President's Welcome Message to the Class of 2030
Transcript
Oh my goodness. It's just me and MJ now, right? We're ending this time so we can prepare. We take this time to be in community with you, to start to build community with you. And yes, it's coming to a close.
I can't thank all the speakers enough for everything you've said, for the good you've put into the universe. And now it's my turn to greet you, dear class of 2030. You are bright and beautiful and you are here.
And dear families, I hope you have felt the love of Grinnell for you in person and, of course, on the live stream. We know we have hundreds of people out there.
I will tell you, parents and families, my heart is with you. Our youngest just started his third year of college and I'm here to say we've got you and your wonderful child, and every emotion is okay. And if you need one, I'll be out on the lawn with the reception afterwards, and I do give out free hugs for this moment. It's a big one.
So, you've heard words, dear class of 2030, of warmth and welcome from cherished campus partners and leaders. Words that are ideas that are offerings and invitations in this beautiful and deeply human moment of gathering.
You've gathered here from all these different places. You have this great power of the 470 of you making your way to Grinnell over the past several days. You have moved across landscapes and oceans, over borders and boundaries, through portals and thresholds, to be here.
You are mighty and marvelous. And for the coming weeks, you will all be in a process of gathering into community. We will all be in a process of gathering into community with you, of coming to know each other and to learn from each other as we engage in our mission to use our knowledge and abilities to serve the common good.
As we do so, I'd like to share a phrase with you from one of the great political theorists of our times, Dr. Danielle Allen. In her book, "Talking to Strangers: Anxieties of Citizenship since Brown v. Board of Education," she presents this powerful idea: "Democracy," she writes, "depends on trustful talk between strangers."
And I put it to you that this day — this long, wonderful, intense day — has depended on trustful talk between strangers. As you found your way around campus, as you arrived at your residence hall, as you put all your belongings in one huge, red cart; as you greeted your roommate, as you took care of all the things, I put it to you that Grinnell College — since its inception in 1846, and long into its future — depends on trustful talk between strangers.
As faculty and staff bring and share their expertise, as new classes of students come every year to further shape and develop this institution, I put it to you that we all, as an ever-changing, ever-becoming, multicultural, multi-racial, interconnected community and global society, depend on trustful talk between strangers.
So, what is trustful talk? What does it sound like? What does it claim? How is it fostered and sustained? Trustful talk might actually begin by listening, by giving another person that first gift of trust — being heard.
Indeed, in its Old Norse origins hundreds and hundreds of years ago, "traust" meant "help" or "protection, support," — deeply felt ways of connecting with someone." In its Proto-Germanic roots, the Old Frisian "trāst" and the Old Dutch “trōst,” it even meant "consolation." "Trust" can mean "consolation." In Old English "trūwian," it meant "to believe."
Within that space of attentive listening, we will hear and speak trustful talk. We will be able to say to each other, "Well, what if we do it this way?" Or, "My experience was different." Or, "Have you ever thought about...?" Or, "I don't agree, but I'd like to hear more." And – these are very important phrases of trustful talk – "I don't know and I need help." This is how knowledge grows. This is how we learn. This is how we can live.
You will be well served and well-versed in trustful talk. And you will no longer be strangers to each other by the time we gather again for your graduation in May of 2030. And you will be ready to create spaces of trustful talk among new strangers, new communities, and new societies.
Dear Grinnellians, you are here — and we are glad. Delight in learning together. Savor your good moments and let them be respite and renewal to you for the tough ones. Let them energize and connect you to each other.
Know that we are here, that we believe in you, and that we work, and will always work, to be that trusted place for you for the rest of your lives. Thank you for all that you make possible in being here.
Welcome to Grinnell. It belongs to you now.