(lighthearted piano music)
- [Announcer] Ladies and
gentlemen please rise
for the academic procession
and the Chancellor.
(spirited trumpet and piano music)
- I declare that the five
hundred and seventy first
Convocation of McMaster University
for the conferring of
degrees is now in session.
- Please be seated.
Good afternoon.
I'm Jeremiah Hurley.
Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences.
And this afternoon I
have the great pleasure
of welcoming all of you,
our graduands and guests,
to this Convocation Ceremony.
I would like to start by
recognizing and acknowledging
that we meet today on the
traditional territories
of the Mississauga and
Haudenosaunee nations
and within the land protected
by the Dish With One
Spoon Wampum Agreement.
As Dean let me emphasize
how proud we are of you,
our graduates, in all
of your accomplishments
over the last four years.
One of the most gratifying
aspects of being an educator
is to witness the
transformation that takes place
in students as they
advance in their studies,
gain the skills,
confidence, and experience
that will serve as a foundation
for lifelong learning.
McMaster prides itself on
being a research intensive,
student-centered university
consistently ranked
as one of the very best
universities in the world.
The Faculty of Social Sciences takes both
of those qualifiers, seriously.
As a student-centered university we have
an unwavering commitment to
excellence and innovation
in undergraduate education.
And this commitment manifests itself
in numerous ways throughout our programs.
And most recently it's
perhaps best exemplified
by the integration of
active learning principles
made possible by our new
active learning classrooms
in the L.R. Wilson Hall.
Many of you I'm sure
have had the experience
of taking a course in one of
those rooms this past year.
And these technologically
advanced classrooms
enable students active engagement
in learning through
problem-focused questions.
And such active learning
reflects our commitment
to the twin pillars of a
social sciences education
at McMaster; understanding and engagement.
On the one hand, we have
striven to provide you
with the concepts, ideas, frameworks,
and skills needed to
understand key challenges
in Canadian society and
indeed our global community.
And so many of these
challenges, immigration,
the role of religion in
society, political divisiveness,
economic inequality,
environmental degradation
are at root, social problems,
best understood through the
lens of the social sciences.
But being able to analyze such problems
to gain greater insight and
understanding is not enough.
You must also be equipped
to engage with others,
from your families and friends
to international actors,
to bring about desired change
that truly advances societal well-being.
And such genuine engagement
then leads to greater
insight and understanding.
Hence, the mutually enforcing
pillars of understanding,
engagement as a foundation of
a social sciences education.
And we hope that your
learning opportunities
over the last four years,
combined with all your
extracurricular activities
and engagement with other
students in the communities
have created an exceptional
student experience for you
and given you the full set
of skills you'll need both
in your professional life
and to make you the kind
of engaged citizens that
foster a vibrant society
dedicated to the well-being
of all of our communities.
And at this time, I would
like to take the opportunity
to acknowledge some of the
notable leaders joining me
on stage today:
Dr. Suzanne Labarge, Chancellor.
Dr. Patrick Deane, President
and Vice-Chancellor.
Dr. David Wilkinson, Provost,
Vice President Academic,
and today's Master of Ceremonies.
Ms. Mary Williams, Vice
President University Advancement,
and associate and assistant
deans, chairs, directors,
faculty members, and other honored guests.
Before we start our formal program,
may I first ask everyone in the hall
to switch off any electronic device
that may ring or beep during the ceremony.
And I would now like to
call upon the Chancellor,
Dr. Suzanne Labarge, to make
her own welcoming remarks.
Thank you.
(clapping)
- Welcome honored guests, staff, faculty,
families, friends, and most
importantly, graduates.
This is an exciting day for all of you
who are graduating today,
as well as for all those
people who have supported you
and stood behind you and in many cases,
have had a key role in
you being here today.
You have achieved a great deal to get here
and you should all be
very proud of your success
and looking forward to what
the future might bring.
Congratulations and enjoy the ceremony.
(clapping)
- I am Dr. David Wilkinson, Provost
and Vice President
Academic of the university.
I have the great pleasure this afternoon
of being your Master of Ceremonies.
I would first like to
welcome Dr. Patrick Deane,
President and
Vice-Chancellor to the podium
who will be presenting our
honorary degree recipients.
(clapping)
- Madam Chancellor, by the authority
of the Senate of McMaster University
I have the honor to present
Joseph S. Mancinelli.
(clapping)
For 18 years Joseph Mancinelli
has been the International Vice President
and Regional Manager for
Central and Eastern Canada
for the Laborers International
Union of North America
or LiUNA.
He is also Chair of the
Laborers Pension Fund of Central
and Eastern Canada, President of the LiUNA
Ontario District Council,
Chair of the Laborers Central
and Eastern Canada Organizing Fund
and a Trustee of the LiUNA tri funds
that support members in health, safety,
education, and training.
Mr. Mancinelli is a longtime
LiUNA member who has served
in a variety of senior
roles with the organization,
including President of LiUNA Local 837.
During his tenure, LiUNA
has grown and diversified.
Mr. Mancinelli is now President
of both LiUNA Group Limited,
which manages properties
such as LiUNA Gardens
and LiUNA Station, and of LiUNA
Local 837 Health Property,
Hamilton Corporation,
which owns two long-term care facilities.
Beyond building LiUNA, Mr.
Mancinelli has dedicated himself
to building communities as well.
He is a passionate supporter
of St. Joseph's Mental Health Services.
He served on the Board of
Hamilton Health Sciences
for a decade, and was Chair
of the Bay Area Health Trust.
He has been a volunteer
and donor for a long list
of important causes including;
Down syndrome research,
waters in Canada, and the United Way.
He raised funds for post-earthquake Haiti.
Co-Chaired the Abruzzo
Earthquake Relief Funds
in Hamilton and Toronto,
and established the LiUNA
Aboriginal Affairs Committee.
