Commencement In-Person 2020 + 2021

Commencement Address

To the Undergraduate Class of 2020 and Graduate and Professional Class of 2021

Oft-delayed, Never Deterred

By Wendell E. Pritchett

May 22, 2022

Good morning!

Here they are in Franklin Field at last: the oft-delayed but never-deterred, most amazing, most incredible, Class of 2020!

And let me just say: You look terrific! Two years older and likely ten times wiser, you are undoubtedly the most magnificent class ever to assemble in Franklin Field. Congratulations! And welcome home.

Even through the darkest days of the pandemic, we did not doubt this day would arrive. We knew we would be here, ready to welcome you back. However, there was some worry that maybe you would forget us.

Impossible, no? How could you forget Penn?

But just yesterday, our wonderful chair of the Board of Trustees, Scott Bok, said to me, "Wendell, they've been gone for two years. Before that, we sent them home for the pandemic. Will they even remember what this place looks like?"

I said, "Of course they'll remember! They love Penn. They understand Penn. They know Penn. They're veritable Penn Professionals!"

But Scott wasn't so sure. He said, "I'm going to pull out my phone and take a few pictures of a couple typical places around campus just so they can prove they still truly know Penn. You can show them the pictures and quiz them at the start of your speech."

So I said sure. He is my boss. And what could possibly go wrong?

After all, Scott loves Penn. Scott's incredibly smart. Scott's a wonderful guy. But there is one thing you have to know... May I have the first picture please?

ON SCREEN IMAGE APPEARS: BUTTON CLOSE UP

Scott has a wicked sense of humor!

So OK Penn Professionals – where are we? Go ahead, call it out.

Yes! That's right!

ON SCREEN IMAGE APPEARS: BEN ON THE BENCH

We're on the bench with Ben! That was Ben Franklin's frock coat sleeve button.

May I have the next picture please?

ON SCREEN IMAGE APPEARS: CLOSE UP LIGHT DISC

Now where are we?

Yes! That's right!

ON SCREEN IMAGE APPEARS: THE BUTTON SCULPTURE

We're beneath the Button, at the heart of Penn!

Now how about this?

ON SCREEN IMAGE APPEARS: CLOSE UP QUAKER MASCOT EAR

Yes! Got it again!

ON SCREEN IMAGE APPEARS: QUAKER MASCOT

We're home again, in the company of dear friends.

Now just one more.

ON SCREEN IMAGE APPEARS: UNDERNEATH STADIUM STAIRS

Where are we right now?

Yes! Right again!

ON SCREEN IMAGE APPEARS: FRANKLIN FIELD EXTERIOR

We're here on historic Franklin Field. The oldest collegiate football stadium in the country. Home to the renowned Penn Relays. Site of the first-ever radio broadcast of a football game in 1922, and the locale for generations of toasts to dear old Penn.

Two years ago, at your virtual commencement ceremony, we reminded you that this is also the place where – nearly 90 years ago – President Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke these prophetic words in accepting his party's nomination to run for a second term as president.

ON SCREEN IMAGES APPEAR: FDR ADDRESSES FRANKLIN FIELD

AUDIO RECORDING VOICEOVER OF FDR:

“There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.”

At the time of that speech – in 1936 – our nation was challenged with economic and social upheaval the likes of which had never before been seen. In Europe, the winds of war were blowing. The world's very future was at stake.

President Roosevelt ended his acceptance speech declaring the nation was not battling just a Depression but was actually at war for the survival of democracy. "We are fighting to save a great and precious form of government," he said, "for ourselves and for the world."

How far away that seems today!

And yet how very close.

Two years ago, in your family living room or apartment room or wherever you attended your online commencement, the world seemed turned upside down. You had bravely and resolutely soldiered through two long months of pandemic restrictions. And in that moment, we all wondered, 'How much longer can this go on?!'

Remember that? I do!

None of us fully appreciated how readily two months would turn into two years, with still no definitive end of pandemic insight. Young, healthy, in the primes of our lives, we so often did not truly expect to encounter death, as so many of us now have.

We could not foresee how bitterly contested the presidential election of 2020 would become. We expected the final conclusion would come with one candidate gracefully conceding to the other. The sight of a violent insurrection storming the Capitol, attempting to overturn the vote of the people by force, was simply unimaginable. And today, in Europe, once again, the winds of war are blowing.

Think now of President Roosevelt's words, spoken on this very location 86 years ago: "It is a war for the survival of democracy. We are fighting to save a great and precious form of government for ourselves and for the world."

A Rendezvous with Destiny sounds exciting and romantic... until you are forced to live through it.

If we are honest with ourselves today, we must concede that the past two years have been disorienting and dismaying and sometimes, downright frightening.

And yet, I say this with absolute conviction. We are not disheartened. We are not discouraged. We will not despair.

This amazing Class of 2020 gives us unbridled hope for the future. You are the generation of which much is expected. And you have, unequivocally, proven yourselves fully equal to the task.

From the outset, you have done what needed to be done. You have met every challenge; you have overcome each obstacle. You have remained calm. You have carried on.

You have found -- within yourselves -- stores of resourcefulness and resilience you would not have known were there, until you were forced to call upon them.

Three years ago, in the halcyon days of 2019, you did not worry about saving lives preventatively, or preserving democracy perpetually for the peace and security of future generations.

But such has been your lot. You have been called – not once, but repeatedly – to step up, to stand forth, to stay the course calmly through storm and turmoil.

Standing here with you today, none of us can truly say when these demands of service and sacrifice and extraordinary effort will come to an end. Nor is it possible to know what great concerns will challenge us three years, or three decades, from now.

But we know this. Because we’ve learned this from you and at the hand of hard experience.

Best not to do it alone. Community counts. We are in this together, and it is only from one another and with one another that we can truly hope to survive and to thrive.

This will always distinguish you from any other Class: the deep bonds of human connection forged in times of adversity. You will always be one band, bound together by your shared experiences and sacrifices.

Yet I can confidently predict that what today has been a burden, tomorrow will seem a gift. It will help you succeed and grow and make a difference for all your days.

There is a tradition that goes back many years at Penn, that when we come to this point in the program the President concludes by asking the audience to stand, and by applause, show their great appreciation of the graduates.

Today, this tradition never seems more apt, more appropriate, more warranted. Classes of 2020 and 2021: Please remain seated.

Friends, family members, guests, members of the faculty and all here with me on the dais today: I ask you to stand with me. Today is a day of celebration. Today we honor an amazing group of young people who in so little time have already given so very much. Please join me in showing our respect and love and appreciation for these wonderful and magnificent graduates.