Thursday, or Thereabouts (unless of course it's Friday) - June 12, 2015

Graduation Day

Me with Mom & Dad, June 1979

It was a grand day. The weather was warm and sunny; perfect for a graduation ceremony at Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto. The platform party entered with grand regalia and ceremony. A lump formed in my throat and my eyes stung just a little. I've been here before.

As is the custom, the Chancellor formally convened convocation with these words, “In concilium Universitatis Torontonensis vocati sumus”.

A Vice-President of the University presented the graduates, with these words,
"Praesento tibi hosce scholares ut admittantur ad gradus varios, testorque eos quoad omnia quae statuta requirunt aptos et idoneos esse."

Most distinguished Chancellor: I present to you these scholars that they may be admitted to the various degrees, and I bear witness that, as far as all things which the statutes require, they are fit and suitable.

The Chancellor replied,
"Ad profectum huius provinciae et populi Canadensis cum sociis omnibus ego auctoritate mea et totius Universitatis admitto vos ad gradus varios, licentiamque vobis do omnia ea faciendi quae ad illos gradus pertinent."

To the benefit of this province and of the Canadian people with all their allies, I , by my authority and that of the whole University, admit you to the various degrees, and I grant you the licence of doing all those things which pertain to those degrees.

Latin, an ancient language full of history and tradition. I for one hope they never stop using these few sentences at Convocation. They are a solemn reminder of our ancestry in the pursuit of knowledge and excellence - Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, Socrates, Origin, Pliny.

At this convocation yesterday, it was the graduates of Rotman School of Management who were presented to the Chancellor. I was impressed with the address given by the Dean of Rotman, Dr. Tiff Macklem. He offered these life lessons learned from his friend and colleague, the late Joe Rotman who was the benefactor of the school of management:

Have the courage to set high goals and be ambitious.
There is no substitute for hard work.
Don't be embarrassed or apologize for making money.
Public service is not just for public servants; it can and should be a part of every career.
The power of leadership: if you can get others excited about ideas, engage them to make those ideas better and mobilize them from thinking to doing, nothing is impossible. Leadership is the central force that mobilizes people to create something of value that did not previously exist.

Then the graduates were personally presented to the Chancellor beginning with the one and only Doctor of Philosophy then continuing with the MBA's and Master of Finance graduates. An hour later, the Chancellor, Michael Wilson, offered additional life lessons in his closing remarks.

I hope all heard his comments on the importance of integrity, courage, including the courage to ask for help, and self-care. I hope they took to heart his counsel to embrace opportunities to collaborate, to broaden one's knowledge by reading, and to be bold. I hope they heard him say, ..."don't let the fear of failure stop you. Failure is a part of life. It's a way to learn."

I'm sure all were thrilled to hear him say, "Concilium dimissum est."








I believe that education in all it's forms is always invaluable and any benchmark achievements are worthy of high praise and great rejoicing.

So with full hearts and great pride we celebrated with our son-in-law to be, his fiance (our daughter) and his family. We've always wanted a doctor in the family!

(Through the magic of modern technology, one can watch the entire ceremony here, all 89 minutes)

©2015 April Hoeller