{"id":141558,"date":"2021-09-03T11:53:08","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T15:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=141558"},"modified":"2021-09-03T16:02:28","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T20:02:28","slug":"10-pieces-of-advice-for-all-of-us-from-a-wisdom-filled-bates-college-convocation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2021\/09\/03\/10-pieces-of-advice-for-all-of-us-from-a-wisdom-filled-bates-college-convocation\/","title":{"rendered":"10 pieces of advice, for all of us, from a wisdom-filled Bates College Convocation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In May and in August, Commencement and Convocation bookend the Bates experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Held in the fading warmth of a Maine summer day, Convocation marks a beginning, the newest class\u2019s \u201cformal induction into the Bates community of scholars,\u201d said President Clayton Spencer at this year’s edition on Aug. 31, the day before the start of classes for the 2021\u201322 year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As bookends, they share a look: pomp and circumstance, rows of chairs in front of Coram Library, and an academic procession from Alumni Walk to the Historic Quad. Both typically come packed with good advice for the next monumental step toward building a future, first on the Lewiston campus and then beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, Convocation included one valedictory element that might have been stolen from Commencement, the celebration of a job well done as Dean of the Faculty Malcolm Hill introduced a new group of students to the newly opened Bonney Science Center. With the dramatic brick building at stage right, Hill called it \u201ca building that will serve all disciplines to generate innovative teaching for years to come.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Class of 2025 passes by the Class of 1927 Mouthpiece featuring a photograph and quote from late John R. Lewis, the 2016 Commencement speaker, who urged the graduates to be bold and fearless in pursuing social justice. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But the main focus of Convocation 2021 were tips and insights into navigating the Bates experience, offered by Spencer; Kush Sharma \u201923 and Marcos Pacheco Soto \u201924, co-presidents of Bates College Student Government; and Katharine Ott, associate professor of mathematics, who delivered the Convocation Address. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with advice, they received a blessing from the college\u2019s multifaith chaplain, the Rev. Brittany Longsdorf. \u201cMay you be blessed by this place,\u201d she said in her Benediction. \u201cMay you be blessed this new year, with authenticity, deep caring, wisdom and kindness, inspiration and affirmation, and the beauty of belonging.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

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Ott\u2019s perspective was a gift from last spring\u2019s Class of 2021, who selected her to speak to the Class of 2025 at Convocation, and she began by thanking the recent grads and saluting them for their perseverance in the face of the pandemic. Recalling their accomplishments and their \u201cincredible resilience during such a tumultuous year fills me with hope.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same goes for the Class of 2025, said Ott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou pivoted, you followed through with your plans and dreams, adjusting a lot when necessary. You made a major life decision \u2014 where to attend college \u2014 entirely over zoom and so much more. So I congratulate you and your support networks for arriving here. Your arrival and journey have been challenging. There was pain and suffering, and for some, trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Katharine Ott, associate professor of mathematics, delivers the Convocation Address. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With all that has preceded the class\u2019s arrival, she said, \u201cit\u2019s hard to think about where to begin the next chapter\u201d \u2014 there\u2019s that book metaphor again \u2014 \u201cafter all that has happened, all that is still happening. Where do we even<\/em> begin?\u201d And that\u2019s how she titled her address, \u201cWhere Do We Even Begin.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referencing the title, she said she made it \u201cbig and vague on purpose,\u201d precisely because she wanted to show Bates\u2019 newest students that you begin to answer a big question by tackling smaller ones first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike the mathematician that I am, I will try to offer something useful on just one small<\/em> part of the big question: Where do we begin…in our college classrooms?\u201d Ott urged her audience of students to remember they are \u201cbuilding more than a transcript. They\u2019ll be creating their own narrative, a journey where they are the main character, set within a community they hold the power to build.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her suggestions, and those from others, offer insight into classrooms, yes, but also how we live our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Build judgment-free relationships where it is always OK to ask questions<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Ott has a Ph.D. in mathematics and regularly publishes scholarly papers with other math Ph.D.s. \u201cWe work on theoretical mathematics, partial differential equations, and harmonic analysis, and the papers appear in international journals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That all sounds dauntingly high level. But, she said, when she\u2019s at work with fellow scholars, the relationships are defined by humility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you know what kind of questions occur regularly?