Jacob Neusner's Commencement Speech

Why Focusing Too Narrowly In College Could Backfire by Peter Cappelli was very detailed about the author’s points in today’s society. I enjoyed reading this passage, because I agree with the author that there are not enough guaranteed jobs out there for students after they graduate. I have been experiencing this first hand because I will be graduating in May, and the job field is tough and very competitive. The author’s thesis in the passage is clear, “The economy is still shaky, and many graduating students are unable to find jobs that pay well, if they can find jobs at all.” I believe that professors need to tell their students more and prepare them more that the economy is very unstable at all times, and no job is ever promised or promised

(40) With this in mind, Lawrence B. Schlack uses his status effectively, by referring to high school graduates as a destructive force. “The go-to-college tsunami,” in other words, Schlack is trying to convey that students have this perception that they must attend college. And with that said, students place themselves into a situation they don’t know how to handle. Despite the shortage of credibility, Schlack makes up for it with the amount of pathos he provides in the

Starting college as a Freshman is exciting; it is also unnerving. The comfort of everything I know is going to disappear and it will be time to grow up and face reality. However, reality isn’t doomed to be negative if I prepare for my future and

In “Too Many People Are Going to College”, the author, Charles Murray’s main purpose is to encourage people to rethink college. He clearly gives very valid and educated reasons on why college isn't for everyone and how society has made everyone think that college is a norm and, in a way, a rite of passage into adulthood and citizenship. Murray is given the difficult task of proving to the people that society has marred and distorted the views of college. He does an exemplary job of executing this task. Murray presents his argument that college is not all society says it is by presenting counter arguments and either giving rebuttals or conceding.

Cureton and John Tagg both look at the bigger picture. In “Collegiate Life: An Obituary,” Levine & Cureton discuss larger reasons for why students behave the way they do in college–hope and fear. From these two emotions, they show how other attitudes–consumer expectations, psychological “damage,” and a utilitarian approach to learning–are a result of these two greater forces (Levine & Cureton 712). On the other hand, Tagg, in “The Decline of the Knowledge Factory: Why Our Colleges Must Change,” places the blame for the failure of higher education on universities. He writes that students’ disinterest and professors’ complaints are both due to the failure of the universities. Edmundson’s essay is given context and an explanation in Tagg’s

In Freeman Hrabowski’s piece, “Colleges Prepare People for Life,” he mentions the differing opinions between going to college and choosing another path. Many people find college too expensive, and once a student graduates, he or she will face enormous debt and potentially risk still being unprepared for the working world. Hrabowski acknowledges this, and also notices that many students who do attend college occasionally make the wrong decision in terms of choosing a school and major. But while the stakes are high, he argues that college not only provides financial stability, but also allows students to become more virtuous citizens in the long run. He does this by providing information to backup his claims, using a passionate tone to explain his beliefs, and paralleling college attendance with good intentions.

In David Foster Wallace’s Commencement Speech, he opens with a short parable about how a fish greets two other fishes and ask them how’s the water today, this parable introduces us to his message which is changing that default setting which is hard-wired into our brains to have a life worth living. I agree with his statement because this is’nt just the first time this formula has been brought to our attention. Many success people have said this statement in some form or fashion, we can even look at David Sedaris’s commencement speech.

“Colleges Prepare People for Life” by Freeman Hrabowski, is an informative essay about how college is a crucial step for the preparation of a successful future job opportunity as well as future life. Hrabowski is the current president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and has been in that role since 1992. “In 2012, President Obama named him chair of President’s Advisory Commission on Education excellence of African Americans” (Hrabowski, 2013, p. 259). This quote goes to show the amount of knowledge and respect Hrabowski has earned throughout his life by proving himself and his ideas to others. Although college is a crucial step for the preparation of a successful future job opportunity as well as one’s overall wellbeing of life; some might disagree that college is the key to success. From this essay, messages within the text will be made known by analyzing the real meaning behind Hbrabowski’s words. As well as reasoning, as to why a college education is essential to one’s overall quality of life.

I have the distinct pleasure of welcoming all of you into the National Honor Society, a group built off of high standards of achievement, not only in the area of academics but also in character and leadership. I congratulate each of you and your parents.

Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle in their book “Rereading America” feel that commencing college is a very disturbing experience. So many things we have to deal while starting college, but the major challenges are expanded difficulty levels and higher expectation which we are not familiar over the years of high school. In order to solve this issue, we have to remodel ourselves by taking up the challenge and rethink about our strength and flaws. To succeed in college we need to be mentally strong and dedicated towards our goal.

I'm on maternity leave these days, and the graduation ceremony will take place in two weeks, in which I will receive a diploma authorizing that I have a BA in special education for pre-school. I am both excited and expecting it.

The transition from high school to college is a dynamic time in one’s life that parallels the change from childhood to adulthood. Both of these changes are dramatic and, as a result, feelings are difficult to put down into words. A messy combination of emotions fills the heart, surfacing in strange ways. Confident high school seniors go right back to the bottom of the chain when entering college as freshmen. These students start all over, just like entering grade school or high school for the first time. The move up from high school to college signals the switch from dependence to self-sufficiency. From a personal point of view, going through the experience of graduating high school and transferring to a residential college campus at STLCOP, made me realize I was no longer a kid and capable of making my own decisions.

Beginning with the fatalistic discourse utilized by my family, peers, and educators, I internalized such thoughts, and implicitly understood that, quite naturally, I would make the predestined transition to college from high school. Finding

The experience that occurs at college must reflect to younger generations that college is not a scary place, and that it is a safe and secure place as if they were at

“College is an everlasting memory that one will always cherish.” Many alumni have quoted these words to undergraduates in all different forms, whether they were speaking slang to connect to the younger folks or if they were speaking intellectually with vast vocabulary. However, any way these words were delivered, these words triggered in many minds, except mine. Howard University’s homecoming was October 22nd thru the 27th, 2013. A day after my eighteenth birthday was proclaimed to be turn up time for Howard’s students as well as graduates, celebrities, and especially local District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia residents. Everyone was thrilled for this “once in a lifetime” opportunity. Well, the 22nd thru the