By Hannah Gordon
News Assignment Editor
Graduation is fast approaching for the Class of 2014. Graduates will receive their diplomas at St. Bonaventure University’s 154th Commencement on Sunday, May 11.
This year’s keynote speaker, Joan Brown Campbell, former director of the Department of Religion at the Chautauqua Institution for 13 years, is one of three guests receiving honorary degrees from St. Bonaventure. Ann L. Swan, benefactor of St. Bonaventure, and Neal J. Johnson ’73, president and CEO of Special Olympics New York, will be recognized at the ceremony.
Before commencement, scheduled for 10:30 a.m., the class of 2014 has a weekend of events planned. To begin, the annual Candlelight Induction Ceremony, which welcomes the graduates into the St. Bonaventure Alumni Association, will be held at 8:45 p.m. on Friday, May 9, in front of De La Roche.
ROTC cadets are set to be commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army on Saturday, May 10, at 10 a.m. in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. An Honors Award Ceremony is scheduled to take place at 11:30 a.m. in the Reilly Center Arena. The Baccalaureate Mass is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in the Reilly Center Arena.
Some students are excited to graduate and leave St. Bonaventure and other students are not. For Lauren Loftin, a senior political science and pre-law major, it’s a bittersweet experience.”
“I can’t believe it’s around the corner,” Loftin said. “Bona’s is my second home, my safe haven, and my second family. It’s an experience like no other, where I was given the opportunity to discover my life’s passion and make wonderful friends and create memories that last a lifetime. Graduating will be difficult, but I have to remember that this is the beginning of the rest of my life and not the end.”
Some graduates are leaving siblings to finish their time at Bonaventure. Christina Stankewicz, senior history major, and Gerard Stankewicz, sophomore accounting major, will no longer be just a text away from each other.
“If there’s one thing I’m going to miss about going to school with my brother is always knowing that there is someone there for you.” Christina said. “Over the past two years my brother has become one of my best friends, and I think that going to school together has allowed for that to happen. What I’m going to miss the most is being able to know that I have the chance to see one of my best friends everyday if I wanted to. From actual problems to something as simple as going to lunch, he’s just a text away and that is really comforting.”
Gerard said he will miss having his sister nearby just as much as she’ll miss him.
“What I’m going to miss when my sister graduates is having someone nearby who knows me so well, and I feel I can really talk to about anything,” Gerard said. “Even though I’ve made a lot of friends at Bonaventure who I feel I’ve grown closer to, it’s not always the same as talking to someone you’ve known forever.”