He also started a scholarship program
for the children of LiUNA members,
supports McMaster's Labor Studies Program,
and helped establish at McMaster
the Enrico Mancinelli Professorship
in Global Labor Issues,
and the Chair in Heavy Construction
in the Faculty of Engineering.
When Hamilton's downtown renaissance
seemed perpetually just out of reach,
Mr. Mancinelli and LiUNA stepped in
with transformative commitments,
including the refurbishment
of the former James Street
North Train Station,
the successful restoration
of the iconic Lister Block,
and the redevelopment
of the historic William Thomas Building.
These efforts have earned
The David Crombie Award
and the Brownie Award from
the Canadian Urban Institute,
the Excellence in Urban
Design and Architecture Award
and the Heritage Canada
Foundation Achievement Award.
Mr. Mancinelli, whose education
includes a Certificate
in Labor Studies from McMaster
and studies towards a
degree in fine art as well,
is a talented artist who has also been
involved with numerous
local arts organizations,
including the Hamilton
Philharmonic Orchestra
and the Hamilton Arts
and Heritage Council.
Named one of the 10
most influential people
in Hamilton by urbanicity magazine,
Mr. Mancinelli has received
the Business Excellence Award
from the Canadian and Italian business
and Professional Association,
the Italian Heritage Award
of Distinction from Fesitalia
and a Star on the Italian Walk of Fame
in Toronto's Little Italy.
He has also received the
Mohawk College Award of Merit,
the Italian Canadian
Citizen of the Year Award,
the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce Award,
the AFM Corporate Challenge
Partnership Award,
and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal.
Today, Madam Chancellor I
present Joseph Mancinelli to you,
so that you may add a
new accolade to that list
by conferring upon him
the degree Doctor of Laws honoris causa.
(clapping)
- [Chancellor] You've
got to face me first.
Joseph Mancinelli, by the authority
of McMaster University Senate
I have the great pleasure
to confer upon you the degree
Doctor of Laws honoris causa
in McMaster University with all the rights
and privileges pertaining to that degree.
Congratulations.
- Thank you very much, thank you.
- [Chancellor] Can I get you to sign here?
I would now like to invite Dr. Mancinelli
to deliver the Convocation Address.
- Thank you Madame
Chancellor Susanne Labarge,
President and Vice-Chancellor
Patrick Deane,
university faculty,
honored guests, graduands,
and family and friends.
Let me begin by thanking
McMaster University
for this honorary degree.
This is a very special and
significant honor for me
and my family in receiving such an honor
from such a prestigious, extraordinary,
and exceptional university.
I was born here in Hamilton
and have witnessed firsthand
the substantial contribution
that McMaster University
has given this community,
our country, and of course the world.
I want to congratulate our graduands
for achieving this significant milestone,
an important measure of success.
Your hard work graduands,
has brought you to this
key juncture in your lives.
I didn't study very hard
when I was in school.
I skipped out of Dr. Peter
George's economic class
and spent more time at the
pub, the downstairs John.
And I'm sure that this graduating class
doesn't even know where the pub is.
I want to also take this opportunity
to congratulate your parents
who have contributed so much
to your growth and to your success.
Let's hear it for the parents.
(clapping)
It is so special to see the satisfaction
and the pride in their eyes
as they see you graduate
from McMaster University.
I have five children;
three that have graduated
from university and college,
and the youngest that is graduating
from university next year.
Every time one of my kids graduates,
I get a sense of satisfaction.
I get quite a sense of
pride and I have to tell you
that my bank account is
actually quite happy as well.
(audience laughing)
We measure success in
so many different ways.
Clearly today is an obvious
measure of success for you,
and also for me.
In time, as you begin this
adventure called life,
you will have numerous successes,
and you will of course
have numerous failures.
Don't be afraid to take chances
and don't be afraid to fail.
I want to quote Michael
Jordan who says and I quote,
"I've missed more than
9,000 shots in my career.
"I've lost more than 300 games.
"I've failed over and over again,
"and that's why I succeed."
I have learned more from my mistakes
than I have from my successes.
My greatest success ladies and
gentlemen is that of family;
my parents, and my mother Rosa
that is here today who is 84,
my wife Enza that I've
been married for 32 years,
and my five children, and my
two wonderful grandchildren,
my two sisters and their
wonderful families.
One of my most meaningful challenges
has been raising my fourth child who has,
who is very special and has Down syndrome.
His ability to exceed is very
different from you and I.
His ability to brighten the darkest days
or conquer a simple
challenge or a task that you
and I take for granted
is one of his most marvelous successes.
Today is also very special for me
because my father Enrico
Mancinelli back in 2002
received an honorary Doctorate
from McMaster University as well.
Who would have thought,
fifty years ago or beyond,
that a labor leader could
or would receive such an honor.
The world is changing rapidly
and it's moving at an incredible pace.
When I was a child my parents
would not buy anything
that said made in Japan,
because they said it was
a sign of cheap quality.
Only a few short years
later the paradigm shift
and made in Japan, became
a symbol of quality.
One day at a time organizations like LiUNA
are changing the outdated perceptions
of who trade unions are.
More so here in Canada
than the United States,
we are investing in education,
investing in human capital,
and investing in our communities.
However, so much more needs to be done.
Canada is by far one of the
greatest countries in the world.
However, we have blemishes.
The residential schools
and suppression of culture
of our indigenous people has
left a blemish on our history.
A measure of our success will
be what we do as a nation
to correct and learn from these mistakes
and create a new future for Canada.
Last Thursday in Vancouver
BC, LiUNA signed an accord
with the Assembly of First Nations
adopting the United Nations
recommendations and committed
to work together on education
and training of indigenous youth.
As another example, I had the good fortune
of getting involved with a
Breakfast Club of Canada.
This is an organization
that feeds millions
of Canadian children who are at the risk
of going to school hungry.
