Babson’s Graduate Class of 2012
Babson’s Undergraduate Class of 2012
Commencement Recap
Dear Members of the Babson Community:
I always regard Commencement as an extraordinary day, and May 19 delivered the excitement and community spirit that make the occasion so memorable. Our undergraduate and graduate members of the Class of 2012 have already done much to create economic and social value—in their projects, businesses, field work, service activities at home and overseas, and more. Commencement is a clear reminder that there are simply no students quite like Babson students.
Commencement is a One-of-a-Kind Experience
On May 19, a picture-perfect New England spring day, 481 undergraduates and 489 graduate students participated in their graduation ceremonies. Maria Eitel, President and CEO of the Nike Foundation, received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at the undergraduate ceremony, and Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, received an Honorary Doctor of Laws during the graduate school ceremony in the afternoon. The honorees spoke at both ceremonies.
Both Commencement speakers are translating their passions into action. Reid Hoffman, who has provided hundreds of millions of people with a tool to network through LinkedIn, offered his perspective on the critical importance of entrepreneurship and why the talents, skills, and mindsets of entrepreneurs are necessary now more than over. Maria Eitel, who has transformed her deep interest in the well-being of girls into a set of action agendas, encouraged our students to be bold and wildly ambitious in order to bring about real change in the world.
My message during the Commencement exercises was straightforward: to succeed in today’s uncertain and unpredictable world, members of Babson’s undergraduate and graduate Class of 2012 have learned to think and act like entrepreneurs. As students, they were empowered to move outside their comfort zones, to do something different, to enroll others in their ideas, to take a step and, when the path is not straight and clear, to pivot. With rapid change as the norm, they will find that learning how to pivot will be of value for the rest of their lives.
All the best,
Leonard A. Schlesinger