By Brian Heinemann, Editor and Mellette Maurice, News Editor
After his typical graduation welcoming seemed to evoke no emotion or response from the crowd gathered at the US Cellular Center, Mount Mercy College President Dr. Christopher Blake took a different approach.
“You should be happy,” he told those in attendance. “Welcome to our commencement. This is a good day!”
And it was, as the 400-plus graduates had the honor of listening to a keynote speech from Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, daughter of the late Robert Kennedy and niece to John F. Kennedy, whom she referred to as “one of the most beloved president’s in our history.”
“As graduates of Mount Mercy, you have a particular privilege,” she said. “You’re part of the most privileged and most educated generation.”
She stressed the importance of love, happiness and perseverance, telling the graduates not to believe that anything is beyond their ability.
Townsend told the audience a touching personal story about how she learned of the importance of love in her life. After her uncle’s assassination, her father sat down and wrote her a letter, something she still remembers to this day.
“It still stops my heart to think of him stealing away on that quiet and dreadful day to take a moment to write a message to me,” she said. “The messages from those around us either lift us up or restrict us.”
She used that harrowing personal tragedy as her most powerful piece of advice for the Mount Mercy Class of 2008.
“There are going to be bad things that happen to you, but don’t dwell on them,” she said. “Look to the future.”
Townsend, an honors graduate of Harvard with a law degree from New Mexico University, is currently an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and is both a former Lt. Governor and Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the United States.
The Kennedy family has a long history with Mount Mercy; it is one that dates back 51 years. Varying members of the family, including former President of the United States John F. Kennedy, have visited campus seven times. Commencement was the second such visit for Townsend, who was “happy and delighted to be here at a fabulous celebration.”
“You could say this (Mount Mercy) is a home away from home for our family,” she said, citing shared values and morals between her family and Mount Mercy.
Finishing at Mount Mercy is only the beginning for the Class of ‘08. According to Townsend, they are now needed as a part of a much larger picture.
“I sense that the world you are entering is on the cusp of a great shift. Today, you graduates, the eyes of your family and friends, the faculty and staff, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the United States are upon you,” she said.
“America needs you. Good luck and god bless each and every one of you.”
