Parting words for the class of 2012

In three commencement ceremonies this weekend at IU, 8,829 degrees will be awarded. The IDS reached out to campus leaders to gather some parting words for the class of 2012.


“Congratulations! The future is in your hands, so please work very hard.”
ELINOR OSTROM, Nobel Prize-winning IU professor

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“Try something and meet someone new every day. I’ve tried my best to do this during my undergraduate years, and it’s turned out really well for me. Also, don’t get stuck in a job you hate, especially while we’re young. The world is changing — people just don’t stay with the same employers for a lifetime like they used to. By graduating from college, we will be joining the 1 percent of the world’s population that has attained this level of education, and if we use it in a profession that isn’t rewarding both personally and for the betterment of our society, we will have squandered one of the greatest gifts we’ve ever been given.

“My other piece of advice is to remember Indiana University and contribute financially and in spirit in the coming decades so that when you move your children into Teter or Read or McNutt on their first day of classes, Indiana University will be even greater than it is today.”

JUSTIN KINGSOLVER, IU Student Association president

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“My wish for you all is that you find a job that you sincerely love — something that you are passionate about and allows you to be creative and independent, or a part of a structured team. Whatever you prefer. Do what you love and do it well. I also wish that you gain everything you need and some of what you want. I wish that you experience success, peace, love and happiness in abundance, enough to carry you through trials and tribulations of life. Congratulations, Class of 2012!”
ERIC LOVE, director of the Office of Diversity Education

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“Consider the fact that your achievements are not yours alone. Remember your grandmother who’s been praying for you, your father who worked extra hours to assist you financially, the friend who stood by your side when you were in need, that professor who inspired you, the public official who fought to pass legislation that supports quality education, the janitor who worked quietly behind the scenes to keep your residence hall clean. Live with that awareness and pay it forward.”

- DOUG BAUDER, coordinator of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services

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“I think it’s finally hitting me that we’re graduating Saturday. I’ve been trying to push the thought out of my mind for months, but we can’t hide anymore. There are a lot of cliché words floating around out there, but let these be the ones that break through.
What we learned here was important. I’m not talking about classes — though they undoubtedly were — but all the rest. Tailgating in the sun, sitting on a porch and Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers. Ridiculous all-nighters, laughing with friends and nights you can never explain. Every time you’ve walked through the Sample Gates. This was our IU.

"The real world will be scary and exciting, but when it gets hard, those will be the lessons we should call on. That stuff — the Hoosier spirit — is what we’ll carry with us past Saturday, and always — always — we’ll find a home back here.”

- LAUREN SEDAM, student commencement speaker and IDS reporter