 ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Former
Syracuse congressman James Walsh urged those who sat where he did 41
years ago at St. Bonaventure University to not look back on their lives
with regret. “Don’t look back on how you could have
done more,” Walsh, SBU class of 1970, told more than 650 undergraduate
and graduate students Sunday morning at the Reilly Center Arena. “Find
ways to connect with your community, to make a difference. …
Citizenship is about service.” Walsh was one of three who received honorary degrees Sunday morning. Also
honored were Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Ph.D., D.D., Archbishop
Emeritus of Washington, D.C., whose nephew, Conor Walsh was among the
graduates; and Fr. Robert Karris, O.F.M., Th.D., a member of the
research and publications faculty of St. Bonaventure’s Franciscan
Institute and the cornerstone of the research mission of the Institute
since 1997. Cardinal McCarrick gave the homily at Saturday’s
traditional Baccalaureate Mass. | |
Walsh
is the son of former Syracuse mayor and longtime congressman William F.
Walsh, a 1934 alumnus who just passed away in January at age 98. The
new science center at St. Bonaventure, opened in 2008, is named after
him. James Walsh helped secure federal funding for the project. “He was my hero and my role model,” Walsh said. “I am a very proud son of William Walsh.”  Kaitlin
Sweeney, a history major from Floral Park, N.Y., was the student
speaker — the daughter of St. Bonaventure alumni and representing the fourth generation of Sweeneys to graduate from the university.
“Perhaps
the reason this ‘Bona Bubble’ is so special is because within it,
smiles are contagious. This, I believe, makes the spirit of Bona’s
ripple throughout the world; that its alumni never forget the great
Franciscan simplicity found in sharing a smile,” Sweeney said. “We are
now responsible for the spirit rippling, to all the places we imagine
in the world we are inheriting.” New
York Sen. Charles Schumer also stopped by to give a short talk, during
which he encouraged the graduates to find a job that they love — and to
utilize technology to do so. “Technology
has overtaken our world. In 1993 when you were in kindergarten, the
World Wide Web had 12 websites. It (technology) give you an amazing
advantage — that and your degree from St. Bonaventure University,”
Schumer said. ______________ About the University:
Inspired for more than 150 years by the Franciscan values of individual
dignity, community inclusiveness, and service, St. Bonaventure
University cultivates graduates who are confident and creative
communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative
problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the
diverse world around them. No wonder U.S. News and World Report has for
years considered us a “Great School at a Great Price.” |