Let’s give another warm round of applause to Olusola and Madison.
Let me extend again my heartfelt congratulations to the SUNY Oswego Class of 2025.
This is your moment.
Permit me to take a minute to offer my deepest appreciation and our congratulations to our December Commencement speaker, Jim Dowd.
Thank you, Jim, for all you do for our community and the Laker family, and for the memorable remarks you shared with our students and graduates.
Graduates, throughout today’s celebration, you have heard messages of reflection and anticipation, of looking ahead to a future full of promise.
And yes, it is important to dream big and reach for the stars, and to embrace the extraordinary.
I do want to offer an additional charge, and I want you to not just look at me for now, but look down.
Yes, look down at your pair of shoes, the shoes you are all wearing.
Those shoes have stories.
They have carried you through long nights of studying, early morning classes, heartbreaks, triumphs, and moments of unexpected joy.
They have taken you across campus and beyond, through internships, late-night brainstorms, campus performances, club meetings, athletic victories, and quiet walks by the lake.
Your shoes are a symbol of your journey at this institution and of how far you have come, and what you have overcome to be here this afternoon.
I keep my own pair of shoes, the shoes I wore as a student when I arrived in this country years ago, on a glass pedestal. Those shoes are there in my office, not because they define me, but because they humble me.
They remind me of the miles I have traveled and the resilience it took to get where we are.
And so, graduates, honor those shoes and find your stories in them.
Honor those stories, and that is what you heard from our commencement speaker this afternoon: his own journey, his own story to get to where he is today. As Mr. Dowd acknowledged, not every step along your way might feel like the perfect moment, but they might keep you on the important path of learning and growing.
That is also what you heard from your Student Government president, her own story about her journey, not alone but with the Oswego family, and discovering growth from within.
Each one of us has our own story.
You have also heard me speak about the power of education to transform lives and ignite possibilities.
And I believe in it deeply.
I was the first in my family to attend college, like many of you in this room, and I know, just as you know now, that education is more than a degree.
It is a door.
It is a spark.
It transforms lives, as I mentioned before, but it also ignites possibilities, as you heard from our commencement speaker.
It pushes you to ask questions, to seek understanding, and to challenge ourselves.
It fuels our dreams, our creativity, our power to shape not just careers, but our own lives and our communities.
As you step forward into this next chapter of your journey, in your shoes carrying everything you have learned here at SUNY Oswego, I hope you take three things with you from me.
Be humble.
You heard that message from us today.
Not because you’re not exceptional, but because humility keeps you grounded.
Be kind.
You heard that from our speakers, because the world needs more of it than before.
Kindness costs nothing, but it does create ripples you may never fully see.
And a third lesson I leave you today is to be bold.
You heard that today as well.
Bold enough to stay curious, ask questions, admit when you don’t know, and keep learning.
And remember the lessons from this historic institution, founded 164 years ago, as you heard from our Vice President for Institutional Advancement.
Cherish the friendships you made here and carry the memories.
Let your curiosity lead you to new places and to deeper understanding.
Class of 2025, go out there and lead with passion, with purpose, and above all with courage.
Congratulations.
Go, Lakers.
—President Peter O. Nwosu