Jean Santopatre/Marketing and Communications

The overcast weather and the anticipation of rain could not dampen the spirits of the Class of 2010 as they celebrated the culmination of their Fairfield education.

On the lawn of Bellarmine Hall on Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. the undergraduate class of 2010 celebrated its commencement ceremony in front of a crowd of family, friends, faculty, staff, distinguished guests and many more. As onlookers watched, 921 bachelor’s degrees and six associate degrees were awarded to the Class of 2010, according to a news release from Fairfield.

Despite the ominous weather, the theme of hope and ‘a call to action’ was present throughout each of the speeches in the ceremony.

The message of service and a call to action began with Dorothea Brennan, a member of the Board of Governors of the Connecticut Department of Higher Education. She described how honored she was to address these graduating seniors who truly proved that they were men and women for others. “You have participated in service-learning…[and] thousands of service hours,” she told the graduating class, and to keep the momentum of their strong call to service she continued, “now go keep that commitment to light the world on fire.”

The valedictorian for the Class of 2010, Christopher Douglas Staysniak continued the call to action during his address to the graduating class. The Ridgefield, Conn. native and history major told the graduating class, “Shaped and formed as women and men for others, our diplomas are now an I.O.U. for the world around us to cash in upon.”

The commencement speaker, Dr. Katherine Lapp ’78 utilized the theme of responsibility to do service in her address to the graduating class as well. Lapp, the executive vice president of Harvard University, and former director of the MTA in New York, told the Class of 2010 that she expected their commitment to serve others to continue well past their college years.

“The world needs you, the problems facing us are too complex and too persistent to not have as many smart and talented minds as possible tackling them…I ask you to bring hope and change to the world.” Despite her mention of the many problems that exist today in society, such as the economic recession or the ongoing war, Lapp kept her hope alive by explaining to the Class of 2010 that with their Jesuit education, they could use those values and their success from both inside and outside of the classroom to truly help change the world.

As the degrees were conferred and as the sun finally began to come out, the ceremony came to a close amongst the shouts of excitement from the recent graduates.

Some graduates are heading off into the workforce like business major Boris Romanovsky, while others continue on with more school, such as psychology major, Marina Meliones. Regarding her plans for the future, Meliones said, “I am going to graduate school for special education in the fall at Fitchburg State.”

Whether going to work, school, or still deciding what the future holds for them, the Class of 2010 as well as their guests of the events can be proud of the work that went into getting them where they are today. Pat Houlihan, whose daughter, Meghan McEvoy graduated said, “I am so proud of my daughter. The ceremony was beautiful and seeing my daughter graduate was absolutely wonderful.”

Father Michael J. Doody S.J. had an especially close connection to the Class of 2010. “For me this year is bittersweet. I arrived with these seniors. I’ve seen them grow, seen them through ups and downs, seen them develop into who they are now, and we’ve made deep friendships.”

As the Class of 2010 prepares for what lies ahead of them, they can remember how these various speakers inspired them to keep their devotion to serving others and hopefully fulfill their commitment to go light the world on fire.

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