Assumption College president confers degrees

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

    With some students involved in a serious car accident, then everyone sent home because of the coronavirus pandemic and unable to hold traditional senior events, it’s been a difficult semester, Assumption College President Francesco C. Cesareo acknowledged during a livestreamed conferral of degrees Sunday in the college’s chapel.
    But, he told graduates, the pandemic made more evident the value of a Catholic liberal arts education like Assumption provides. He said Assumption has not forgotten deep questions of the human heart, including: “What is the meaning of suffering?” The graduates’ education provided them with the wisdom and courage to confront present and future challenges, he said.
    For the conferral of degrees, which did not include the reading of graduates’ names, President Cesareo was joined by Greg Weiner, provost and academic vice president, and Assumptionist Father Richard Lamoureux.
    Then Assumptionist Father Ronald Sibugan, a campus minister, celebrated a senior Mass. Graduates were shown on a screen doing Scripture readings, songs and prayers, which they had pre-recorded at home. Also shown were pre-recorded congratulatory messages from administrators, faculty and staff.
    Graduates William Armstrong and Tim Cody were honored with the “Donec Formetur Christus” Presidential Award, which recognizes a student who embodies Gospel values and embodies the ideals of an Assumption education by understanding and bridging the relationship between the intellectual and spiritual life. Normally this award is given at the honors convocation, which was not held this year because of coronavirus restrictions.

    It was sad to have to leave the campus during the semester and going online was a big transition, but wonderful creativity and care were displayed, said John LeDoux of Worcester, one of the graduates.
    “Assumption is so tightly knit … it makes you appreciate how much being at school matters,” he said.
    “You weren’t forgotten as a student,” he said. The college’s administration, faculty and staff “felt what we were going through.” There were updates, check-ins with professors and videos from the president.
    As a member of the Student Government Association, Mr. LeDoux saw how the administration wanted to hear students’ perspectives and worked with them to hold online senior week activities.
    “All of that led up to the conferral itself,” he said. “They didn’t have to do all this for us. It was definitely bittersweet. … It was hard to experience that from home, wishing we were at the DCU Center walking across the stage. It’s definitely not the same online, but it was awesome for what they could do. …
    “I’m looking forward to August. I’m looking forward to seeing my friends … being on campus.”
     A baccalaureate Mass and commencement are scheduled for Aug. 22 and 23, respectively, according to the college.
    The college announced that the speaker for the graduation in August at the DCU Center is Robert Royal, founder and president of the Faith & Reason Institute and editor-in-chief of “The Catholic Thing.” He and James T. Brett, president and chief executive officer of The New England Council, and Kenneth J. Bates, president and chief executive officer of Open Sky Community Services, are to receive honorary degrees.
    President Cesareo began his speech Sunday by recalling how “we came together in this chapel to pray” after four of the graduates’ classmates were involved in a car accident in February. One of those graduates, Lily Vartanian, watched the livestreamed conferral of degrees from the hospital, her family said. President Cesareo told her, “You remain in our prayers.”
    Speaking to all the graduates, he said he hoped that the disruptive nature of recent months has taught them to take time to say, “I love you,” to mend relationships, to pray.
    “You need to be a sign of God’s presence in this world, especially at times like these,” he told them.
    Deacon Paul Covino, director of campus ministry, made some similar points in his homily. The Mass was celebrated on Mother’s Day, and the deacon asked graduates to hug and kiss their mothers or offer a prayer of thanks for them.
    He likened the guidance their mothers gave them to Jesus leading his disciples during the troubling, transitional time of the Last Supper.
    He likened the disciples’ questions about how to go where Jesus was going to students’ questions about their own destination.  
    “Especially during a time like this when so many people have been adversely impacted by the loss of jobs and income, it would be naïve to dismiss the very real concern for finding work that can support a person and his or her family,” Deacon Covino said.
    “But an Assumption education has never seen that as the destination or the ultimate goal, emphasizing instead that our graduates should be known for their ‘critical intelligence, thoughtful citizenship and compassionate service.’ In times like this particularly, those attributes are needed more than ever as we seek ways to uphold the dignity of all human lives and safeguard the health of all people in efforts to reopen the economy. …
    “Our ultimate destination is one of the many dwelling places in God the Father’s house, and Jesus is ‘the way and the truth and the life’ that lead there,” Deacon Covino said. “Let Christ continue to be formed in you throughout your life so that you may reach this ultimate destination and so that your life might light the way for others to join you there.”