Matriculation 2025
Welcome, Class of 2029!
Today you officially become members of Boston University. This institution will challenge you in new ways, introduce you to new people and ideas, and further your understanding of what it means to be a citizen of our complex world. Welcome to this community, this family, this home.
I have enjoyed spending time with you this week during orientation and look forward to continuing to get to know you.
I remember my own first week of college. I arrived a few days late and it was a bit of a challenge. It just seemed as if everyone knew each other already.
One day, I was walking on campus, and a group of people were standing in a circle talking. Luckily, I saw a friend from home, Stephanie Anderson.
Phew, I went up to join the group and I was just about to push my way in when I realized that it was not Stephanie. In fact, I did not know any of them. It was so awkward, and I was very embarrassed. So, I quickly turned and walked away, hoping they had not seen me.
But then I stopped, and thought what is the worst that can happen? I took a deep breath, turned around, squeezed in and introduced myself. Guess what they said? They said, “hello nice to meet you.” To this day, my friend Charles laughs at me when I remind him how we met.
Yes, to this day. Because you have now entered a community of people, a family, a home, that you can be a part of all your life.
And that is what I want to talk to you about – what it means to be a part of the remarkable group of people who have called, and continue to call, Boston University their home.
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One of our most prominent community members, an alumnus of our Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in systematic theology, is Martin Luther King, Jr.
As I share Dr. King’s words with you, I invite you to imagine yourselves listening to him, during the early 1960s.
You find yourselves amid the turmoil of the Civil Rights movement, listening to the hopeful words of this great orator and champion for the poor and disenfranchised.
“We are everlasting debtors to known and unknown men and women,” says King, in his deep baritone.
“We are dependent on more than half of the world …” He goes on to describe the global origins of so many of foods we eat and items we use. Concluding… “Before we leave for our jobs, we are beholden to more than half the world.”
Now, come back to the moment where we are today – in Agganis Arena, 2025.
Look around you. At first, it might seem as if you’re in one uniform sea of scarlet.
But if you look a little closer, you’ll see so much more than that. In front of you is a rich, unique, diverse community of hundreds of people, who bring with them their own ideas and experiences, and whom you will come to know.
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When I said I was going to quote Dr. King, maybe you expected to hear from his “I Have a Dream” speech,” or his Letters from a Birmingham Jail.
Admittedly, the words I shared just now with you aren’t necessarily from one of Dr. King’s more famous sermons or letters.
I chose these words because they speak to who we are as a community. King lived before the advent of cell phones, the Internet, and globalization. Yet he is telling us to think of the people here and from around the world who contribute to the life you lead. We live interdependent lives. We are beholden.
Let me tell you a bit about who you are. You, the more than 3,400 members of the Class of 2029, were admitted from a pool of nearly 77,000 applicants.
You have come to BU from all over the world – the Class of 2029 represents 47 states, and 86 countries worldwide.
To our international students: We’re excited to have you here, and glad you’ve made it despite all the challenges you’ve faced.
One in five of you is the first member of your family to go to college. Many of you have transferred to this institution, and many of you have served in our military. To all of you, know that we have supports, resources, and wonderful people to help you navigate your journey here. I am so honored that you have chosen us.
Look around, these people will befriend you, support you, and help you become the person you will grow to be, and yes, many will do so throughout your life.
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Right now, you have had the campus to yourself, but soon you will be joined by the larger Boston University community. Boston University is a large global university, held together by its values. You will find we are a place of inclusion, service, empathy, compassion, and excellence.
Boston University’s founding president, William Fairfield Warren, who was officially named to the role in 1873, described entry into the university as a life membership in a society dedicated to realizing the highest known ideals in individual and social character and life and propagating these ideals from one generation to another.
Under his leadership, Boston University admitted students from all backgrounds, because he believed that higher education should be accessible to all, regardless of their identity.
Of course, the decision to hold fast to these values, which were unique for the day, meant that Warren faced backlash. Living a life guided by values means that you may zig while others zag.
It is Boston University’s enduring openness to all people that has resulted in some of our proudest accomplishments.
We claim as members of our community some of the great thinkers of our time. In addition to King, we can look to Elie Wiesel, or King’s mentor, Howard Thurman, people who also faced significant adversity, and yet went on to create positive change in the world.
This commitment to openness means that we have a commitment to and value each of you. In fact, we delight in the fact that you come from different countries, hold different political viewpoints, practice different religions, and express your identity in different ways. You are now part of this community. And we are better for your presence. We are beholden.
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As you branch out through your classes and extracurricular activities, stay in community. This year, we are launching a Common Read initiative, which I encourage you to take part in. It is intended to create a shared experience for incoming students while fostering discussion and exploration. Your class will be the first group to do so.
