The 1,200 graduates began their college careers the same year as the school's president.
Westfield State University President Evan A. Dobelle high-fives graduates before Saturday's commencement ceremony on campus.
WESTFIELD – The 1,200 graduates who comprised the Westfield State University Class of 2011 were in the unique position of being the first and the last in the history of the institution to bid farewell to their college while receiving degrees from their university.
Near and dear to the heart of university President Evan S. Dobelle, the class was also special in that the students gathered before him under the tent on the campus green Saturday began their academic career at Westfield State College the same year he began his tenure as president.
“This is a historic occasion,” said Dobelle, who has the distinction of being the 19th president of Westfield State College as well as the first president of Westfield State University.
“You’re my class,” he said. “I came here when you started your first year here as students. You’re part of my family, and part of a historic change. Each of you is special to me. You are the sons and daughters of Westfield State University.”
One of those students, Class President Courtney E. Sarantos, took to the podium and thanked Dobelle for bringing a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee shop on campus, then advised her peers to head toward the future aiming for big things in life.
“Take opportunities and dream high,” she said.
Sarantos was also instrumental in bringing Collins M. Tuohy to campus as the Class of 2011 commencement speaker.
Tuohy’s family, depicted in the movie “The Blind Side,” adopted African-American Michael Oher, who originally lived in public housing with his crack-addicted mother. Collins Tuohy helped Oher adapt to college life and her family before he went on to become a first-round pick for the Baltimore Ravens in the 2009 National Football League draft.
“We picked Collins Tuohy because of her attitude about approaching the world with an open mind and to never let race or gender come between making relationships with anyone,” said Sarantos, 21, of Scituate.
Tuohy, 24, who was awarded an honorary doctorate degree, said “it’s a big deal for someone my age to be here speaking to you,” and added that the graduates should put aside any unrest they were feeling about the future.
“It’s completely OK to not have a plan,” she said. “I had no idea what I was doing.”
The most important message Tuohy shared with the graduates, however, was a lesson she learned firsthand from her experience with Oher. She noted that she and her family first encountered Oher on a Thanksgiving Day on a major, heavily traveled Memphis street where others simply continued on their path without paying any attention to him.
“He was someone deemed valueless – there was no value placed on Michael,” she said. “You are now fixing to be college graduates and about to go forth in the world and do what you’re going do. Will you pass people every day without placing a value on them?
"One of the most valuable people to come out of Memphis was someone who was deemed valueless,” she continued. “Value your neighbor when you leave here. The next person you see who you don’t know, get to know and place an appreciative value on them. They may be the person to change your entire life.”
In addition to Tuohy, honorary doctorate degrees also conferred upon David Carter, Connecticut State University chancellor; John A. DiBiaggio, former University of Connecticut, Tufts University and Michigan State University president; Marilynn Monahan, executive director of Reading Assist Institute and former secretary of National Education Association; and Laura Dubester and Alan Silverstein, both of Pioneer of Green Movement and co-founders of the Center for Ecological Technology.