\u201d Ott asked the audience. \u201cMe, during a research meeting with collaborators: \u2018Hold up. Where did that zero come from?\u2019 My collaborator, slight frown, maybe a pause: \u2018We added a two up here and then subtracted two down here. So that makes zero.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is no judgement, and we move on. No one is keeping track.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t wait to ask questions<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a heck of a lot easier to start asking questions like that from the get-go, when you’re in the midst of a problem, than waiting 20 minutes before asking, then you’re buried under more and more lines of calculations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’m not advocating that you interrupt your professors and classmates with questions unless invited to do so. I’m encouraging you to be honest and forthcoming about where you are with your understanding and meet your peers where they are with their understanding. Don’t let questions or confusions get buried.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make play out of your work<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Ott\u2019s 4-year-old son just started pre-K. Each day, she asks him what he did in school. \u201cAnd so far six days running, he gives the same exact answer: \u2018Play.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFour-year-olds need play,\u201d said Ott. So do the rest of us. In math, \u201cplay\u201d might mean tinkering with the numbers in a graph and \u201cseeing what happens to your solution.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a broader academic context, \u201cplay\u201d means \u201cchanging your perspective, looking at a problem from a different viewpoint, creating a new scenario, putting things in a different order.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it’s highly likely, said Ott, that math students will hear phrases from their professors, like \u201cplay with the numbers in this example,\u201d or \u201cplay with the graph and see what happens to your solution.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Professor of French and Francophone Studies Kirk Read performs his duties as faculty marshal as the academic procession departs Alumni Walk for the Historic Quad. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mainers, and perhaps folks in other states, have a phrase for this kind of play, \u201cdubbing around,\u201d where you\u2019re working around the house and trying a new way to solve a problem, like stopping that gopher that gets into the garden. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That kind of play \u201cis meant to be low stakes. Play allows us to explore and learn separate from the validation of a grade or a checkbox,\u201d Ott said. \u201cBetween pre-K and college \u2014 and most definitely in the last year \u2014 I think many of us lost this connection between play and learning. So let’s try and rekindle it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talk to people about your work<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Developmental psychologists tell us that we create our personal narratives, discovering who we are and where we want to go, by talking with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mathematicians like Ott know that too. She encouraged Bates\u2019 new students to \u201ctalk about your work. Share what you were doing in class when you check in with your family and friends from home. Work in study groups \u2014 and yeah, talk out loud<\/em> with your classmates about what you’re doing. Make what you are doing in class a part of your everyday conversations with friends, teammates, roommates, coworkers, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInevitably these conversations will spin outward from the academics and that’s not only okay, that’s awesome. Talking about what we’re doing in class is a great launching point to conversations that we need to be having, conversations about identity, community, society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the next four years, you aren’t just building a transcript: You will be building a story, a journey narrative that has you as the main character.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In seeking truth, seek what\u2019s true about you<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In her welcome, Spencer talked about the liberal arts and truth-seeking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Bates, students learn how to discover what\u2019s true in the world through the \u201cknowledge you will gain and the connections you will make across multiple kinds of problems and ways of knowing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But truth-seeking is not always outward-focused, she said. \u201cIt also means figuring out what is, and isn’t true for you \u2014 who you are, what you’re interested in, what you value and how you plan to move through the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnly you, following your interests, thinking things through on your own terms, and discussing your theories and ideas in the classroom and in conversation, can develop an authentic and coherent view of how you want to live your life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mace bearer Michael Murray, Charles Franklin Phillips Professor of Economics, leads the academic procession, followed by President Clayton Spencer and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty Malcolm Hill. For certain large outside events, Bates implements a face-covering policy. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Put big questions on hold<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Big questions, like \u201cWhat should I do with my life?