In Ontario alone, the Breakfast
Club has fed 1.6 million
breakfasts to children at school.
Recently at a commencement ceremony
comedian and actor Will Ferrell
told the graduands that,
and I quote,
"My generation is leaving the world
"in a perfect shape,
so don't screw it up."
I wish this was true.
Unfortunately however, my
generation is leaving you
with some major challenges;
unemployment, pollution,
a leadership void in
the south of our border,
global instability.
The graduands here today,
you are the future of Canada
and you are the future of our world.
You will also measure your
success on your commitment
and ability to shape our communities
in a new and positive way.
Robert Kennedy once said,
"Only those who dare to fail greatly
"can ever achieve greatly."
My dear graduands, McMaster University
has prepared you for common sense,
to think and to learn from history,
and to repair the mistakes of our past.
I am a product of so many
people making me look good.
Remember, that in life you can't succeed
without the help of others.
In 30 years from now many
of you will not remember
who made the commencement
speech at this ceremony.
You'll remember that
it was a labor leader,
a diminutive guy with
an Italian last name.
But in fact, some of
you will probably forget
in the next 30 minutes.
However, I hope you
remember my closing remarks.
As you leave here today,
don't give up on your dreams.
Do what you love the most
and you'll feel like you
won't work a day in your life.
Courage.
Have courage to take risks in life
and yes, failures are
a part of the process.
But don't be too hard on yourself,
because life is definitely too short.
Remember to follow what your gut tells you
and follow your instincts.
But most importantly, follow your heart.
Thank you.
(clapping)
- Thank you very much Dr. Mancinelli
for those wonderful comments.
Having an honorary
degree recipient is part
of our convocation ceremony
and there's a reason for it.
We choose people of different backgrounds,
but all have one thing in common.
They have done unusual
things with their lives.
They have accomplished great
things coming from a range.
I mean we've had scientists.
We've had actors.
We've had labor leaders, two
of them obviously at least.
But in each case, what they've done
is reach beyond where they came from.
They've seen the needs of
society and responded to them
And I think it's important to
hear what they have to say.
Understand that to get somewhere in life
you've gotta go broader.
You've gotta think of the
society you're contributing to.
And I think Dr. Mancinelli
is a great example
of that and we are delighted to have him
as part of the McMaster family.
(clapping)
- Dr. Patrick Deane will now come forward
to present the graduands to our
Chancellor for admission to their degrees.
- Will the graduates please stand.
Madame Chancellor on behalf
of McMaster University Senate
I present to you these candidates
in order that you may confer
the appropriate degrees upon them.
And I bear witness that they
are worthy and suitable.
May I also request that you
confer the appropriate degrees
in absentia upon all those candidates
who have successfully
completed the required course
of study, but who are not present.
- Graduands by my authority
and that of the McMaster University Senate
I have the great pleasure to
admit those before me today
and those in absentia to
their individual degrees
in McMaster University
with all of the rights
and privileges pertaining
to those degrees.
My sincere congratulations to you all.
(clapping)
Please be seated.
- Graduates, I now ask each
of you to join me on stage
so that the Chancellor
and I may welcome you
to the McMaster community of scholars.
(pensive piano music)
- [Tony] Ladies and gentlemen
so that each graduates name
may be heard, it would be appreciated
if during the presentation
of the graduands
you would hold your collective applause
to the end of each degree category.
Thank you.
Madam Chancellor, may I present to you
the following graduates of the
degree Doctor of Philosophy:
Rebecca Jeanne Gilmour
Robert James Stark
Lauren Wallace
Bradley Brian Minaker
Danielle Blab
(clapping)
Madame Chancellor may I present to you
the following graduates of
the degree Master of Arts:
Saadia Hussein
Dania Assi
Juan David Rios
(clapping)
- [George] Madam Chancellor
may I present to you
the following graduates
of the degree Bachelor of Arts Honors:
Thomas Agius
Werdah Aiman
Marwa Al Homsi
Jenna Al-Momani
Azra Alagic
Sarah Alizerig
Megan Alves
James Ankers
Savinda Athuluwage
Simon Audisho
Mohamed Bakri
Kylie Shaida Banki
Sean Mark William Banting
Matthew David Bendia
Connor Neil Blakeborough
Natalie Rose Bodner
Rhona Boney
Amy Michele Bonk
Anna Maria Bukowiec
Miguel Bulawan
Ziao Cao
Bonnie Cheng
Jacob Deni Chiaravalle
Leonard Logan Churchill
Julian Matthew Colaprete
Jordan Gregory Cole
Rebecca Madison Collings
Brian Donald Connor
Jenna Lynn Courage
Danielle Marie Crecca
Timothy Daly
Rustom Daroga
Jamie Brett Day
Kelly Rianne Day
Kyle Benjamin MacCready Di Trani
Marco Luigi Di Tullio
Meaghan Kristen Disher-Byles
