Scenes from Graduate Commencement 2009 (Multimedia)

Posted on May 13, 2009 - Permalink
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Commencement season kicked off Wednesday night, with roughly 240 graduate candidates crossing the stage of the Campus Center Auditorium to receive their degrees.

The ceremony had a distinctly international flavor, as both the keynote speaker and student speaker hailed from the Middle Eastern country of Jordan.

However, the overriding theme was the difficult economic times the graduates, like everyone else, are facing.

"Times are tough," said Trustee Chairman Louis Ricciardi, '81, before adding that today's "lack of certainty may just be a blessing in disguise" for the imaginative and hard working.

President Dana Mohler-Faria sought tomorrow's leaders among the graduates.

"These are the times that call for leadership, for focus and strength," he said. "You have the skills, you have the ability to transform this world."

All told, this graduate class of 2009 included 447 candidates, and included several from Jordan. Among them was speaker Buthina Al Obidyeen, who shared memories from her time at BSC, and the warm faces and cold weather she found here. She spoke positively of exchange programs, such as the one that brought her to the college, saying "they bring peace and understanding to the world."

Continuing that note was Dr. Sultan T. Abu-Orabi Al-Adwan, president of Jordan's Yarmouk University, who, in his keynote address, told the graduates that everyone must play a role in promoting peace and reaching out to different cultures.

Commencement season continues Saturday at 2 p.m., when more than 900 students will receive their degrees. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is the keynote speaker, and Jose Maria Pereira Neves, prime minister of Cape Verde, will be the college's special guest. (John Winters, Office of Institutional Communications)

Scenes from this year's graduate commencement ceremony: