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Poised between two worlds, UMass Amherst seniors celebrate
UMass Amherst celebrates the 133rd Undergraduate Commencement.
“Look on every exit as an entrance somewhere else.”
On that line from Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, student speaker Matt Dunphy built his address to the University of Massachusetts Amherst Class of 2003 at its May 25 commencement in the University’s Warren P. McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
Dunphy, a double major in Theater and English and a veteran of many campus stage productions and the University’s Minuteman Marching Band, took an actor’s perspective on commencement. He told the over 4,000 graduates that UMass Amherst had “given us our costumes and helped us rehearse our lines. This is our beautiful, sweeping exit from one grand stage and our motivated, educated entrance onto an even grander stage: the rest of the world.”
If the weather wasn’t as cooperative as it might have been for the outdoor program, the student talent being celebrated shone bright. At the heart of the ceremony were the presentations of the 21st-Century Leader Awards, which were new this year and included a $1,000 check for each recipient, courtesy of the UMass Amherst Alumni Association. Eleven graduating seniors were honored for their exemplary standards of achievement, initiative, and social awareness:
Heather A. Berthiaume, Communication Disorders major
North Dighton, Mass.
Christina Calvaneso, Operations Management major
Coto de Caza, Calif.
Jorge L. Oliver Diaz, History and Classics major
Yaucom, Puerto Rico
Amherst, Mass.
Judd E. Galloway, Civil and Environmental Engineering major
Burlington, Iowa
Jonathan J. Laubinger, Philosophy major
Bridgewater, Mass.
Psychology major
Brookline, Mass.
Danvers, Mass.
Heather L. Ruel, Geography major
Granby, Mass.
Doug White, Management major
Claremont, Calif.
History major
Norton, Mass.
Honorary degrees were presented to two University alumni who have gone on to excel as high-technology innovators, Kathleen A. Cote ‘71 and Steven M. Gluckstern ‘72EdD. Beyond their professional triumphs, Cote was praised for her staunch support of women in business and high technology and Gluckstern for his abiding interest in and support of innovative educational initiatives and his generosity in creating two endowed professorships at UMass Amherst.