Dec. 20—GRAND FORKS — In her winter address, speaker Nicole Poolman told the latest class of UND graduates to pursue important work over their own interests.
Six hundred and fourteen undergraduates and 256 graduate students were eligible to take the stage at the Chester Fritz Auditorium during Friday’s three ceremonies.
Ella Henry, a voice major, opened commencement proceedings during the 1 p.m. ceremony with a rendition of “America the Beautiful.”
University President Andy Armacost saluted administrators, faculty, international students, event staff and current and former military personnel in his remarks.
Jalen Decoteau, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, said he switched from studying education to art and planned to pursue a master’s degree in fine arts to teach in higher education.
“I decided to do what I prefer to do, that is important to me, instead of something where it is easier to find a job,” said the Belcourt, North Dakota native.
Krysta Ronning, 32, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in general studies. She taught special education at West Fargo Public Schools while completing her degree, and said she now plans to pursue a master’s degree focused on special education.
“You’re never too late to go back to school,” she said.
Poolman, a longtime educator who served 10 years in the North Dakota Senate, gave a relatively short speech.
She made a comparison between people who do important work and those who want to be important, quoting TS Eliot’s observation that the latter are responsible for “half the damage done in the world.”
“How true that feels in today’s society,” she said. “People who want to run for office and feel important, influencers and wannabe influencers, who are trying to be important.”
As a counterpoint, she offered her college mentor, Dan Sheridan, longtime professor and chairman of the English department.
At the end of her college career, Poolman said, she struggled with mental health issues and wasn’t sure she would finish her degree. She had dropped out of school for a while.
Sheridan, she said, welcomed her back and encouraged her through her studies. When she missed class to have a baby, he was unfazed, except for insisting that she tell the class that she was going to be a parent.
Although he was a leading faculty member and administrator, he taught at both the college and Grand Forks public schools because, Poolman said, he considered it more important than his other responsibilities.
“In my many years as a public school teacher, I have been committed to showing my students – especially those who have lost their way or don’t fit the mold of a good student – the compassion and support that Dan Sheridan has shown me which has shown years ago,” Poolman said. “I’m nice to them because he was so nice to me.”
Sheridan, she said, didn’t think of himself as important, but he did think he was doing important work.
Many of the Chester Fritz Auditorium graduates have signed up for careers in which they do important work, Poolman noted, such as teachers, nurses, engineers and researchers.
But everyone, she said, had a chance to make the world a better place.
“We’re counting on you all to become a little more like Dan Sheridan,” Poolman said.