Kimberley Mercedes Doornick
Madeline Dorotea
Jordan Ashley Dosser
Kyle Christopher Edwards
Hana Faidi
(audience member yelling)
Mackenzie Fielding
Robert Anthony Flynn
(audience yelling)
Jackson James Gahagan
Victoria Lynn Galea
(audience yelling)
Patrisha Nicole Georgakopoulos
Martine Ghazouli
Harnoor Kaur Gill
Jogeshwar Gill
Melanie Ann Gray
Robert Bernard Gray
Linnea Laura Gremmen
Jessica Guarnieri
Monique Gujadhur
(audience yelling)
Elaine Xiaoyu Guo
Mikael Hailu
Jack Harold
Christopher Harrison
Haris Hassan
Katrina Maria Hembruff
Binar Hemed
Renito Renaldo Hinds
Flynn Patrick Hobson
Brendan Holmes
Vanessa Joelle Jarusauskas
Huda Jbarah
Emily Barbra Jean Johnston
Andrew Kaasalainen
Nicole Karabogdan
Alexander Karpenko
Abbie Kingston
Isabel Krysa
Mahisha Kumaran
Christian Alexander Kuziora
Noah Dane Lafleur
Hyo Keon Lee
Stanley Hok-Yan Liu
Christian John Lupo
Kevin Luu
Samantha Lee Macdonald
Anita Dayanara Macias
(audience yelling)
Shane Madill
Kian Malekanian
Jordan Manning
(audience yelling)
Mark Mansour
Carly Paige Markham
Tia Annastazia Lee Marshall
Shawnee Matinnia
Courtney Belinda McIntee
Taylor Maria Mickleboro
Brynn Nicole Millar
Julia Alexandra Anne Miller
(audience yelling)
Shannon Marie Miller
Allyson Hayley Mindle
Brandon Cecil Mirrlees
(audience yelling)
Rachael Moltner
Akingboye Morakiny
(audience yelling)
Krystina Joanne Mostert
Marco Mussato
Harneet Nagra
Nirman Nat
Aafreen Elizabeth Newton
Gabriela Maria Niemczyk
Daymon Benjamin Oliveros
Tofiyinfun Mosunmola Onabolu
(audience yelling)
Durrant Pate
Siyamson Pathmanathan
(audience yelling)
Luke Douglas Petrie
Christopher Michael Pezzetta
Emily Marie Pokocky
Maria Andreea Predoiu
Lauren Pearl Pritchard
(audience yelling)
Timour Prokopiev
Jiabei Qian
Paniz Rahdari
(audience yelling)
Stavany Rajeswaran
Hilary Rathbone
Nabeela Rawj
Kate Jessica Redfern
Joshua Michael Riley
Sara Emely Rodriguez
Kevin Siliane Rodríguez Ramírez
(audience yelling)
Chloe Rondeau
(audience yelling)
Ashley Veena Rooplal
(audience yelling)
Lawen Salah Razzagh
Sharloth Helena Salzer
Kevin Camargo Sartorio
Andrea Hendriks Segovia
Gajan Selvananthan
(audience yelling)
Savannah Lisa Sewell
(audience yelling)
JieQiong Shan
Yijing Shao
Annu Sharma
Diana Simonetti
(audience yelling)
Mark Samuel Solanki
(audience yelling)
Tara Danielle Speers
Hillary Anne Stearns
Serena Rosanna Stewart
Victoria Tait
Chokiu Tang
Natalie Thirakul
Siu Hung To
Kathleen Travale
Paula Christianton Turner
(audience yelling)
Silken Leigh Walsh
Chenjiayu Wang
(audience yelling)
Kevin Nicholas Wardrop
Julia Hannah Wells
Michael George Westlake
Leanne Michelle Winkels
You Wu
Henok Yeshanew
(audience yelling)
Evelyn Yun
Zanib Zafar
(audience yelling)
Salim Kharoubi Zanzana
Jasmine Zarour
(audience yelling)
(clapping)
Madame Chancellor my present to you
the following graduates of
the degree Bachelor of Arts:
Agnes Beata Abraham
Mahmoud Al-Awawdeh
(audience yelling)
Matthew Alves
Kingsley Amankwaa
(audience yelling)
Mary Amanoueel
Justus Chi-Yan Au
Su Di Bai
(audience yelling)
Andrea Bernal
Madison Michelle Biancucci
Emily Boyce
(audience yelling)
Alexander James Brennan
Emily Kate Brown
Rachael Lindsay Chatterpaul
(audience yelling)
Henry Chau
Johnathan Clapperton
Paul Di Saverio
Alysha Dossa
Olajide Oluwaseun Egbewumi
(audience yelling)
Sara Faruqui
Olivia Fleites Sosa
(audience yelling)
Matthew Mark Gambioli
Samara Danielle Goldberg
Shaquille Gordon
Paula Hernandez
Benjamin Paul Hicks
Yuting Hou
Agnes Gunhee Ko
Matthew Kenneth Kumar
Antony Kwok
Jong Soo Lee
Yishen Lu
Pak Lun Marco Lui
Spencer Alexander Luis
David Lawrence Macaulay
Rylie Kendahl McCulloch-Casarsa
Taylor Anne Miller
Dennis Mindreci
Zishan Mohiuddin
Nicole Anne Molinaro
Vijyantie Nagappa
Andy Tien Nguyen
David Opare
Stephen Pasitkammanh
(audience yelling)
Mohammad Waleed Rabbani
Dakota Travis Hughes Stevenson
Nicholas Paul Stewart
Di Sun
Fahd Salahuddin Syed
Leah Chantal Tavares-Finson
Victoria Maria Tomassetti
Lynda Trudell
James Robert John Van Velzer
Vincent Wang
(audience yelling)
Yibing Yu
Adiqa Zahoor
Yanwei Zhang
(audience yelling)
Chuqiao Zhao
(clapping)
- So please join me in one
more round of applause for all
of the newest graduates
of the class of 2017.
(audience clapping and cheering)
- Ladies and gentlemen, I would now like
to introduce Mr. Tim Daly a graduate
of the degree Bachelor of Arts Honors
for the Political Science program
who will be delivering
the valedictory address.
(audience cheering and clapping)
- Hi.
Good afternoon Dr. Suzanne Labarge,
Chancellor of McMaster University,
Dr. Patrick Deane, President
and Vice-Chancellor
and Dr. David Wilkinson, Provost,
ladies and gentlemen, faculty and staff.
My name is Tim Daly.
It is with my great
honor to stand before you
on this beautiful day to
represent the class of 2017
at this year's Social
Scientists Spring Convocation.
I'd like to start off
by thanking all the family
members gathered here today.
Let's face it, many of us
wouldn't be here without the love
and support you so graciously offered.
It all started with you.
You taught us our ABCs.
