B.U. Bridge is published by the Boston University Office of University Relations.

Contact Us

Staff

Extra! Extra!
Former Freep ed Swensek is student speaker

By David J. Craig

	Adam Swensek Photo by Kalman Zabarsky

As last year's managing editor of the Daily Free Press, Adam Swensek typically worked weekdays until 4 a.m., racing to meet the paper's deadline before catching a few hours of sleep and heading off to his 9 a.m. classes. In the wee hours of the morning, blurry-eyed, attending college sometimes seemed less a privilege, he says, than a "burden, bordering on the miserable."

But narrowly escaping a fire in March that destroyed his Brighton apartment and many of his belongings gave Swensek (COM'01) a fresh perspective on what's most important in life -- including the enduring value of the education he has paid for in countless grueling hours of hard work. That "ultimate lesson" with which Swensek leaves BU, he says, and the near-tragedy that helped crystallize it, will be the subject of his address as student speaker at May 20's Commencement exercises.

"BU confers upon its students intellectual and emotional development, which are things that a fire can't take away," he says. The New Orleans, La., native is the second person in his family to attend college. "I don't think college students, and I include myself among them, appreciate enough what they're getting," he says. "It's certainly hard to appreciate when you're up late at night with bloodshot eyes working on a paper. But an education makes a big difference down the road."

Swensek hopes his BU education will eventually lead to a career as a First Amendment lawyer. A journalism major with a 3.8 grade point average and minor concentrations in English literature and history, he appears to be on the right path to realize that goal. He is "an academic at heart," he says, but also craves work that has an immediate, tangible impact on public life.

"What I enjoyed most about reporting [for the Daily Free Press] was covering issues that had a real effect on life at BU and in the surrounding towns, such as the University's housing policies," says Swensek, who began writing for the student-run newspaper in his freshman year. "Even when writing a profile, I found it really gratifying to get complimented by a subject for doing a fair job. It felt great to be a part of the BU community in that way."

Swensek will spend this summer as he has the previous three -- teaching a class in oratory skills at Stanford University's National Forensic Institute. He also hopes to find time to get some deserved rest and indulge his passions, reading fiction and traveling. Then it's back to the Boston area, where he plans to get a job at a law firm and begin applying to law schools.

A former high school debate team member, Swensek certainly has the credentials to deliver this year's student Commencement address. "I'm not nervous, because I've done a lot of public speaking and I gave my high school graduation speech," he says. "Although I suppose being in front of so many people might be a little different. But I'm definitely excited about it, because it will be great for my parents to be able to see me do this." His father teaches drafting at a two-year vocational school in New Orleans, and his mother is a hospice nurse.

Earlier this semester, President Jon Westling invited the University's most academically accomplished students to submit a speech draft. Based on the submissions, a committee of faculty members and administrators determined that Swensek would receive the honor of speaking at Commencement.

11 May 2001
Boston University
Office of University Relations