UMass Amherst News
A spirited sendoff
The Class of 2005 celebrates itself before moving on.
The sporadic rain couldn’t begin to wash away the good feeling. For the 4,000 graduating seniors in UMass Amherst’s Class of 2005, their commencement was an occasion for joy unbounded—a morning of nostalgia, mutual congratulation, and excited if sometimes anxious, glances ahead.
Held from 10 a.m. until noon on Sunday, May 22, in the Warren P. McGuirk Alumni Stadium, the ceremony, like all recent UMass Amherst commencements, focused on the graduating class and its accomplishments. Chancellor John V. Lombardi spoke to the graduates of their world that has become increasingly complex. “You are a generation who knows when anything takes place abroad, it takes place here,” he told the Class of 2005. “There are no longer any borders of significance that divide us.”
The podium was then given over to this year’s student speaker, Adina Giannelli of Canton, Massachusetts, a double major in Journalism and Anthropology. Giannelli told of how she had come to cherish UMass Amherst during her four years here: “I’ve been taught by brilliant professors who have encouraged and challenged me. I’ve helped second graders learn to read. I designed my own internship. I’ve made friends with people from Bangalore and Brussels. I learned to salsa dance. I joined Teach for America. With the help of friends, mentors, professors, and family, I have made some good choices.” And while she owned up to making some bad choices too, they were mostly ones of omission: not studying abroad or trying harder to get along with that one roommate or taking a Four College course or learning Russian or running more or joining more clubs.
Now, she added, “Our triumphs and our shortcomings are behind us. I realize, though, in looking back that none of the experiences that have made the last four years worthwhile for me would have occurred in any other context. UMass has shaped who I am and what I will become, just as it has altered each of you.”
The spotlight then briefly left the Class of 2005 as two UMass Alumni were presented with honorary degrees:
- Douglas Berthiaume ’71, chairman of Waters Corporation, a world leader in liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, was made a doctor of laws. “You have applied your business acumen in cutting-edge technologies critical to the development of new medicines,” noted his citation. “Your great success in doing so has been a boon both to your employer and to the economy of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and has given you rightful claim to a key role in supporting science’s ongoing fight to eradicate disease. Furthermore, your ongoing devotion to this, your alma mater, and especially to the Isenberg School of Management, has helped launch countless students on careers of their own.”
- Heriberto Flores ’73, ’91MEd, executive director of the New England Farm Workers’ Council, was named a doctor of public service. “You have spent three decades making a profound difference in the lives of some of the most economically challenged residents of western Massachusetts,” his citation noted. “You have helped assure them greater access to educational assistance, job training, day care, home-energy assistance, and emergency shelters than they otherwise would have enjoyed. You have also been notably and consistently generous in serving on the boards of a host of organizations able to help in the fight to end poverty, assure social justice, and make education truly available to all.”
Then it was back to the Class of 2005 and the presentation of the 21st-Century Leader Awards. These awards recognize graduates who have demonstrated exemplary standards of achievement, initiative, and social awareness, and have excelled in one or more areas: as researchers in their respective fields, as undergraduate teaching assistants, as community activists on or off campus, as leaders uniting and inspiring others to take constructive action, as role models in overcoming personal obstacles, or as significant creative or athletic talents.
This year’s 21st-Century Leaders were:
- Crina Maria Boeras, a Biology major, honored “for your splendid academic record, your mastery of laboratory research, your active role in the Research Experience for Undergraduates Program, and your volunteer work in a hospital emergency treatment center.”
- Aviva T. Costello, a double major in Psychology and Political Science, “for the probing intelligence that informs your research on gender- and family-related social issues, and the compassion and selfless energy you demonstrate in a wide range of community services.”
- Ronak Dav?, an Operations Management major, “for your sterling success in leading a student-run business to profitability, your prominent and energetic role in student-association work, and your sensitivity to issues involving diversity and sustainable resources.”
- Alexis Davison, a Psychology major, “for your innovative research at the crossroads of cellular biology, behavior, and neuro-endocrinology, as well as for your labors on behalf of this campus, the Special Olympics, and other organizations.”
- Robert Walter Eppsteiner, a double major in Spanish and Biology, “for your academic excellence, pragmatic idealism, and social conscience, all of which you have energetically applied in pursuit of your dream of serving the medical needs of the world’s poor.”
- Adina Giannelli—the first 21st-Century Leader to also be chosen commencement student speaker—was honored “for your gift of teaching writing and reading to people of all ages and backgrounds, and for inspiring a love of the written word in so many of your students.”
- Jennifer Elizabeth Griffin, a Microbiology major, “for the great insight, integrity, and perseverance you have demonstrated in your research in endocrinology, for your inspired leadership in student activities, and for your ongoing involvement in community service.”
- Midori Elizabeth Harris, a Theater major, “for your energy and initiative in sustaining the great tradition of Shakespearean theater, and for the invaluable performance opportunities you have provided for scores of talented actors on this campus.”
- Nathaniel M. Jewell, a double major in Finance & Operations Management and Management, “for the talents you applied in rejuvenating this campus’s homecomings, for your inspiration and technical prowess as a teaching assistant, and for your distinguished service on the Isenberg Honors Council.”
- Ashley Marie Kalus, a double major in Finance & Operations Management and Legal Studies, “for your passionate commitment to community service, your initiatives to encourage social activism on this campus, and the additional versatility you show as both a boxing champion and a bassoonis.”
- Anina Marie Kostecki, a Political Science major, “for your distinguished achievements in political science, and most especially for the great credit you brought upon yourself and this campus during your widely praised internship at the Brookings Institution.”
- Maxfield A. Raynolds, a Finance & Operations Management major, “for your great ability in applying the principles of operations management to the betterment of worthy and grateful institutions, and for the depth and creativity that mark your stage performances.”
- Mina G. Safain, a Biochemistry & Molecular Biology major, “for your admirable research on the effect of the drug Ecstasy on laboratory animals, and for your contributions in student government, residential life, and the Alpha Lambda Delta honor society.”
- Peter George Trovato, a double major in Journalism and Political Science, “for providing a sterling example of what can be expected of the student athlete on the field and in the classroom, and for your noble and sustained labors on behalf of the voiceless and vulnerable.”
Next came the traditional heart of the ceremony: the presentation of degree candidates and conferring of degrees. Greetings from UMass Amherst Alumni Association President Harold M. Lane Jr. ’60 followed, and then, with the singing of the Alma Mater and the recessional, the ceremony ended. Right afterward, many graduates and guests assembled in the reception tent outside the stadium to meet and pose for photographs with Chancellor Lombardi.
Finally, in a touch new this year, a concert by carillonneur Charles Semowich was held on the grounds of the campus’s beloved Old Chapel. For an hour the 42-bell Henry Vincent Couper Memorial Carillon filled the air with sweetly chiming tones—the perfect soundtrack for taking a fond last look at the campus.
now online:
Commencement Photo Gallery