St. Olaf celebrates the Class of 2021 at commencement
On Saturday, May 29, members of the St. Olaf College Class of 2021 gathered on the picturesque lawn in front of Mellby Hall to celebrate their commencement while surrounded by family and friends.
“I am so happy that we are able to gather here today, together and in person, to celebrate the Class of 2021 and to send you forth to do great things,” President David R. Anderson ’74 told the graduates. “Your senior year in college was marked by the masks, the testing, the alert levels, the quarantining, and all the rest of it. But it wasn’t defined by those things. It was defined by your grit, your resilience, your adaptability, your patience, your concern for one another, and your will to persevere.”
Your senior year in college was marked by the masks, the testing, the alert levels, the quarantining, and all the rest of it. But it wasn’t defined by those things. It was defined by your grit, your resilience, your adaptability, your patience, your concern for one another, and your will to persevere.President David R. Anderson ’74
He noted that the character this graduating group of St. Olaf students developed over their last year on campus will serve them well in the coming years.
“This isn’t the only time in your life that you will be tested in your personal or professional lives. When that happens, remember what you did this year — how, in spite of COVID, you learned, performed, competed, protested, lived together, grew together, and graduated as a class on the campus green. Crises don’t form character, they reveal it — and COVID revealed yours. Well done, Class of 2021.”
The Class of 2021 senior commencement address was delivered by Venus Su ’21, an instrumental music education major from Taipei City, Taiwan. Su shared that her four years at St. Olaf weren’t always easy, but she encouraged her fellow graduates to reflect on all the little things that kept them connected over the past few years — from Pause dances to hammocks on the campus green on warm, sunny days.
“Whatever your story, I want you to thank and appreciate yourself. Be proud of the journey you are on and the paths you have taken. If I had given up, I would not have met some of my favorite peers and professors. Whatever you are fighting for, personally or systemically, keep going, because if there is anything that this year has taught us, it is that we have the tools and power to shift the tides and make a better world together. This is what our St. Olaf degrees are about, and today’s commencement is just another celebration of how we have progressed.”
Whatever you are fighting for, personally or systemically, keep going, because if there is anything that this year has taught us, it is that we have the tools and power to shift the tides and make a better world together.Venus Su ’21
St. Olaf Vice President for Student Life Hassel Morrison delivered the charge to the graduating class, noting that in the Class of 2021 he sees “hundreds of solutions, possibilities, and hope for the world.” The resilience that this group of St. Olaf students has shown in the last year, he says, has proven that they have the ability to be changemakers.
“In front of me I see people not content at a degree or diploma, I see people in front of me 5, 10, and 20 years from now making a difference, creating new ways of thinking, developing jobs, discovering cures, improving access, not talking about diversity, equity, and inclusion but living it. I see people who care, who are concerned about their neighbor, and who practice grace and forgiveness. I see people who are slow to judge, but quick to listen and learn from people who are different,” he told the graduates. “St. Olaf people are brave, resilient, and have a history of doing something, doing anything, and the greatness to do everything!”
In front of me I see people not content at a degree or diploma, I see people in front of me 5, 10, and 20 years from now making a difference, creating new ways of thinking, developing jobs, discovering cures, improving access, not talking about diversity, equity, and inclusion but living it.Vice President for Student Life Hassel Morrison
In addition to the commencement ceremony, the graduating class and their guests gathered for several other events throughout the weekend, including the Baccalaureate Service, Campus Illumination Ceremony and Lighting, and Last Lecture and Parting Words.
This year’s seniors also shared reflections from the past four years on the Class of 2021 Favorite Memories page.
Congratulations to the Class of 2021!