By President Janet
Holmgren
I want to urge all of you who are anticipating May 17 as the start of a journey into new lands of employment, advanced studies, or other adventures to bring along the best of what you have learned at Mills.
The chances that you will enjoy your journey are abundant if you maintain the intellectual curiosity that has characterized your studies here at Mills.
I sincerely hope and believe that your ability to meet life’s challenges is enhanced by skills acquired here- the powers of critical analysis, effective communication and understanding of the human condition that we like to think all our students develop by the end of their Mills experience.
As I look back over the past year, I realize that this has been a year of growth amidst much pain and turmoil.
For those of you who are looking forward to graduation day, the ceremony will no doubt have some bittersweet moments of nostalgia for lost friends such as faculty member Amanda Davis or board chair Suzanne Adams, for a world order not dominated by news of war and nation building in Iraq, or for the days when economic conditions did not present such great challenges to our decision making both personally and institutionally.
But living through adversity can bring strength and new insights into what really matters in life.
Each of you, Mills graduates, has the advantage of an educational experience at Mills that has shaped you to be a leader and an optimist about the capacity of individuals working together in common cause to make a difference in the world.
Your prospects are brighter for the confidence you have in yourself, for the investment of dedicated teaching and mentoring from an outstanding faculty, for the friendships you have made and will sustain, and for the good wishes of family and friends who have watched you grow and learn at Mills.
I look forward to hearing about your successes, accomplishments and challenges over time.
Each of you is ready to embark on a new life that can be sustained adventure in learning and I am proud of each and every one of you for having come this far.
Congratulations for staying the course and completing your degrees; please know that you will always have the Mills community supporting you in your future endeavors. We look forward to a lifelong connection.
