Special Ceremony Celebrates Graduating Student-Athletes

With games and competitions keeping them busy throughout Commencement weekend, student-athletes at St. John Fisher University had the opportunity to enjoy all of the pomp and circumstance of this important rite of passage during a special Student-Athlete Commencement, held on Wednesday, May 10.

Representing men’s and women’s track and field, men’s and women’s lacrosse, baseball, softball, these graduates not only excelled in the classroom, but on the sports fields.

At the ceremony, Dr. Gerard J. Rooney, president of the University, addressed the graduates before conferring their degrees.

“You have all been a part of Fisher’s growth, successes, and new beginnings. You have enlivened the good, smart, and talented motto of our athletic department. You have triumphed both on and off the field. Today, as we reflect on our institution’s storied past and look ahead to a great future, we proudly celebrate you,” he said.

The ceremony also featured the presentation of the Trustees’ Award for Distinguished Scholarly Achievement to Dr. Stephen Brauer, associate professor and chair of the English Department in the School of Arts and Sciences. The Trustees’ Award for Distinguished Scholarly Achievement is the highest honor that the Board of Trustees can bestow on a faculty member, second only to an honorary degree. Brauer was recognized for his efforts to generate interdisciplinary academic dialogue through the annual Teach-In symposiums and for his prolific scholarship, including his monograph, Criminality and the Modern: Contingency and Agency in Twentieth-Century America.

Tara Osterdale, an inclusive childhood education graduate, co-chair of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, and member of the women’s lacrosse team, delivered remarks on behalf of her class.

“We developed our skills as student-athletes by practicing every day, gaining new talents, and polishing our already-existing ones so that we may compete at the highest level of our abilities. In the classroom, the same strategy is used. We are able to function at the greatest level academically by expanding on what we already know, learning new information, and doing research to find the solutions. Here, we are all together, able to celebrate that,” she said before offering one piece of advice. “Take the chances that come your way, seize new possibilities, and never forget that the last four years have prepared each and every one of you to keep developing and improving until you are the best version of yourself.”