The book our University librarians chose for this initiative, which you can sign up to receive for free, is called Orbital, by Samantha Harvey. It follows six astronauts from around the world, and their experiences over a day in their lives aboard the International Space Station.
I remember that first week at college, I felt like I had left home, and while I was alone, I was with people with whom I shared goals and ambitions. But it was so different from my home, it was like landing in another space and time.
I think you will like this book, because it is a book about finding connections to other people in a world that is full of so much possibility, and at the same time, is marked by turmoil and change.
For many of you, it will be the first time living away from home and being with such a variety of people. To be part of this big and complex community requires developing the behaviors and habits of mind to treat one another with dignity, curiosity, and regard.
I know by now it feels almost cliché to speak about listening to one another and valuing people who are different than you. You are nice people so what is the problem?
As humans we value homophily, people who are similar to us. Further, we live in a world of algorithms that feed us information that confirms our existing beliefs and tastes. Thus, it is not always easy to have compassion, and care for and value those with whom you might disagree. Indeed, it is a skill that we must struggle to acquire.
Yet, I look to Howard Thurman, the mentor of King I mentioned, who was the first Black dean of Marsh Chapel. Thurman defined compassion as:
“…the awareness that where my life begins is where your life begins; the awareness that the sensitiveness to your needs cannot be separated from the sensitiveness to my needs; the awareness that the joys of my heart are never mine alone – nor are my sorrows.”
You can almost hear in his words, King’s words—beholden.
I love reading and quoting Thurman because so many of his insights were developed as he walked this campus and participated in the life of this campus. Thurman had such a profound effect on Boston University that his friend, the Dean of Sargent College, George McKechnie founded the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground after Thurman’s death. This center is a place where students can spend time alone or with one another and discuss, debate, or argue any topic. That is the legacy of Dr. Thurman; and that is who we are at Boston University.
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I insist on listening, debating, discourse, and free expression because these activities are the key to intellectual rigor, critical thinking, discovery, and lifelong learning. So few people now or in the course of human history have had the opportunity to develop their minds.
At Boston University, we are leaders in convergent research—in other words crossing disciplines to create new fields and solve societal problems. That can only happen if we are firm in our own discipline and have the courage to explore other’s ideas.
Our commitment to convergent research and knowledge has tremendous implications for each of you. It means that you have come to a place where faculty are curious and collaborative and interested in your ideas. You too will cross disciplinary boundaries via the BU Hub, the College of General Studies, doing research, studying abroad, and serving others.
Let me give you some advice—cross disciplines. You do not have to choose between arts and sciences, cross disciplines. You can be a musician and a neuroscientist, cross disciplines. We want you to study broadly and be true Renaissance people who enjoy the humanities, arts, and sciences. That is what Boston University is about.
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You are entering this institution at a time of great turmoil, change, and challenge in the world. The pandemic created shifts in our lives that we do not yet fully understand. Artificial Intelligence is reshaping industries, communities, the environment, and the way we understand and interact with the world. Universities face myriad challenges and there is too much discord in the world.
But within challenges also lie opportunities. It will be up to all of us, working together, to innovate during these times, to think of new ways to be stronger students and teachers, more effective scientists and investigators, and more compassionate citizens of the world. The skills and habits of mind to find Common Ground and treat one another with dignity are needed more than ever.
So, I will advise you to also develop your mind by crossing boundaries. Here I am talking about the way the mind and body interact in athletics or music; the way that one learns through serving others in the hospital or in the community; the way that we strengthen our minds through art or in nature. We are an urban and open campus. The campus is your city, and the city is your campus. We are a global institution, so study abroad. Cross disciplines and cross boundaries.
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So, if you take my advice: cross disciplines, cross boundaries, listen deeply, debate, question everything…guess what? Things will be really messed up for you.
Yes, I have given you a recipe for moments of embarrassment and episodes of failure. And that is OK. Risk, challenge, and failure are wonderful teachers-ask your colleagues who have served in the military, are athletes, musicians, international students, or the first in their families to attend college.
Learning and discovery are about trying, failing, and being persistent. You will not be alone. Listen and you will hear supportive voices of those whom you care for, and who care for you.
I tell you to take these risks, because on the other side, you become part of over 400,000 people worldwide who are alumni of this institution. You can take heart in knowing that countless other Terriers have faced adversity, and yet their values and their successes continue to ring out across our campuses. They will be beholden to you.
Class of 2029 – welcome to BU! I am so excited for you.
Today marks the beginning of an experience that will have a lasting impact on you, and on so many others. After matriculation, you will go your separate ways. But once a Terrier, always a Terrier.
I urge you to see the beauty and dignity in all people;
look to new ways to turn the challenges of our days into opportunities that shape us all.
And if someone comes up to you thinking you are their friend Stephanie, say “hello.”