then led the conferral of degrees, starting with the doctoral degrees, then the master’s programs, and ending with the bachelor’s degrees. Each concentration was recognized and students stood to be recognized for the work in their respective department.

In his concluding remarks, Reveley followed the theme of overcoming the current financial situation. “The academic year 2008-09 has been good to William and Mary despite the economic flapdoodle in which we, along with the rest of the galaxy, are currently all mired,” he said. He cited the “building boom” at the College, selecting a new provost, law school dean, and vice president for student affairs, and the record-breaking senior class gift of examples of the College’s success this past year.

He congratulated the graduates for their successes, as he said, “In the few years most you have had so far to make something of yourselves, you have already moved mountains. Your academic excellence and athletic prowess, your sweeping commitment to serve others and your vibrant interest in the world at large, your grasp of the reality that embracing diversity, not shrinking from it, is key in the 21st century - all this and more make you very, very promising people.”

Reveley also told graduates that, just as William and Mary expect greatness of them, they too can expect a lot from their alma mater. “You are entitled to the pleasure and satisfaction of seeing William and Mary move powerfully into the 21st century.” He also encouraged the Class of 2009 to guarantee the College’s success in the future: “Don’t just look back with affection and a burning eye, do your part to ensure your alma mater keeps moving powerfully into your century, growing in service, in excellence, in stature. Do your part!”

Lastly, Reveley persuaded graduates to make the most of fellow William and Mary alumni, emphasizing the notion of the tribe.

Referring to a John Steinbeck quotation, Reveley concluded, “Graduates, roar like lions out of pride in your Tribe, the College of William and Mary, and out of pride in yourselves! Both the College and you, in my judgment, deserve sustained roaring.” In order to properly roar in support of the Class of 2009, Reveley led a cheer to King William and Queen Mary, as “without them, we wouldn’t be here.” He then led a cheer for the 2009 graduates, “because if they had not made their way through the academic wilds with their fur intact, we wouldn’t be here either.”