Ann Rutter of Rocky Point, L.I., who earned a bachelor's degree in
biology and history, was selected to give the student address at the College's
Commencement on June 13.
A 2000
graduate of Rocky Point High School, she is the daughter of John and
Gwendolyn Rutter.
An
interdepartmental major in biology and history, she is enrolled in the
College's Leadership in Medicine Program, a combined-degree program with Albany Medical College and Union University. She is to earn a master's degree
in health systems administration from the Graduate College of Union University
and then an M.D. degree from AMC.
An aspiring
doctor, she said she is interested in family practice but is considering other
options.
At Union she has been a member of Phi Beta
Kappa honor society; and a member of Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor
society. She also played varsity tennis and intramurals, worked as a pool
lifeguard, and as a student assistant in Women's Studies. She was a tutor of
local children at the College's Kenney Community Center.
Her
address, titled “The Real World,” focuses on the accomplishments students have
made long before they graduate.
Following
is the complete text:
The real world. I have heard that
phrase perhaps more often than I would have liked over the course of the last
few months, something to which many of you, I am sure, can relate. Apparently,
that is where we are heading, the “real world.” It seems like some mysterious place we are
all destined for after our time at Union ends.
It is made out to be an unwelcoming place of hardships and cruel people,
of politics and money…a place we seemingly won't understand until we get there.
For some reason, though, those two words have
always seemed to bother me; they have never sat quite right. If the years ahead
are the real world, what am I living in now? And for the past four years? And
even the years before that? Are people
saying that before we get to this “real world” we are in a place of phony
relationships, fictitious and insincere people and artificial experiences? Are
they trying to tell us that everything we have done and accomplished has been a
fabrication? A figment of our imaginations?
To me, that doesn't seem to make
sense. Looking out at these faces before me today, telling them they are going
into the real world only now seems belittling to the achievements and
adventures they have already attained and pursued. Students among us are world
travelers and have been given the opportunity to see and feel the global
environment. There are students who have become true scientists and have
already made contributions to the community outside of Union's gates. Many became mobilized in
one way or another, both on and off campus, to make a true difference in our
communities and society. Or what about those of us who just took it all in,
gained knowledge and skill and are ready to apply that to whatever lies ahead.
We have all met at least one person
who has influenced us and helped us to grow, whether it was a faculty member or
fellow student. Bonds have been formed across seminar tables and lunch tables;
connections that lasted an hour, a term or over the length of four years. We
have been through tragedy and triumph, as individuals, classes, teams and as a
campus community. It certainly isn't just or accurate to say that these things
aren't real. There isn't one person here who can say they are the same as when
they arrived or that they have been untouched by something along the way. For it is these experiences and relationships
that have gotten us to this moment and molded us into the graduates sitting
here today.
Graduate; yet another word that seems
to stir up a lot of emotion. It is a term to describe many of us here and in
just a little while, alumni will be another one. These are the two hats we all
have in common, but there are many others that we may have arrived with when we
first set foot on this Schenectady campus or have acquired since that time. We
have among us scholars and artists, scientists and philosophers, activists,
mentors, musicians and actors … and through the beauty of a liberal arts
education, many of us are a combination of these things.
Now, don't get me wrong here, I know
that things will be different. After all, commencement by definition is a
beginning, so we must be starting something new. But we will still smile and
still cry. The earth will still turn the way it always has. We will continue to
realize our dreams. It's just that now these things will happen in new places
with new people. We may not always have someone watching over our shoulders to
make sure our footing is secure and perhaps we may slip a time or two, each
time growing and learning. But all of these things are part of the process, a
process that began long before today.
As we venture back through the Nott
Memorial this morning, we will be walking toward the once uncharted west. As we
do so, we will not be headed into the quote “real world,” but instead towards
our own unmapped destiny. Towards a place where we can take everything real
that we have already done, expand upon it and use it as a stepping stone into
everything real that we are yet to do. The world you set into won't be any more
genuine or authentic than the world you have already experienced, it will just
be different. You have already proved you have the
tools, skills and experience to do great things, don't let those go to waste as
you take your next step.