Farewell, Fellow Grads
April 30, 2009 • By Larson Thune, Contributing Writer
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Graduates of 2009,
It seems like just yesterday we were passing the fountain at Newman Lake for the first time, sitting with our parents in our vans and trucks, packed with posters and bed risers, mini-fridges and clothes. We unloaded the stuff into our room, laboring under the August sun, trip after trip, until we finally hugged our parents a sweaty goodbye.
In the four short years since that day, JMU has been more than a home to us. So although our parents are glad to see us graduate on Saturday, I know many of us may have mixed feelings.
We are entering the “real world”, a world rife with problems from spiraling economies, to environmental degradation, humanitarian crises and energy challenges — issues that threaten the prosperity of ours and subsequent generations. It will be our task to see that we leave our world better for the next generation than we know it today.
Our first reaction is to recoil at this thought, to stay at JMU. But the fact is the world needs us.
Last summer I had the opportunity to spend a month traveling the Middle East. That experience made me realize how lucky we are to have spent four years here. Our purple and gold campus, in the city of Harrisonburg, tucked in the Shenandoah Valley, is a unique place. It is a place largely free from the social, political and economic upheaval that afflicts other areas. We have a greater sense of community than any place I’ve ever been. And that sense of community is rooted in the people who comprise it — people who believe in friendliness, in service and in each other.
Our professors have equipped us with the knowledge and critical thinking skills we will need to tackle the issues of the real world. More importantly, our experience at JMU has taught us what it means to be a vested member of a community.
Earlier this semester, I had surgery on my knee. I was surprised at the amount of aid I received during my recovery. Professors were more than flexible about making up assignments and missed classes. Classmates sent me notes to keep me from falling too far behind and students approached me as I crutched along, offering to carry my books to class for me.
Although I was surprised at the support I received during my recovery, I know I shouldn’t have been. From the friendly Facilities Management folks, to the professor eager to help you with your capstone, to the anonymous student who inserts a few coins before your meter expires, helping others is a way of life here.
Next Saturday we will leave our purple and gold paradise, and many of us will go to places with real problems. Places plagued with splintered communities and fractured hope. We should work to uplift these places, person by person, deed by deed.
So whether we end up on Wall Street or Main Street, on the East Coast or in the Middle East, we should bring a little JMU with us — inspiring a vision of a better future and empowering those around us to affect a change in that direction, as we model the way in service and leadership.
I wish you all the best.
Larson Thune is a senior finance major and JMU’s outgoing student body president.
Contact Larson Thune at thunelp@jmu.edu
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