“This Little Light of Mine” — The 2011 Congregation
Perhaps the best part of being Dean is standing on the stage to congratulate our graduates as they wrap up their most recent educational journey. Someone who doesn’t understand the meaning of these events might imagine that shaking two thousand hands in eight different congregations (what some schools call “commencements”, “convocations” or simply “graduations”) might be some form of advanced drudgery. But for each of our congregations, I find it hard to wipe the smile off my face. This is a day that brings families together to mark a significant life cycle passage and to honour the transformations that have taken place in students lives and outlooks. It’s a day to thank the families for their sacrifices and also to celebrate the extraordinary fact of postsecondary education in the modern world, to be grateful for this mission and the opportunity to touch students’ lives. It’s a day of medieval pomp and ceremonial seriousness but also of improvisation and delightful accidents.
I take the few seconds afforded me with each student as they cross the stage to ask them a question or two. This is my chance not only to remind them that we appreciate the work and commitment of each and every one of them but also to take stock of the meaning of UBC and Arts to their lives and to sample the plans they have ahead, if any. And so I’ll commonly as about what’s next for them, or how they saw their years at UBC, or where they’re off to next, or really whatever I’m inspired to ask.
Let me share just a little very unscientific sample of their responses to “what’s next?” And what an amazing variety of responses there are to this. Some will put the question into the immediate present and respond with something like “a nap, and then rooting for the Canucks!” Many shrug their shoulders with a look of contentment and say, “Dunno” or “Whatever life holds” or even “unemployment”. Many have jobs already: accountant, bank receptionist and account reps, counselor, publicist, intern with an NGO, telecommunications in Afghanistan [!], work for StatsCan (I promised to get my census finished soon) and other government service and even the Liberal Party, and one will run a restaurant. Two that I talked to are preparing for the next Olympics (swimming and sailing) – good luck, we’re rooting for you! Some are starting businesses, such as one student opening up a yoga school, and others are looking for work. I talked to two that were going into flight school, two that were joining the RCMP, one who is training as a firefighter, and one becoming an air traffic controller (I asked him to go get some sleep and please stay awake).
A huge number of our students are off to travel, often for a whole year, with South America, Southeast Asia, China, India, and Europe (Switzerland, Italy, France, and Spain) as the most popular destinations. One student told me she’s off to sail around the Caribbean for a year. I have to say that I was often feeling equal amounts of pride and jealousy about these plans.
Perhaps a third of those I spoke with are looking at graduate school and second entry programs, either next year or the following year, and many are pursuing that abroad, although I think UBC seemed to be the favorite destination! A surprisingly large number of the Economics grads were headed to the London School of Economics). Law school was a favorite destination of the PoliSci grads, but also (surprising to me) of our Psychology grads. Students were determined to make films, to keep acting, to continue their social work, to be journalists, and as one put it, “do great things and travel the world.”
Honorary doctorate recipient Kenneth Lyotier, who founded the organization “United We Can” in Vancouver’s Lower East Side, shared lessons he had learned while searching bins for recyclable waste, including the importance of getting up early, digging deep, and sharing what you find. Singer, actor, and activist Leon Bibb, also an honorary doctorate, sang a lovely rendition of “This Little Light of Mine” in tribute to the graduates. I came out of each congregation more energized and inspired, and certainly renewed in my conviction of the importance of the work done here at UBC. My humble thanks to our students for this.