Clinton, N.Y. – Designer and artist Bruce Mau, the co-founder and CEO of the global design consultancy Massive Change Network, told the 565 graduates at Hamilton College’s Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 25, in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House, that they are all designers of their own futures with the power to inspire change.
Local graduates included Sydney Evans, Clinton; Jayden Federoff, Vernon; Mia Horvath, Cherry Valley; Phillip Le, Utica; Erin Rayhill, New Hartford; and Lindsay Son, Utica.
Other commencement speakers included Delbert “Del” Gonzales ’25, recipient of the James Soper Merrill Prize awarded to the member of the graduating class “who, in character and influence, has typified the highest ideals of the College” as selected by the faculty, and class speaker Alexandra “Allie” Ennis ’25, who was chosen by her peers.
Claire Williams, a geosciences major from LaGrange Highlands, Ill., was the Class of 2025 valedictorian, and Katherine Withers, a sociology major from Arlington, Va., was salutatorian.
Mau was awarded an honorary degree, along with Ray Halbritter, Oneida Indian Nation representative and Turning Stone Enterprises chief executive officer. Halbritter addressed the graduating class at the baccalaureate ceremony on May 24.
Bruce Mau
Bruce Mau used his own experience and knowledge as a designer to inspire the Class of 2025 to lead and show others the potential of the future. He told the graduates that “you, too, are designers, or you wouldn’t be here. You have a future in mind. You have intention.”
Mau said he had spent time with some Hamilton students to prepare for his speech, and called them thoughtful, ambitious, compassionate, and profoundly optimistic. “They shared their deep gratitude for their experience here, but also their concern about the world outside,” he recalled.
“They were fully aware that they are graduating from this utopian ideal into one of the most volatile and challenging environments that has ever existed. And they were excited by that,” he observed. “They were fully charged to lean into the potential that they have developed here and look forward to the tests that will come as the world transforms around them. I was deeply inspired. I want to thank them for restoring my faith in humanity,” Mau said.
Mau concluded, “In its broadest sense, design is leadership. With what you have experienced here at Hamilton, you have the power to show people a future more exciting than their past and inspire them
to work together on the journey to a new world.”
Ray Halbritter – Baccalaureate
In his baccalaureate remarks, Halbritter explained that “One of the guiding principles we follow as Oneida people is to do all things for the benefit of the Seventh Generation. We know that our actions and choices have a far-reaching impact and seek to always act with our grandchildren’s grandchildren in mind,” he said. “The evolution of this college from its humble beginnings and the community it is building today serve as a prime example of this kind of vision.
“You have spent so much time learning about what interests you, where your passions lie and what you want to be. Everything you have learned about the world and yourself during your time in college has prepared you for the role you will take on in the world outside.
”When you leave this world, you will be remembered for what you contribute to this spectrum and the lives you touched by doing so – not for what you acquire or how widely your name is known. What matters most is that you are doing the work you were meant to do and living the life that you are meant to live.
“You will be most successful when you follow your own instructions for this world and proceed in friendship with those who do the same,” Halbritter said.
Delbert “Del” Gonzales
Soper Merrill prize winner Del Gonzales spoke about the community he has found at Hamilton. “When I got here, I was convinced I had somehow tricked admissions. … I couldn’t believe that I belonged,” he said. “To make myself believe I belonged, I threw myself into everything … And I know I wasn’t alone.”
“And if you’re ever in doubt, like I was, if you ever forget that you do belong, I hope you hear the voices of the people who believed in you here, and I hope you carry those voices forward.
Because out in the world, it will matter that we uplift each other, that we stay connected. That we don’t just believe in ourselves, but keep believing in each other,” Gonzales concluded.
Alexandra “Allie” Ennis
For Allie Ennis, Hamilton has been about how people show up for each other. She recalled her first campus visit when she and her family were pleasantly surprised by the number of people who held doors open for them. “There was a pervasive, intentional kindness,” she explained. Ennis recalled that kindness when earlier this year she was asked by someone new on campus: “‘What makes Hamilton so special?’ ‘What makes Hamilton, Hamilton?’ This is a place where people hold doors for one another — literally and metaphorically,” she explained.
“Today, as we leave the Hill and enter the exciting, messy world that waits for us, let’s remember to hold the door open because that is who we are.”
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