You nurtured our love of reading
with all those bedtime stories.
You helped us with our
math, well like you tried.
(audience laughing)
You've been there for us in
so many ways big and small.
I want to thank all the
teachers who inspired us
to think, question, and
to be our best selves.
In my case specifically I
want to give a special thanks
to Dr. Greg Flynn and Dr. Todd Alway.
(cheering and clapping)
Your classes introduced us
to new subjects and ideas.
Your enthusiasm was infectious.
You're always there for
sound guidance and advice.
To my fellow peers within
faculty of Social Sciences,
we did it.
Over our years at McMaster
we've learned so much.
We've learned about politics, the economy,
learning things about society,
and different cultures,
health care, and different
religious doctrines.
But not only this, McMaster
taught us more than just
an education we learned
valuable life skills;
like it's okay to have a can
of coke at any time in the day.
(audience laughing)
We made it through all the 8:30 classes.
Parents, trust me, it's
harder than it sounds.
We learned that late-night lava
pizza is its own food group
in and of itself and we survived Centro.
Through this we all pulled up our sleeves
and rose to the challenge.
We showed determination,
resilience, grit and tenacity.
When I reflect upon our time at McMaster,
I'm simply amazed at all we have achieved.
Words cannot describe how
proud we should all be.
I have to ask myself, how
did we manage to do it?
This is no small feat and
we should all be proud.
It's hard to believe our
student careers here at McMaster
are coming to a close.
It doesn't seem like that long
ago when we first arrived.
I remember vividly my
first days at McMaster.
I personally come from a
small town called Alliston
where my family has
farmed for generations.
People in Alliston mostly know each other.
It was a great place to grow up.
I felt sheltered and well looked after.
I was the first person in my family
to head off to university.
On that fateful day our car pulled up
to 1280 Main Street West and
made its way to Whidden Hall.
I don't mind to admit that
I was nervous and anxious.
Feeling overwhelmed.
I was wondering whether
I'd made the right decision
and whether I could stick
it out in university.
I felt totally unprepared and was ready
to turn back to good ol' Alliston.
The next thing I know, our
car was surrounded by a sea
of people in brightly dressed
blue jumpsuits screaming
and shouting like crazy.
When I got over the
initial shock it hit me
that they were actually saying something.
They were chanting: One of us.
Never in my life have I
ever felt so welcomed.
All of my anxiety disappeared.
Boosted by the incredibly warm reception,
I felt ready to move forward
and start a new chapter
in my life and I haven't
looked back since.
I've grown up at McMaster.
It's as simple as that.
I think we all have.
McMaster has given us the space to do so.
It embraced us and became our second home.
It gave us opportunities
to spread our wings
and put ourselves out there.
We were able to join clubs,
participate in the activities
of every kind and meet others
with different backgrounds
and perspectives.
It gave us a chance to discover strengths
in ourselves we didn't even know.
Never in my mind did I
think I would ever be
the President of the Social
Science Student Society
or that one day I would be
one of those crazy students
in a blue jumpsuit screaming and shouting.
So here we are about
to face the real world.
No more Saturday morning cartoons,
it's time to sit at the big table
and just like that
first day of university,
it's a little scary or maybe it's a lot.
But it's okay.
We've learned at our time at McMaster
that we can stick it out.
We'll fail, we'll stumble and we'll fall.
But we know if we put
ourselves back out there
and give it our all we'll make it.
With our social science degrees
we also have something
else going on for us.
It gave us something
that will never show up
on a transcript report.
Whether we've majored in Anthro
or Political Science or Economics
or whatever we have had the
privilege over our time here
at McMaster to explore,
the really important questions in life.
Questions about who we are as
a society and we aspire to be.
We have looked at our rights as a citizen
and our responsibilities and how
to make a just and equitable society.
We might not have all the answers,
but we know the right questions
and that's just as important.
As social science students,
we have the privilege
and opportunity to
study the world as it is
and where it is headed.
We study people
and why they make the
decisions that they do.
We came into this school as kids
and leave it as a generation of adults
in a world that needs change.
As we move forward into our lives
we should not forget our time at McMaster.
Let's advocate for the changes
we want to see in the world.
We can be that change.
As for me I'm hoping to
get into environmental law
which may strike you as a far
away from my farming roots.
But the way I look at it,
is I'm continuing my family's
legacy of sticking close
to the land and protecting it.
I see that as a way of honoring my parents
who worked so hard day and
night to give me a chance
to get an education at one
of the top schools in Canada.
In my last few remaining weeks at McMaster
I had an existential crisis.
I kept wondering,
would this be my last
exam in the daunting IWC?
Would this be my last regretful
decision on Thursday night
at 12:80 before the also
dreaded Friday class?
Would this be my last lecture
in the seemingly always
overcrowded Togo Salmon Hall 120?
What I learned from
this was not to be upset
because a chapter in lives had finished,
but rather smile because it happened.
McMaster taught us to live in the moment
and that life is no dress rehearsal,
to get off our phones and jump right in.
Just because we will be out of school,
it does not mean we have to stop learning.
Be students of life and pursue
knowledge, continue to grow.
We are a group of a very selected few
who has been lucky enough to be granted
with a great education from one
of the top institutions in Canada.
Go ahead and use it.
If there's anything we as a
group should get out of today,
it is that our journey does not stop here,
but merely begins.
Yes, I am nervous and I
expect those of you sitting
in front of me are too.
I'm scared to go into this big world,
to not live up to expectations.
I'm scared to let those
who are close to me down.
I'm scared to fail.
But McMaster has
comforted me in this fear.
It's taught me that it's
okay to make mistakes.
I'll learn from them.
It's okay to get knocked
down, but get back up again.
It has a way to bring us
away from what we fear,
unless of course that fear is essays.
(audience chuckling)
I will not forget what
I learned here at Mac.
We are not alone.
We have all of us.
