Ray Joseph ’22 of Norwood, Mass., smiles as he looks at his Bates diploma during the college’s 156th Commencement on May 29, 2022. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nExternal events, whether COVID-19 or the \u201cpervasiveness of racism and racially-motivated violence in this country,\u201d radically transformed the minute-to-minute campus experience of this year\u2019s seniors, intruding \u201cinsistently and persistently, into every dimension of your college experience since the spring of your sophomore year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, the Class of 2022 has missed much, Spencer and others noted. For example, while typically nearly 60 percent of a Bates class would study abroad at some point in their college careers, less than 10 percent of the Class of 2022 got that opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four straight sports seasons were canceled or severely curtailed. Campus offerings, especially in the arts, were stripped down to the physically distanced minimum. Students ate from take-out containers for the 2020\u201321 year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt would be easy to focus on what you may have missed in your college experience,\u201d Spencer said. \u201cI urge you, however, to think about what you have gained,\u201d the ability to \u201cmove through the world more consciously and intentionally than a typical graduating senior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any graduation is a singular accomplishment, she said, and \u201cwe are so very proud of all of you. But I also want to lift up and recognize these other gifts \u2014 the broadened perspective, the early wisdom, and the deepened empathy \u2014 that will be your superpowers as you venture forth to make the world a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nAnna Landgren ’22 brandishes her diploma at Commencement on May 29, 2022. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn delivering Shah\u2019s honorary degree citation, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs Malcolm Hill said that Shah used his \u201cpowerful intellect and profound humanity\u201d to become Maine\u2019s \u201ccalm and sure-footed guide through uncharted territory\u201d as COVID-19 barreled into the state in 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether leading daily media briefings, joining public radio call-in shows, convening Zoom discussions with community leaders, or through his own deft and often witty forays into social media, Shah became \u201cnot just our doctor in chief but our counselor, philosopher, and sage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In many ways, this year\u2019s Commencement rhetoric helped to deliver, as they say, the cure for what ails us. And if laughter is the best medicine, that cure was also in ample supply at Commencement, thanks to Shah\u2019s wit and humor, setting the tone with a selfie from the Coram Library porch as he kicked off his address. “If you don’t want to be on Twitter, let me known now,” he quipped to the audience of several thousand.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDr. Nirav Shah takes a selfie on the Coram porch before his address.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nHe kicked off his address with these standup-quality one liners:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Just remember: If you like what I have to say today, my name is Nirav Shah,” he said. “If you don\u2019t like what I have to say, just remember that my name is Sanjay Gupta.”<\/li> Shah said he devoted the same energy and care to his talk that seniors devoted to their theses. “So last night, after downing a bunch of Red Bulls and <\/strong>literally reaching the end of Twitter, I started writing.”<\/li>When he graduated from college, he said he thought he was powerful and independent, \u201ca one-man wolf pack. But the truth is, I was basically a house cat, completely dependent on others, yet fully convinced of my own independence.\u201d <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nShah listed notable Bates Commencement speakers, including from the 1960s and 1970s, and noted that they have since died. \u201cWhat\u2019s up with that?\u201d he asked. \u201cThere is an uncanny correlation between speaking at Bates and then dying 30 to 50 years later. And if there\u2019s anything I\u2019ve learned in the past two years it\u2019s that correlation always <\/em>equals causation.\u201d (A well-delivered pandemic-era joke that prompted a long round of applause.)<\/p>\n\n\n\nShah\u2019s address was packed with insight and delightful personal details as he asked the graduates to approach life with humility, humanity, and humor, three qualities that Shah learned from his father, a man who went from picking mangoes in rural India to earning his medical degree in America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shah\u2019s theme was \u201cBe Someone,\u201d a phrase that\u2019s crackled in his mind for a few years. His voice breaking, Shah told the audience that he\u2019d lost his father three years ago after a long illness. But before that, knowing his father\u2019s health was declining and his help would be needed, Shah lived with his mother and father in Houston.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNikki Giovanni accepts her honorary degree hood from Michael Murray, Phillips Professor of Economics. Giovanni received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree at Bates Commencement on May 29, 2022. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nOne day he and his father were driving back from a medical appointment and passed beneath a graffiti-strewn railroad bridge. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just everyday graffiti. It was graffiti with meaning,\u201d Shah said. Two words captured his attention, \u201celegant in their simplicity, compelling in their directness, and poetic in their brevity: Be Someone<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe two words captured \u201chow my dad himself lived his life. How I try to live my life. And how, today, I\u2019d like to urge you to live your lives.\u201d Shah asked the seniors to Be Someone<\/em> the way his father did, with humility, humanity, and humor.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHumility, he said, \u201ccomes down to saying the three hardest words in the English language: \u2018I don\u2019t know.\u2019\u201d Shah said that he used to think that \u201cintelligence came from accumulating the largest warehouse of knowledge,\u201d and Shah does have a big store, holding both a medical and law degree from the University of Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Rev. Becca Stevens accepts her honorary degree hood from Michael Murray, Phillips Professor of Economics. Stevens received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during Bates Commencement on May 29, 2022. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nBut \u201cfrankly, this approach led to me being tremendously unlikeable. My middle name should have been \u2018Well, actually,\u2019” he quipped. \u201cFor me, being smart was like having the only pin at a balloon party. And achievement was walking around popping everyone else\u2019s balloons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you don\u2019t know something, just say so. \u201cIf someone asks you what time it is, do not tell them how to build a clock. If you don\u2019t know what time it is, tell them that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humanity, Shah said, is how his father confronted skeptics. \u201cRather than dismissing those who asked skeptical questions, he treated them with humanity.\u201d And humanity strengthens the \u201cchain of trust\u201d that allows Shah to have full confidence in his fellow scientists, specifically believing in the effectiveness of the vaccines for COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI’ve been asked numerous times how I know<\/em> that the COVID vaccines are effective? After all, I didn’t perform the studies myself. So how can I know<\/em> that the vaccines are doing their job?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nAdam Naddaff Slocum ’22 of Canton, Mass., displays his diploma holder at Commencement on May 29, 2022. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nHe knows<\/em> vaccines are effective because he is \u201cpart of a \u2018chain of trust\u2019 with the people who have concluded so,\u201d including scientists, physicians, and statisticians, to name a few. \u201cI trust the conclusion because I trust each of the links in that chain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nSkeptics, on the other hand, are often \u201cpart of a different chain of trust whose links comprise lived experiences and relationships, not data in scientific journals. They are susceptible to misinformation because they do not belong to the same chain of trust that scientists do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But do not dehumanize those who disagree. \u201cRather, recognize that their skepticism may stem from being part of a different<\/em> chain of trust. Be someone who builds trust: Ask why they believe what they do. What evidence might change their mind?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLaughter during dark days doesn\u2019t diminish the weight of the shadows. It just makes them a little bit easier to bear,” said Dr. Nirav Shah to his Commencement audience on May 29, 2022. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nShah\u2019s father learned American and English-language humor by watching American television, especially M*A*S*H<\/em>, the classic 1970s comedy-drama series about an Army field hospital during the Korean War.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAt its best, M*A*S*H<\/em> showed how humor and sadness can coexist. Shah said his father could \u201cbring humor into situations where I would have least expected to find it.\u201d And that\u2019s being human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe human mind is a magnificent thing,\u201d said Shah. \u201cIt can be happy and sad at the same time. You can hold grief and joy in your hands at the exact same moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nEnrique Dolores Gonzalez of Hailey, Idaho, taps the Class of 1932 Sundial with his newly received Bates diploma on May 29, 2022. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nEven during a pandemic, \u201cyou\u2019re allowed to laugh,\u201d he said, even if, these days, \u201chumor is fraught. The world is dark and there are those who suggest that a well-timed joke may not be appropriate. Don\u2019t believe them. We need the levity that humor brings. Laughter during dark days doesn\u2019t diminish the weight of the shadows; it just makes them a little bit easier to bear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As they head out into the world, the new Bates grads will often see themselves as one of the smartest people in the room, Shah said. \u201cThe first thing you should do is find a bigger room.