Plymouth State University (PSU) celebrated its 152nd undergraduate commencement on Saturday, May 13, 2023, at the Bank of New Hampshire Field House of the Active Living, Learning, and Wellness (ALLWell) North Building on the PSU campus. A total of 750 students were honored during the ceremony. Graduate and doctorate degrees were awarded in a separate ceremony on Friday evening, May 12, 2023.
The ceremony on Saturday paid tribute to the students who overcame the uncertainties and shifting sands that became emblematic of the learning experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You’ve become masters of change and resiliency,” PSU President Donald L. Birx, Ph.D., told ceremony participants. “The pandemic was tough, but you persevered as you will in life, constantly adapting, growing and learning. Your class is special and rare; you were the ‘screenagers’ with online classes all day, mask-wearing, testing, quarantines and travel restrictions, some which tested you, but not bested you, knocked you down, but didn’t knock you out, gave you pause but didn’t pause your giving.”
Todd Angilly, Boston Bruins national anthem singer and PSU class of 1999 alumnus, delivered the keynote address. Angilly reflected on his experience at PSU and the interesting, circuitous path his life has taken and he encouraged the audience to take chances, follow their hearts, to stay in touch with people who have been there for them along the way, and to both ask for help and to offer help to others.
“When I thought of what I was going to say, I did what any other scholarly professional would do: I quickly scoured YouTube for commencement speakers, and I watched as speaker after speaker talked about themselves and what they knew to be the right path to success,” Angilly said. “I’m not here to do that. I don’t have the answers for you. I encourage you to take time to reflect on what your future may hold. You’ve completed an enormous task. There is no questioning your ability to succeed, now what are you going to do with that ability? Understand that your path to success is not going to be straight and direct. It’s going to include setbacks, failures, detours and perhaps the realization that something different than what you first envisioned for yourself is now what your passion is.”
Angilly said he attended PSU intending to become a teacher, but has spent his career working in the criminal justice system helping people re-integrate into society, and of course – singing the national anthem at TD Garden for the Boston Bruins.
“How’s that for an indirect path?” Angilly asked.
“Over the past four years, our class has become incredibly unified,” said Gabriela Gondolfe of Billerica, Massachusetts, president, Class of 2023. “As we started our journey together, our freshman year, everything was new. Change was inevitable, but no one could prepare us for what was to come. We would become the first group to graduate that was affected by the COVID 19 pandemic all four years. Here we stand at the end of the road united on one stage.”
Kasey Arnold of Weare, New Hampshire, student body vice president, Class of 2023, added “It’s a beautiful thing to have something so special that makes it so hard to say goodbye. I think it’s important to remember why we stayed. I came here for the mountains and small-town vibes that remind me of my hometown. I stayed for the kindness, the support, the excitement, and the wild spirit of Plymouth State.”
The university awarded Peter Bauer, co-founder and CEO of Mimecast, a global internet security company, an honorary Doctor of Business degree during the undergraduate commencement ceremony.
Nearly 260 graduate students participated in a graduate commencement ceremony on the previous evening on Friday, May 12. City of Manchester Public Health Director Anna Thomas addressed masters and doctoral degree recipients at the ceremony.
Thomas was also presented with an honorary Doctor of Public Health degree for her service to the people of Manchester and to the state of New Hampshire as well as the leadership role she played through the pandemic. “Be perfectly imperfect,” Thomas said. “Let me be the first to break it to you that you are never going to be perfect. We are not created to do so. Over time, you will find that you learn much more about yourself when you fail rather than succeed. It’s what you do with that knowledge that will set you apart from the pack.”