We have our friends, our
family and our faculty.
Okay (chuckling).
(audience clapping and cheering)
Awesome.
- Thank you very much Tim.
May I now call upon our
president Dr. Patrick Deane
who will present the
President's Award of Excellence
in student leadership.
- It's a slightly unusual situation today,
the 2017 recipient
of the President's Award of
Excellence in student leadership
was suddenly unable to be with us today
because of health reasons.
But the recipient is someone
many of you will know very well.
And you will know this
person as an individual
who has enough enthusiasm
for all of us for good works
and to make change in the world.
And the recipient is Adam Chiavarelle.
Adam is a new McMaster grad, please.
(clapping)
I'm going to read the citation
because it's my hope
that Adam is watching the ceremony online.
Adam Chiavarelle is a
new McMaster graduate
from the Honors Political Science Program
with a minor in sustainability
and his contributions
to the McMaster community
reflect both those facets
of his academic program.
Such as when he resurrected
the dormant McMaster Young Greens Club,
the student arm of the Green Party
and became club President.
Adam helped found and served as the lead
for the Community Garden
Project at McMaster
and in Hamilton's Stinson neighborhood.
He also founded a local
food Discount Card program
that distributed more
than 2,000 discount cards
to encourage local and campus stores
and restaurants to offer locally grown
and sustainable food options.
Adam was one of the
leaders who brought back
the Food for Thought
Cooking Classes to McMaster.
And he also worked with
the local food committee
to implement stronger local
food policies on campus.
Adam even took his advocacy
to the corporate level
as the lead of a project to
enhance local food options
in major community grocery stores.
And those of you who know Adam
will know he is very
difficult to say no to.
Adam has been a mentor for
third year sustainability class
and served as the Education
and Advocacy Coordinator
for Mac Farm Stand making
an impressive contribution
to the club which was named the winner
of the MSU Spirit Award.
In addition to his significant commitment
of time and energy,
Adam has also made financial
commitments to Mac Farm Stand,
donating his three thousand
dollar prize as the winner
of McMaster's Ryan Clark
advocacy Competition
to the university to help the Farm Stand
secure permanent space on Campus.
Our congratulations go to Adam.
(clapping)
- I am pleased add my own congratulations
to Adam on his outstanding achievements
in achieving this award.
May I now introduce Mr. Don Bridgman,
President of the McMaster
Alumni Association
who will deliver the
Alumni Association address.
- Chancellor Labarge, President Dean,
McMaster faculty, fellow
alumni, honored guests,
and especially members of
the McMaster class of 2017.
The first time we did this
it was a 123 years ago
and there were only 16 of you.
The events of Commencement,
as Convocation was then known,
were a little different
than today's ceremony.
In 1894, McMaster's first
Convocation included a Sermon,
the reading of graduate theses,
yes, they read them word
for word aloud all of them,
and conferring of 60 honorary degrees.
The black graduation gowns
back then were made of Alpaca
and lined with white
satinet for the arts grads
and lavender for the
graduates of theology.
One of the graduates on
that day wearing alpaca
was a young woman named Elizabeth Wells.
She later published a description
of the ceremony in Canadian Magazine.
And in that article,
she wrote of McMaster's first Convocation,
"The enthusiasm shown by
the students who sat massed
"in the body of the large
assembly showed plainly
"that they were filled with the spirit
"of loyalty to their University."
I'm not sure if 16 people in
alpaca gowns counts as a mass,
but the feeling of enthusiasm and pride
were likely very valid observations.
I hope you have similar feelings today.
I know I did when I graduated.
Today our university is very different
from the McMaster Elizabeth
Wells knew 123 years ago.
And our institutional history
and credentials are far more robust.
Today I hope that your McMaster
has earned your enthusiasm
and loyalty through it's
service, excellence,
leadership, and accomplishment,
just as you've worked hard
to earn our pride in you
and our loyalty to you
as you become the newest members
of the McMaster alumni family.
The McMaster Alumni Association's goal is
to take your connection to McMaster
beyond the feelings
that are so strong today
and help make it into a lifelong
connection of substance.
In your lives as alumni,
the Association will work
to keep you connected.
You will receive our Alumni
Magazine, the McMaster Times,
the e-newsletter Maroon
Mail, and you can be part
of the association's digital communities.
As our most recent grads,
you can participate in Mac10
a program designed for
you featuring events,
career assistance, and
mentoring opportunities.
Take a few moments after the ceremony
to complete our: How Maroon are You quiz
noted on the card you
found on your seat today
to have a little fun reflecting
on your time at McMaster.
It will also lead you
to our alumni website
where you can learn
about what being a member
of the Alumni Association can do for you.
So to the class of 2017,
I offer my most sincere congratulations
on your academic achievements
and accomplishments
and on your graduation.
You should be extremely proud
of your accomplishments.
I certainly am.
Congratulations and welcome.
(clapping)
- Thank You Don.
May I invite Dr. Deane back to the podium
to deliver his President's address.
- Madam Chancellor honored
guests distinguished colleagues,
ladies and gentlemen, graduates,
it's one of the great
privileges of my position
that I do have this
opportunity to say a few words
to our graduates before
they leave the university
and move on to the next
phase of their lives.
And I thought I would make
some reflections about
that transition and about the future.
And as you will hear as I progress,
it's clear that Dr. Mancinelli
and I have been thinking
along similar lines.
Although I will acknowledge
that there was no collusion
on the subject matter here.
So an occasion of great
interest to social sciences
and social scientists in our country
was the recent restoration
of the mandatory long-form census.
You all remember this,
approximately 18 months
ago after some years
without the mandatory long-form census.
At the time the restoration was announced
the Minister of Innovation
Science and Economic Development,
the Honorable Navdeep Bains
asserted that Canadians were,
and this is a quote from him,
"Reclaiming their right to accurate
"and reliable information on the basis
"of which they would be
able to make sound decisions
"about their personal futures
"and about the national future."
