Commencement Remarks
May 20, 2012
by Geraldine Bond Laybourne’69, President, AAVC
I’m so happy to be here today.
Even as you leave your student life at Vassar—you leave those great meals at Deece; you leave behind the security team checking on your safety at 3am; you leave behind those late nights at the library—you leave being a part of Vassar.
Vassar is, indeed, forever.
The college has taught you to question everything. And, sometimes, in the real world, some folks may not always appreciate that or understand it. But know that there are more than 37,000 others out there that “get it” and “get” you. As of this moment, you join them as members of the Alumnae and Alumni of Vassar College (AAVC).
The AAVC has been around almost as long as the college has. The telephone hadn't even been invented when it began. Yet they were able to bring grads together in local clubs and back here on this gorgeous campus.
We’ve come a long way since that invention and we are building useful resources using every technology to connect with our Vassar community. Our newest community resource is the Hub at alums.vassar.edu. Check out the blogs of Vassar grads and read the stories about what they’re doing.
Whatever you do, participate. You are the digital natives; we will follow you. Teach us what to do. Keep us up to date. Use our Alumnae/i Directory to connect with mentors, tennis partners…and, yes, even funders.
I urge you to be a mentor yourself and to help to open the door for others once you get your foot in. I got my job at Nickelodeon because a Vassar grad 20 years older than I opened the door for me. She didn’t particularly know me. I don’t know what she saw in me. But she knew that my training as a contrarian thinker would be good for the creation of Nickelodeon.
I love Vassar, what it did for me, for my friends, what it is, and what it expects. Whenever anyone asks my nationality, I say 50% Norwegian and 50% Vassar! I hope you feel the same way. (Maybe not about the “Norwegian,” but…)
My relationship with the college never gets stale for me. It has always been defining and it is life long. I wish the very same for you.
So rest assured…your time at Vassar is not ending. You’re entering another chapter of your relationship with each other and with our college.
Welcome to AAVC! Please invent the future.