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is to use the tools of a Bates education. \u201cBates has prepared you to be anyone, any time, in any place,\u201d he concluded. \u201cBut my ask is that you chose to be someone. Choose to carry the qualities of humility, humanity, and humor with you wherever you go next.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\nThomas Hiscock ’22 of Falmouth, Maine, glances at the audience Commencement on May 29, 2022. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn her Senior Address, Chico used a seasonal metaphor to describe her growth at Bates as a first-generation college student. \u200b\u200bA self-described \u201cplant person,\u201d Chico thought she was like her sturdy pothos plant when she arrived at Bates, so resilient it barely needed nurturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLike so many first generation students and people of color…I thought that I owed it to my family and everyone who helped me get here to be perfect.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That meant being a science major \u2014 never mind that she didn\u2019t really like science \u2014 and then advancing to medical school. \u201cI had this crazy standard for myself that was really stressful and overwhelming, but like the pothos plant, I thought I would just take care of myself for these next four years. I was lucky to be here and I would make the most of it. No water or sunlight required.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As she pivoted from science to the humanities, as a double major in Africana and in rhetoric, film, and screen studies, Chico discovered that it\u2019s OK to need and ask for help, like her \u201cdramatic\u201d Chinese money plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTeresa Chico ’22 of New City, N.Y., delivers the Senior Address at Bates Commencement on May 29, 2022. “At Bates, I had to learn to believe in myself, but I also had to learn that it was okay to ask for help,” she said. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cI had to learn to believe in myself, but I also had to learn that it was okay to ask for help. Like the Chinese money plant, I had days where I was drooping, feeling defeated. But it was on those hard days that my professors watered me with their knowledge and support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The awarding of the day\u2019s honorary degrees featured a moment of sweet disorder as President Spencer conferred the honorary degree for Michael Bonney ’80 not once but twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first time, Spencer, who worked closely with Bonney in his nine years of service as chair of the Board of Trustees, choked up as she delivered the conferral. So a few minutes later, just before Shah was presented his honorary degree, Spencer paused the proceedings, apologized, and asked Bonney to return to her side so she could present him his degree, “again and correctly.” She said: <\/p>\n\n\n\nHonorary degree recipient Michael Bonney ’80 accepts applause from Michael Murray, Phillips Professor of Economics, and President Clayton Spencer at Bates Commencement on May 29, 2022. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cWhenever and however we tell your story, we tell it with gratitude and pride. We know what this college means to you, and we only hope that you know how very much you mean to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Commencement approached its close, Jennifer Crawford \u201801 welcomed the newly minted graduates to their alumni lives. \u201cNo matter where life takes you, you will forever be part of an accomplished and dynamic community of over 24,000 Bobcats strong who…will forever be part of your extended family.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In her benediction, the Rev. Brittany Longsdorf compared the seniors to the resilient Eastern white pine, the official Maine tree. She asked the seniors to remember how much they have always been valued as they leave Bates and begin their next chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this moment of awe and wonder, may you breathe deep as you prepare to begin again; feel our collective blessing on the journey ahead just as you have been and continue to be a blessing to Bates. It is time to cross this threshold.<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWe treat those with different beliefs not just as incorrect, but as ignorant,” said Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and a luminary in the state\u2019s COVID-19 response. “Don’t do that,” he told the seniors. Instead, “be someone who builds trust.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":146925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"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":[4,12193,11009],"tags":[10831,12288],"class_list":["post-146894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-life","category-livestream","category-the-college","tag-commencement","tag-commencement-2022"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146894","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=146894"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150175,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146894\/revisions\/150175"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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