Then last August,
with the 2016 census
of population complete,
the nation's chief
statistician Wayne Smith
pronounced it the best census ever
with an overall response rate of 98.4%.
Then a few weeks ago at the start of May,
Statistics Canada released a second series
of data derived from the
census this time bearing
on the age and sex of
the Canadian population.
And the report made big news.
The reason it made big news
was what the 2016 census had revealed,
namely that Canada has
in the last few years
undergone a very significant
generational shift.
Here's a quote from the report,
"as a result of the rapid increase
"in the number of people 65 years of age
"and older since 2011,
"2016 marked the first time
that the census enumerated
"more seniors at 5.9 million
"than children 14 years of age
and younger at 5.8 million."
Well what does this mean?
One thing it tells us is
that the Canadian population is aging,
not that we didn't already
know that in some crude sense.
But the census story is all
about changing proportions
in the population.
For the first time since
Confederation in 1867.
the senior's share of the population
now exceeds the children's share.
And the group in between,
the group into which most
of our graduates today would fall,
that is those aged 15 to 64 is shrinking
as a proportion of the total population.
I know I have a right to
this kind of information,
but to be frank I never quite
know what to do with it.
The StatsCan report tells me
that such knowledge quote,
"Will be especially helpful
for adapting social programs
"for children, adults, and seniors
"to the new demographic reality."
But I wonder about that.
Undoubtedly it will help
us identify and understand
that new demographic reality,
but what it will mean to adapt to it
is a question much more than statistical.
Implicit in the phrase
demographic reality,
is an assumption that certain consequences
must inevitably flow from the shift.
For example, that funding for
health and social programs
will now move proportionately
to favor the aging
and the elderly even as
the working population
that must pay for those
programs is shrinking.
That may be logical and
providing proper care
to the elderly no matter
how numerous they are
should be a non-negotiable requirement
in a civilized nation.
But there are nevertheless
vitally important questions
we must still ask about the condition of
and the prospects for
the younger generation
in this scenario.
Now these are especially
important questions
to ask in this year of all years 2017
as Canada marks 150 years as a nation.
Anniversaries like this
provoke retrospection,
as they should.
And they also sometimes provide
an opportunity for jingoism
and mindless patriotic fervor
and I dare say we will
see some of the latter
in Canada when July
the first rolls around.
But so far, this country has taken note
of its special year in
a fairly muted fashion,
recognizing and this
has been especially true
on university campuses
that while there is much
to celebrate in our history
there is also much about
which we should be
thoughtful and critical.
Not the least of which is what
our proper response should be
to the report of the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission.
Our sesquicentennial is also an occasion
to look into the future
imagining what Canada will become
in the next 50 or 100 years.
And it is in that context that
the 2016 census results are
to me so thought-provoking.
We are being told that a far-reaching
and unprecedented generational
shift is happening right now
just as we're running the
anniversary flag up the pole.
Interestingly, it is a
shift that sends us back
to our last big national
event, the Centennial in 1967.
It is interesting because
that year coincided
with another very significant
and related generational shift.
The middle of the 60s
is generally understood
to be the endpoint of the baby boom,
the population surge which
began in 1946 after the end
of the Second World War.
And it is the aging members
of that generation whose entry
into the ranks of seniors
over the last few years
have given rise to the demographic changes
that the 2016 census recently revealed.
Now I am a baby boomer
and it was my generation
that seemed so
incomprehensible to our parents
that a special term had to be coined
to describe the phenomenon
and this term was the generation gap.
One experienced the
generation gap as significant,
indeed sometimes profound differences
of opinion about music,
politics, personal values,
and a host of other topics.
Families like my own became
cultural battlegrounds.
I remember my father
inexplicably, to me at least,
being plunged into a red-faced
fury when he discovered
in my older brothers clothing
drawer a pair of blue jeans,
and worse than that,
a pair of blue jeans with
appliquéd floral designs.
(audience laughing)
And there was also, to my
father's manifest horror,
a shirt with puffed sleeves.
So you all I'm sure know
something of the fashion of the 60s.
These were pretty routine
garments if offensive
to the older generation at the time.
My own differences with my
parents were less sartorial
than they were political in nature.
But as I reflected on those times,
I've come to understand
that those two categories
of resistance, political resistance
and resistance through dress.
Were for my generation
not really separable
to a degree not since seen in the West.
How, or indeed whether,
one clothed ones body
was contested terrain
between the generations.
A language through which other
sometimes deeply divergent
views expressed themselves.
The generation gap was a
term invented by sociologists
building on the theory of generations
developed by Karl Mannheim in the 1920s.
For Mannheim, a generation
was not simply a cohort
of people born and achieving maturity
between specified years.
It was such a cohort for sure,
but also it was one upon
which major historical events
had registered an impact.
A generation was in other words shaped
by its particular historical experience.
Mine was for example
post-war and post-Hiroshima,
but definitely not post-nuclear,
as we lived in daily apprehension
of a nuclear apocalypse.
My wife remembers that
as a child in school
she was trained to climb under her desk
and cover her head in
anticipation of an atomic blast,
as if such a thing would be of any use.
It would be indeed
surprising if such practices
had not left an indelible
mark on the generation
for which they were routine and normal.
So while the 2016 Canadian
population census seems
to confirm that we are in the midst
of a decisive generational shift,
it is obviously far too early to speculate
on the qualitative dimensions
of whatever gap might open up
between your generation and mine.
Indeed it is entirely possible,
notwithstanding Mannheim's implication,
that some sort of
generational consciousness
must inevitably emerge that dislocation
and discontinuity will not define the ways
in which we might relate to each other.
There will certainly be
economic and other consequences
of the aging of the Canadian population.
