Under clear and sunny skies, the Holy Cross Class of 2009 was reminded that, over the last four years, their gifts of intellect and talent have been enhanced by the academic rigor of the curriculum and their own hard work.
Addressing the graduates, U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey, Jr., ’82, D-Pa., principal speaker at the College’s 163rd Commencement Exercises held on Fitton Field on the campus May 22, congratulated them on their achievements and urged them to incorporate service into their lives.
A total of 674 men and women were awarded bachelor of arts degrees before an estimated 6,000 people — family and friends of the graduates, Holy Cross faculty, administrators and staff, as well as honored guests such as Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, bishop of the Diocese of Worcester.
“Every graduate here today has the ability and opportunity to serve,” said Casey, who, like many Holy Cross graduates, entered the Jesuit Volunteer Corps after his commencement. He said teaching fifth grade and coaching eighth grade basketball in inner city Philadelphia had a profound impact on his life.
“All of us have an abiding obligation to serve,” he said. “We are summoned by the words from the New Testament, ‘To whom much has been given, much is expected.’ Whether it is service in the military or the ministry, public office or community service, volunteering to help the poor — whatever type of service you choose — please make a commitment and remain ever steadfast in fulfilling that commitment.”
In her valedictory address, Elizabeth Morse, a biology major with a concentration in biochemistry from Shelton, Conn., said that graduating from Holy Cross means answering a high calling.
“Regardless of the paths we choose, each of us will leave Mount St. James with both a gift and a calling. The gift is our education. The calling is one of faith. Armed with the skills of reason and open to the grace of revelation, we embark from this Hill called to be a sign of faith. Together, we are, quite literally, the sign of the Cross — of Holy Cross.”
In addition to delivering the commencement address, Casey received an honorary degree. Honorary degrees were also conferred on Rev. George V. Coyne, S.J., an astronomer who served as director of the Vatican Observatory (he was appointed by Pope John Paul II in 1978, retiring in 2006); Sister Maureen Fay O.P., Ph.D., former president of University of Detroit Mercy (1994-2004), the first non-Jesuit president of any Jesuit college or university in the country; Ogretta McNeil, Ph.D., a longtime Worcester civic leader who served as a member of the Holy Cross community for 27 years before retiring in 1997 and chaired the psychology department, helped develop the College’s African American Concentration, and led the earliest version of the ALANA program (for students of African-American, Latin American, Asian-American, and Native American heritage); and Bartlett Sher ’81, the Tony Award-winning director and artistic director of the Intiman Theatre in Seattle.
Related Information:
- Commencement 2009
- Video: Watch five outstanding members of the 2009 graduating class talk about their four years on Mount St. James
- Photo Gallery: President's Tent
