Nearly 500 students gathered on Carnegie Green this morning to become the University of Denver’s newest graduates.
“This is a day, a great day, of celebration for you, our graduates,” Chancellor Robert Coombe said as he welcomed graduates to the 2007 summer Commencement ceremony. “It is also a day to honor those who made it possible for you to reach this milestone.”
It was a sentiment on par with Peter Buirski’s address, which focused on the importance of relationships. Buirski, dean of the Graduate School of Professional Psychology, was the Commencement speaker.
“You are here today because of the growth-enhancing relationships you have had with people who believed in you,” Buirski said. “It takes the relationships — the relationships between you and those who have believed in you.”
New graduate Jason Wyrick, who received his doctoral degree in philosophy, said he was touched by the message.
“I felt as though it was written just for me,” Wyrick said.
Wyrick’s parents, Tom and Judy Wyrick, said the speech moved them as well. They teared-up when recounting their close relationship with their son and his decision to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“It’s such a proud moment,” Judy Wyrick said.
Jason Wyrick chose to work with college students as his father did. Wyrick will continue on that path, working at DU’s University College.
Preeti Vidwans also followed in her family’s footsteps, receiving a doctor of psychology degree.
She says she’s excited but nervous to move on, taking a position as a staff psychologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“This is such a great place,” Vidwans said. “It was a great program and has prepared me to get a good job.”
Both graduates credited their families for their success and took Buirski’s closing remarks to heart.
“If being in a relationship with you makes another a better person, it will reciprocally make you a better person,” Buirski said. “I hope that you will go on to form rewarding relationships that will bring you peace and fulfillment.”
To watch the Commencement ceremonies, click here: http://www.du.edu/c-vids/07-sum-commence.html