And today as I speak to an auditorium full
of graduates from the
Faculty of Social Science,
I'm acutely conscious of
some of them most obviously
as I already mentioned
the increasing strain
on the healthcare system
as seniors come to outnumber children.
Looking into the future as one does
on occasions such as this
and as our nation will do on July the 1st,
it is obvious that significant
challenges lie ahead
as the torch passes from
one generation to the next.
But I am profoundly
hopeful about the future,
because of my faith in all of you.
The well-known anthropologist
Margaret Mead published
in 1970 a serious study of
intergenerational relations.
The book was called
Culture and Commitment: A
Study of the Generation Gap
in which she beautifully
captured the service
which every new generation
performs for its society
and for humanity at large.
The young, she wrote, are free
to act on their initiative
and can lead their elders in
the direction of the unknown.
The young must ask the questions
that we would never think
to ask and through creativity, curiosity,
and innovativeness,
find answers that their
elders cannot imagine.
I have worked in universities
for more than 40 years
and have always indeed
increasingly been invigorated
by the way in which students have sought
to challenge received wisdom
and to advance the human
intellectual and social project.
If there was ever a gap between us,
and I suppose following Mannheim
that there must always be
least some intergenerational
discontinuities,
I have always strained to hear your voices
from across the gap to learn
from what you've had to say,
and from what you have done.
Margaret Mead felt that while
the young should be free
to act on their initiative,
they also needed somehow
to reestablish trust with
their elders as she put it,
"So that the elders will be permitted
"to work with them on the answers."
According to that vision
of generational shift then,
your future is a project
on which we collaborate;
my generation providing what
knowledge and wisdom we can,
but depending on you to surpass us
in making this a brighter world.
I haven't dwelt on the
challenges you will face
apart from mentioning the
looming healthcare problem
in our country and Dr.
Mancinelli pointed to a number
of the challenges that you will inherit.
And like Dr. Mancinelli, I
haven't talked more broadly
than I might have about the role
of my generation in creating some of them.
This is meant to be an upbeat occasion
so one has to show some self-restraint.
But if you need to trust us in order
to achieve the solutions you seek, we need
to admit our failings and
shortcomings and trust
to your energy, your creativity,
and your positive values.
I became an educator four decades ago,
not just for something to do,
but for something I wanted to see created.
A better more just society.
The well-being of people
and of the communities they comprise
has been my preoccupation.
And unlike many of my peers,
I do not believe that
my generation was unique
in its idealism, altruism,
and social conscience.
I know from working with many of you
that these three things are as much
if not more alive amongst you
than they ever were amongst my peers.
And that is in its own
way a bit of a miracle
given the state of the world
that we're in the process
of handing over to you.
We delight in your success.
We are in awe of your talent
and we are excited to see
where you will take us.
My warmest best wishes go with you all.
Thank you very much.
(clapping)
- Thank you very much President Deane
for those wonderful comments.
I think his last sentence
probably sums up everything
that we wish for all of you.
So congratulations to the class of 2017.
But I'm going to go back
as a baby boomer as well
to tell you that actually
it was 50 years ago
that I sat where you did
and graduated from McMaster.
And I have to tell you a couple
of things about that time
is one, I don't remember
who the Chancellor was,
I don't remember who the President was.
In fact, I don't even
remember anybody talking
and I thought about it
because as I listened
to our Convocation,
and the Convocation Address
from our honorary Doctorate,
when I listened to the President,
I realized that there were words of wisdom
that were said and I'm
convinced it couldn't
of course have been
because I wasn't listening
or because they weren't said.
And I think I realized as
I look back that it goes
with everything else about
my experience at McMaster,
I absorbed the information.
I thought about it as I did
every experience at McMaster.
And it made me what I
was when I graduated.
It provided me with a base to go forward
and I hope that that
experience is what you've
gained at McMaster as well
as you go out of here,
because as you've heard,
there's a lot you can do,
And when you look at what
the challenges you have
in society, it's important that
you take as much information
and as much breadth of
knowledge as you can.
But I want to come to one other thing
that is probably the most
striking about what I remember
of this day 50 years ago.
It really was at the end of the day
when I stood with my
parents, picture being taken,
and their pride in what
I had accomplished.
And you notice the point is
in what I had accomplished
and I want to make that
point very clearly.
You are here today as individuals.
You're receiving your group
as you stand to do it.
But today represents the pinnacle
of what you have accomplished
over the last number of years.
All of you will agree,
and as your valedictorian pointed out,
none of you did it on your own.
You had help from parents.
You had support from
family, friends, professors.
But in the end, you had
to accept that help.
You had to be willing to learn
and you had to use it to
actually graduate on your own.
There are very few occasions
you'll find in life
where you're recognized for
your own accomplishments.
You'll find yourself recognized as parts
of teams as you go forward.
So today is one that you
really do want to celebrate
because is it a unique experience
to be recognized for what you have done.
So I wanna give each of you
my individual congratulations
for what you have managed to do.
And as a group to wish you all the best.
(clapping)
Now I've just got a couple
of housekeeping items
to tell you about before we close.
Immediately following the ceremony,
a reception will be held for the graduates
and their guests in the
Hamilton Convention Center
Wentworth Room B and C.
Flowers that have been
delivered for graduates
will be available at the
coat-check in the main lobby.
I would ask that you
please remain standing
at your seats until
the academic procession
and the graduates have left the hall.
Finally, please join now in the singing
of our national anthem.
After the singing of the anthem,
this Convocation stands adjourned.
("O Canada" by Robert Stanley Weir)
♫ O Canada
♫ Our home and native land
♫ True patriot love in
all thy sons command
♫ With glowing hearts we see thee rise
♫ The True North strong and free
♫ From far and wide
♫ O Canada, we stand on guard for thee
♫ God keep our land glorious and free
♫ O Canada, we stand on guard for thee
♫ O Canada, we stand on guard for thee
(upbeat piano music)