\u201d or even \u201cWhat should I major in?\u201d can wait, said Spencer, because at this stage \u201cthey are downright paralyzing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep it simple. The Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu said \u201cA journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.\u201d But the right question to ask yourself is not, \u201cIs this the right <\/em>step for me?\u201d Instead, ask yourself, \u201cDoes this feel like the right next<\/em> step for me?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t measure your success against the lives and careers of people you admire<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Impressive, compelling life stories, those of Michelle Obama, Lin-Manuel Miranda, or Dr. Fauci, \u201conly emerge when you look backward<\/em> over a life,\u201d Spencer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The enterprise of college, however, is about helping students \u201dlook forward, not backward.\u201d As a student, you\u2019re on the bow of a ship, looking ahead toward uncharted waters. You\u2019re not in the stern looking at the wake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your path forward is not clear \u2014 nor should it be. \u201cAs a famous scholar of religion and myth, Joseph Campbell, once said, \u2018If the path before you is clear, you\u2019re probably on someone else\u2019s.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use your curiosity, thirst for connection, and courage to take risks<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

A student admitted to Bates has already displayed at least some of those abilities, said Spencer. Use those talents to \u201cexplore courses in fields you\u2019ve never been exposed to before,\u201d said Spencer. \u201cSit at a table in Commons with people you don\u2019t know and introduce yourself, or try out for a play even if you\u2019ve never been on a stage in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
With understandably pensive expressions, members of the Class of 2025 move toward their seats at the start of Convocation on Aug. 31, 2021. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In turn, Spencer promised the students that their courage will be met with a promise from Bates, that all students will be \u201cseen and valued\u201d so that, in turn they feel they \u201cbelong at Bates and Bates belongs to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work of \u201ccreating an educational community that is equitable and inclusive, and producing graduates who have experienced college this way, is, I believe, our best hope for making progress toward a more just society.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disrupt your own narrative<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Spencer encourages the first-year students to \u201ctry to stop holding fast to the things that got you here \u2014 the narrative that you are pre-med, or will major in history, when you haven\u2019t even taken your first college course; the identities that have defined you throughout high school; the assumption that if you don\u2019t hurry up and find a small group of like-minded peeps you are doomed to a life of social isolation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, \u201cthink of these next four years as a time to try new things, to step back and broaden the frame. As the poet Rainer Maria Rilke put it, \u2018The point is to…live the questions now<\/em>. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create community while you search for what excites you<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Sharma and Pacheco Soto, the Bates Student Government co-presidents, offered student-to-student advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First-years might have questions like, How do Bates students pursue what interests them individually, whether a major field or a club activity, while at the same time engaging in collective efforts to achieve social justice? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do the 555 individuals in the Class of 2025 with 555 different ideas become a community? How does one pursue your own wishes while also navigating a sea of difference?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Co-presidents of Bates College Student Government Kush Sharma \u201923 (right) and Marcos Pacheco Soto \u201924 greet the Class of 2025.(Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Definitely, \u201cpursue what you<\/em> are excited about \u2014 and then also think of a way we can come together and support each other in living that,\u201d said Sharma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOffer compassion. Be each other\u2019s voice in the work to fight for a society where every idea, thought, and individual has an equal opportunity. And as you try to find something that you’re<\/em> excited about, each day for the next four years at Bates, try to embrace and create a culture where collaborative excitement matters.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Convocation and Commencement bookend the year with a similar look and feel. Similar, too, in offering sound advice, useful to far more than first years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":141570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[4,11012,11009],"tags":[12251,2579,10523],"class_list":["post-141558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-life","category-student-life","category-the-college","tag-class-of-2025","tag-convocation","tag-katharine-ott"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141558"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141624,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141558\/revisions\/141624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}