President’s Opening Convocation Address 2019

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT: FINDING YOUR PLACE IN THE VALPO COMMUNITY

Today I’m going to begin by doing just the opposite of what I normally do when I begin remarks: I am requesting that all of our new students in the audience pull out your phones and turn them on — not off. That’s right. Pull them out. Open your camera. Now take a selfie.

If you don’t have your phone with you or it’s not charged, don’t worry. For the rest of you, don’t hit that delete button. I’ll be asking you to pull out your phones again later.

What a day. Welcome to Valpo. It is here, amongst fellow students, a caring and dedicated faculty, staff, and administration, that friendships will be forged … character tested … where you’ll cram for tests and learn how to cope with your new-found freedom … where you’ll be challenged to grow, pursue your dreams, and find your full potential.

And we start that journey today. Here, in our historic and famous Chapel of the Resurrection.

You may have read these words on our website — now your website: “The freedom to pursue truth wherever it leads is at the heart of Valpo’s sense of community, uniting its academic and spiritual missions.”

Freedom. The pursuit of truth. Uniting the academic and the spiritual. These are lofty words, but, then again, this is Valpo. Your community. A place where you will discover more than a career path, but rather a personal vocation, a calling that will put your unique gifts to work for the sake of the world. A place where, if you so choose, you will experience a community that loves learning and celebrates the joy of discovery.

Our total commitment to each of you is to help prepare you for lifelong learning and leadership … To offer opportunities for personal and professional development … To provide you with the depth of understanding to excel in your chosen major and to perceive connections between disciplines …. To prepare you to be engaged citizens and service-driven leaders.

The education you will receive here will prepare you to make a living, but more important, it will prepare you to make a life. That is our total commitment to you … and the opportunity before you … should you choose to accept it.

Because I will tell you today, none of this will come to you automatically. It will take total commitment from you. To achieve your full potential, you must take an active role in your learning and be accountable for your success. And to discover your gifts and discern your calling, Valpo provides extraordinary opportunities to put what you learn into practice in the workplace, in research settings, in other countries, and in our larger community. Here, too, you will be called to serve generously and to make this campus community and the world a better place.

Creating Community in a 24-7 Connected World

These days, perhaps more than ever, people find themselves held in the tension that exists between the individual and the community. Here are just a few questions worth considering: Who are you as an authentic individual? And how does that authentic individual relate to public persona? What constitutes community? What is your authentic place in community with other people and how do you go about building and sustaining authentic community?

In the 20th century, community was most often constructed from one’s literal place in the world: a town, a school, a neighborhood. But in the 21st century, our very notion of community has shifted. Today’s ever-expanding communication technologies — our phones, the Internet, social media channels — are forcing us to relate to far more people and far more communities across a growing number of platforms. And the opportunity for people to construct and maintain inauthentic avatars in social media spaces adds levels of complexity and deception that strain traditionally held concepts of self and community to the breaking point.

Journalist and author Bill Bishop said this to The Atlantic: “It used to be that people were born as part of a community and had to find their place as individuals. Now people are born as individuals and have to find their community.”

Most of you — as part what some have termed Gen Z – have never known a world without social media, text messaging, and Internet search engines. Gen Z. I often wonder where these labels come from. The very name Generation Z came from an online contest sponsored by USA Today. Some of the other names proposed were iGeneration, Gen Tech, Net Gen and Digital Natives … all acknowledging how you’re the first generation to be born into this connected 24/7 world.

Just think how your college experience will be different from your parents’ generation. Most of you met your roommate online. Those of you who study abroad will wonder how generations of college students survived before Skype and WhatsApp. And imagine researching a paper without Google! Your grandparents, and parents and I had to rely on card catalogs and these massive reference books called the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature. Ask them about it.

While previous generations may have made signs and marched on campus, today movements are born on the Internet. A short list of hashtags — #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, #ALSIceBucketChallenge and #BringBackOurGirls — reminds us of the power of social media to bring together people from across the world and ignite significant societal attention and change. There is no precedent for the speed and scope of social media in the entire recorded history of human communication and civilization

But for all of its positive contributions, social media also has significant downsides. It provides a mouthpiece for ideas and facilitates fringe movements that a wide majority of people find repugnant or unacceptable in contemporary society. It remains agnostic in its relationship to constructs of morality, truth, and authenticity, thereby fostering disinformation and inauthentic or patently false social interactions and thereby contributing to ever widening societal mistrust.

Social media can also create illusions that everyone else but us is living their best lives and that we are missing out. Instagram is full of images of happy families and airbrushed, beautiful bodies. Fabulous vacations. Fabulously curated dorm rooms. Fabulous meals. Scrolling through all those images of fabulousness — and the “likes” they garner — can distort our sense of self-worth and significance. We can begin to value gratification and surface perfection over the deep satisfaction that comes with practice and mastery and commitment over extended time.

But here’s a truth: Technology is not intrinsically bad or good.

The Internet and social media have created expansive global communities that bring together diverse people who do positive things for the sake of local communities, our nation and the world. They also have created niche, homogenous, like-minded communities around common interests. They have also facilitated echo chambers … echo chambers of intolerance, hatred, and violence.

The wide difference in outcomes depends on the individuals involved.

In a world in which the very definition of community is being reshaped through technology, the tools that will serve us best are not built by code … but by character.

So, we must ask: How can each of you, as authentic individuals and people of character, find your place as part of the Valpo community, and how, in turn, can this community enable and inspire you to be your best you for the sake of the world? First…

Get Connected and Lead

We all want to be part of something bigger. We want to discover something truly exceptional and tap into the energy of a movement that moves a society forward. Valpo is a place for those who strive for a better world. Here it is possible to be part of something bigger without losing yourself in the crowd.

