Eskenazi School Class of 2020 Recognition

Description of the video:

Hello, everyone!

I’m Peg Faimon, the Founding Dean of the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture and Design and I’m so pleased to join you for a virtual celebration of our graduating class of 2020 – our one and only bicentennial class.

Let me begin with sending you a hearty congratulations. You did it!

I’d also like to welcome and congratulate the families, partners, and friends who have helped you along the way. They may even be sitting with you as you watch this video. Their support helped make this day possible. Graduates – please join me in thanking them for being there for you!  

And, of course, I’d like to recognize some other very important people – the Eskenazi School faculty, staff, and advisors who became your friends and mentors—and in some cases, practically your families. They played a vital supporting role in bringing you to this day.

Under normal circumstances, our graduate students would have a special ceremony in Assembly Hall to highlight their achievements. And then the next day all the undergraduates would officially graduate in a grand and thrilling ceremony full of pomp and circumstance outdoors in Memorial Stadium. That’s not to be this year. My own daughter is a bicentennial graduate, and I know how much your friends and family were hoping to celebrate with you in a weekend long series of events and activities. But that’s not meant to be this year.

You will forever be our bicentennial class and you will always be very special in the hearts of all of us at IU and in Bloomington. We thank you for the sacrifices you personally made to keep yourself, your friends, your teachers, and everyone on campus safe.

You will always be a part of our Eskenazi School family.

Now, while an impressive number of you have earned special academic distinctions, all of you have earned the distinction of having the right to add these words to your resumes: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts or Master of Science.

And for that achievement, once again, congratulations.

But a graduation is about much more than words. It’s a celebration commemorating the years you spent here—years during which you made all sorts of social, intellectual, artistic, and professional connections.

For the rest of your life, you will remember the light bulbs that went off when you suddenly understood a new disciplinary concept . . . or a new software program . . . or tried your hand at a new artistic medium, be it clay or charcoal or fibers.

For the rest of your life, you will remember the spark that ignited when you met friends and faculty who shared your ideas and interests.

And you’ll also remember students and faculty who seemed at first to be your polar opposite but now are lifelong friends and influences.

Some of you are going to start working for people and companies that you connected with through internships or summer jobs you obtained while you were here.

Finally, in addition to the connections you made here, many of you studied overseas, making global connections.

In short, your years here weren’t about checking off boxes or adding words or a title to your resume. They were about your personal evolution, incredible growth, and in the end meeting unprecedented challenges. They were about making connections that you’ll be drawing on for the rest of your life.

You are already scatter to places all over the globe. Some of you are staying close in Indiana, but others are going far.

As an IU alum, I remember my own IU graduation as one of the most exciting days of my life. I was surrounded by family and friends. But inside I was a little worried because I was going off to graduate school on the East Coast.

How would I do there? I wondered.

I didn’t know then that the training I’d received here at IU, accompanied by the tried-and-true Midwestern values of friendliness and hard work, would take me far.

And eventually they’d bring me right back here, to Bloomington.

And so, for a second time, I have the privilege of enjoying the beauty and the scholarship and the amazing resources our campus offers, as well as the warmth of our community.

So, remember: whenever you get homesick for IU and the Eskenazi School, you may one day return. And even if you don’t return to live, the connections you made here will be with you always.

So, for the final time, congratulations. It has been our great pleasure and honor to teach you and inspire you, and to be your home for this very pivotal slice of your life. And let’s none of us lose hold of the connections we’ve made with one another.

For all of us in your Eskenazi School family, we wish you and yours health and peace. Stay well and stay in touch.