'Keep Looking Forward into the Brightness of Your Potential'

Thank you Interim President Condrin, Reverend Olson, Provost Blancero and former President Gloria Larson. Welcome to our faculty, our staff, our family and our friends in attendance today, both near and far. And most importantly, welcome to the Bentley University Class of 2020!

Wow! I have to be honest, giving a speech live at Fenway Park in front of thousands of people was definitely not on my pandemic bingo card. 

If you told me a year ago that this is how our commencement ceremony would manifest itself, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But I think the one thing we have all come to realize and furthermore accept in this past year is that we really have to be ready to face uncertainty. We have to, in Bentley’s words, be nimble.

Now I came to Bentley in 2008 as an eager undergraduate student, ready to study accounting and get one of those elusive Big 4 internships. But what I learned at Bentley during that time far exceeds a standard business education. I learned how to think critically and how to contribute locally. I made lifelong friendships, where I even met my now husband. Hi, Zack!

When I was faced at a crossroads during my early career, I came back to this community to seek advice on my next steps. It was through the support of the faculty and staff I had come to know during my undergraduate days that propelled me to come back to Bentley for my PhD. For that, I am forever grateful.

Coming back into the fold of this community over the past six years has been so meaningful for my development. From taking classes with minds from across our world, from Brazil, Ukraine, Lebanon and more; to learning from scholars that comprise our faculty; to eventually teaching the next generation of business leaders. It has been a privilege to grow at Bentley from student to teacher.

Back in 2010, Professor Jay Thibodeau asked of my audit class, “Where do you want to be, both professionally and personally, in the next 5 and 10 years?” This lesson of goal-setting has stuck with me, has informed my thinking, and has shaped this past decade of my life. To the class of 2020, I offer you the same questions: Who do you want to be? What will you do today to achieve those goals tomorrow?

You, among all others, have had to build a level of resilience and readiness never before seen in a graduating class. You have had to strip down to basics and through your shared experiences, not only identify what is important, but also truly prioritize that which will bring your path forward.

I task you to keep looking forward into the brightness of your potential. What skillsets, what empathy can you build that will guide your decision-making? I challenge you to use this time of reflection to carve out those steps toward who you would best like to become. The choices that you navigate right now will indelibly shape your future.

I have no doubt of the possibility of your class, and I humbly look forward to witness the successes of the most prepared class Bentley has ever seen. So, congratulations to the Bentley University Class of 2020. Onwards!