Class of ’74 Message to Graduates

A letter from the Class of 1974 to the Class of 2024:

The Golden Peacock Jubilee Class of 1974 congratulates you, the Class of 2024, on the successful completion of your academic studies at Saint Peter’s University. It is hard for us to believe that it has been 50 years since our own graduation. It seems like a lifetime ago and yet the memories are as warm and wonderful as if it was only yesterday. Like you, many of us were first in our families to attend college. We hope you enjoyed your experience and have realized as many benefits from it as we did.

However, your education does not end at graduation. As you journey through life, there will be many experiences yet to come and you will continue to learn and develop through them. You will have many personal and professional decisions to make. Consider your decisions deliberately and carefully so you may choose the right road forward. For as Robert Frost wrote in his poem The Road Not Taken:  “…And that has made all the difference.”

Most of all, always take time for your passions and the things that give you joy and satisfaction. Sometimes life causes us to dismiss or delay them. As the saying goes, carpe diem, so seize the day! You will find that the skills, knowledge and values you developed during your years at Saint Peter’s will strengthen and sustain you in all of your endeavors and encounters. The Ignatian education you received, emphasizing cura personalis, having concern and care for the development of the whole person, was a privilege and a blessing. In that spirit, go forth and set the world on fire!

Finally, please use your time and talents to make the world a better place. And should your circumstances allow, take the opportunity to pay it forward and support alma mater so that other students may also benefit from a Saint Peter’s education.

Thank you and good luck!
The Class of 1974