As students new to Valpo, I encourage you to make connections by getting deeply involved in campus life. Whether it is a fraternity or sorority, a pre-professional group, a faith-based organization, the arts, a team or club sport, multicultural programs, or volunteering in our greater community … find a place in which you can practice and hone your leadership skills, develop authentic, lifelong friends, and make a difference.

But remember, just as the number of “likes” online doesn’t translate into action, neither is the number of groups you join a measure of your impact. Rather than dancing on the surface of many activities, decide what part of the Valpo community you wish to take ownership of and go deep.

Strive to be a leader who serves generously. It was Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Schweitzer who said: “I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know. The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” Next…

Do Some Social Listening

Online, businesses participate in social listening to learn about what people are saying about their brand — the good, the bad and the ugly. Here at Valpo, we’re more about inclusive listening and mutual respect. We don’t let our differences divide us. People from every background, faith, and perspective make up the community. No one is left out.

Listening is not an easy thing to do. Most of us assume we understand what others are saying and we reach conclusions based on our point of view and implicit biases. But inclusive listening requires one to practice intellectual humility and actively engage in critical thinking: recognize and question assumptions, and recognize that not all assumed truths are indeed true.

“For wisdom begins in wonder.” Those are the words of Socrates, the Greek philosopher. Widely acclaimed as a wise man and brilliant teacher, Socrates claimed to know nothing. Yet he knew the power of asking the right questions. He sought to get to the foundations of his students’ views by asking continual questions until a contradiction was exposed and tested their preconceptions. This type of teaching and learning became known as the “Socratic Method,” still used today in academic institutions across the world.

In the classroom, we will continually challenge you to weigh different viewpoints and to think critically, creatively and analytically. You will learn to delve into the whats, whys, and hows of the world. As a result, you will learn how to challenge your preconceived notions about “what is best” and be open and adaptable to the new and unexpected — skills that will serve you well in the unpredictability and ambiguity of our multicultural, global society. This all starts by engaging your curiosity and listening … really listening … with an open mind and heart.

Which will lead you to…

Building Your Brand in the Valpo Way

When searching for jobs, new graduates are often coached to build a personal brand online that differentiates them from the competition. To build a LinkedIn profile that emphasizes their areas of expertise … and write a résumé and social media profile description that include the main keywords that define their strengths.

All good advice.

But what if I asked you today to name main keywords that set you apart … not just in a professional capacity … but as a person? I hope your answer would include words like ethical, integrity, honesty, and generosity. You are unlikely to go wrong if that is the foundation of who you are and how you operate in the world.

At Valpo, we are a community of people called to this place to seek truth, serve generously, and cultivate hope. Here you will receive an education global in scope yet grounded in faith. I urge you to use your faith as a guide, to help you act with character and integrity, humility and generosity … even in tough situations.

At Valpo, we believe that the mind is an ally of faith, just as the heart and soul are allies of the mind. In fact, the Bible tell us no less than to ready our minds. From 1 Peter Chapter 3: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15b)

Martin Luther King Jr. understood this at a young age. As a student at Morehouse College, he wrote an essay on the purpose of education in the Maroon Tiger, the student newspaper. In the essay, he acknowledged that education should “teach one to think intensively and to think critically,” but he argued that “intelligence is not enough.” He wrote: “Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.”

Integrity. Honesty. Compassion. Humility. Fairness. These are among the foundational character traits that we hope to nurture in this Valpo community and that we believe will guide you to lead a life of purpose, service and fulfillment—keys to being happy. The other keywords that you choose to define you … that’s up to you to discover here. Get creative. Challenge yourself while you’re at Valpo to emerge with a clearer understanding of who you are and your unique gifts and strengths.

That’s why my final bit of advice is to…

Get Closer

Those of you who use Instagram have probably all used editing tools and the pinch-to-zoom function to get a more engaging photo. In fact, even the great WWII photographer Robert Capa said: “If your pictures aren’t good enough, get closer.” And that’s what I urge you to do here at Valpo: Get closer. Delve deeper. Go beyond.

When you find something that sparks your interest, pursue it. Work hard at it and become good it. You will lead a rich life not just by following your passion … but by working hard to excel at it.

This takes focus. Oprah Winfrey is said to start every meeting in the same way. She asks: “What is our intention for this meeting? What’s important? What matters?” Why? Because high performers understand that clarity and focus don’t just happen. You have to actively work for it. That’s how you get things done.

So, I urge you to dream. But don’t stop there. Do something about it. Get focused. Set goals. Take risks. Fail. Try again. Fail. Try again. Get closer. Do this, and I promise you, not only will you have a more rewarding experience at Valpo—our campus community will be richer for it.

Conclusion

Now grab your phone again.

Pull up that selfie you took earlier, and take a look. And I mean really take a look. Not at the superficial: your smile, your hair, your outfit. Go deeper.

Take a look at the potential in you that we all see. We — your parents and loved ones. Valpo faculty and staff. Your friends. Then think about how you will translate this potential into purpose, then purpose into reality.

When we are anchored in a true community that supports our ambitions, we can get closer, go deeper and fly higher. And today, you are joining a community that seeks to support all aspects of your growth — the intellectual, the spiritual and, yes, the social, too. Because Valpo offers the path-seeking, career-defining education that allows you to push your limits and become your best self. To prepare you to live your best life.

The satisfaction that comes with living to your full potential is immeasurable. It’s a quality of life Valpo graduates enjoy every day.

My hope for all of you is that on your graduation day, if you pull up the selfie that you took today, you’ll recognize how far you’ve come and how much you’ve grown. You’ll see the leader you are and know the strength of your character. You will recognize potential realized … your best you.

Welcome to Valpo!