PROVO, Utah (April 25, 2014)—In the energetic atmosphere of the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University, Humanities College Dean, John Rosenberg, recognized the diverse backgrounds and successes of the April 2014 Humanities graduates. As these fresh alumni face the future, Rosenberg encouraged them to continue their Humanities education.
“It is a mark of an educated mind to discern which ideas to carry through your journey,” Rosenberg told the graduates and the audience. He told them to treasure what they have learned as gold or silver.
Rosenberg spoke of Simone Weil, a French philosopher, and said, “I found gold and silver to take away from her life.” He explained that Weil compared scholarly studies to religious worship, for example, that “the key to Christian studies is that prayer consists of attention.”
Rosenberg said that school studies are an effective method to increase attention. All scholarly subjects are important, because “all develop faculty of attention, which if directed towards God, is the very substance of prayer.”
While scholarly pursuits may get us a job, Rosenberg said, “The true purpose is to get us to God. We do many things at BYU, like prepare for vocation, but BYU exists because before vocation is invocation. Attentive studies help bring us closer to God and to our neighbor.”
He reminded graduates of the BYU motto, “Enter to learn, go forth to serve,” and encouraged them to leave BYU with a purpose.
Continuing to remind the graduates of the opportunities before them, the college speaker, Kylan Rice, told graduates to take part in commencement through active remembering. He said that in this occasion, “our purpose is to remember the last few years and be involved in making new memories.
“Memory,” Rice said, “makes us human.” He explained that through memory, we gain love, language, and appreciation, but we can also feel burdened by pain or suffering.
“When we remember, we submit to nostalgia. But when we remember and commemorate, we have some control over our futures,” Rice said. “As you go forward into your future, remember. Remember in order to create a kind of structure where things come together.”
The final speaker, BYU Humanities professor V. Stanley Benfell III, compared the period of university learning and graduation to a new life.
Benfell explained that as a teenager he “was lazy and slothful; reluctant to complete assignments.” However, the summer after high school and before coming to BYU, he realized he wasn’t going to get anywhere in life doing what he was doing. “So I decided to actually study, and I learned that hard work pays off.”
He added, “The simple determination to succeed in school would bear unexpected results.” The more he studied, the more he felt engaged in the classroom and by his assignments. Then he was called on a mission to France, and he grew to love the French language and culture. He realized, “I’d never have enough time to read everything I wanted to read.” So, when he returned to BYU, he continued his dedication to studying, and decided to make a career in academia.
He expressed his hope that graduates have been engaged intellectually, and that that engagement will sustain the new life ahead of them.
Benfell said, “As you head out to the real world, it is more difficult to stay on the straight road. Too often we find ourselves in the dark, wondering how we got there.”
He shared that as they go forth, it’s important to not separate the different aspects of life, such as family, studies, work, and religion. “All of our efforts should be linked together in Christ,” Benfell said.
He continued, “The spirit can and will guide us to truth, but that does not excuse us from learning.” He reminded graduates of the admonition of the fourth Article of Faith, to seek after good things. He said, “As students in the Humanities, your education should prepare you for lifelong learning. Don’t be satisfied by what is easy or popular. Seek for the best things. As you get older and gain more responsibilities, you will find it more and more difficult to read, especially the scriptures. Find time to devote sustained, careful attention to things of significance.”
In conclusion, Dean Rosenberg invited graduates to reflect on their opportunities and commit to do their part to give future students the chance for great learning. “In behalf of the students who will benefit,” Rosenberg said, “we thank you.”
—by Stephanie Bahr Bentley BA English ‘14