Sunday morning, the colleges of Applied Health Sciences, Law, LAS, Media and Veterinary Medicine came together with the School of Labor and Employment Relations, School of Social Work, Institute of Aviation and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science for Commencement at the State Farm Center.

Chancellor Phyllis Wise began the ceremony and addressed the audience, focusing on the graduates. She chose to wish them well: “I hope you have learned that by asking questions, opening debate, and encouraging discussion, that these are three of the most powerful tools in the world. No issue, trivial or great, can be resolved if you are afraid to talk about it.”

A member of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Timothy N. Koritz called Sunday “a day of festive celebration.”  He addressed the undergraduates with congratulations and thanks.  He commented on the arduous time spent as students that, Sunday, reached another conclusive chapter.

“I encourage you to follow your dreams, to use your great talents, to pursue your passions. You are young, you have time, you have your health; you have energy and stamina.  More than you will have one third of a century from now, I assure you.”

President Robert Easter quoted Dr. Seuss’s children’s book “Oh the Places You’ll Go,” speaking to the new step graduates took Sunday, the lessons that they will learn and the lessons that they will carry with them. 

Easter preceded the Alumni Association’s Thomas E. Livingston who served to introduce alumnus William A. Edelstein, who has worked extensively in Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, research. He invented the Spin-Warp imaging technique which is used in MRIs. His research has not stopped there. He was awarded the Alumni Achievement Award for his dedicated research and accomplishments.

Honorary degrees were awarded to James A. Thomson and Fred Robert Volkmar, who both received doctor of science degrees Sunday morning. Thomson was recognized for biomedical and embryonic stem-cell research. Volkmar was commended for his work in Autistic Spectrum disorders.

Wise introduced the smiling Shahid R. Khan, who received a bachelors of science in Engineering in 1971 from the University. Khan gave this year’s Commencement address. He is now the president of Flex-N-Gate Corp.  and owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and as he sees it, living the American dream.

“On my second day in America, I discovered what makes this country great: empowerment (and) optimism. I can control my destiny.”

His address began lightheartedly, but quickly moved to comment on the adventure, experiences and difficulties that await students beyond the University. Looking to his own story of success, having been a student in Engineering at the University, he recalled his challenging beginnings. He began as a dish washer making $1.20 per hour. He would later take a position at a blacksmith’s shop. These events and his arriving in Champaign-Urbana with about $500 that made him understand the challenges he would have to overcome, the attitude with which he would face them.

“Almost always the hard road is the right road,” Khan said. “Forty-some years ago, some people were concerned that as a foreign student and as a potential immigrant, I was taking a U.S. citizen’s job at a blacksmith’s shop. Yes, I did take that job. And in the process, created thousands of jobs right here in America.” This blacksmith’s shop was the Flex-N-Gate that would eventually become the core of Khan’s success, and this line was met with an uproarious applause from the audience. 

“The American dream belongs to everyone,” Khan reassured. “You cannot aspire to anything less; you cannot settle for anything less. And you cannot accept the inevitability of being told ‘No.’  Another one of life’s great lessons taught outside the classroom: How to respond to being told ‘No.’ … We love to hear the word ‘Yes’. But now as college graduates, you are about to enter the ‘No’ zone.  And I mean N-O zone. Like, no, the weekend doesn’t start on Thursday.” Khan acknowledged that the path to students desired lives would not be easy, just as his successes were not easy for him.

“The question was whether I would allow ‘No’ to be the final word, and I wouldn’t. We have to find inspiration and fight from the word ‘No’.”

Peppered by personal anecdotes, Khan brought his story full circle — he drew upon his self-motivation and success, all the while acknowledging his struggles.

“The luckier ones are the ones who do not have the answer today,” he said, speaking to the uncertain and the potentially jobless upon graduation. 

“Consider the harder road,” he encouraged the Class of 2013. “It’s time to create your own imprint. Make it a lasting one.”

ROTC candidates were conferred by Easter, who were to receive their commissions Monday. A strong applause and recognition was given to those serving the United States of America, as members of ROTC were also called upon. 

Easter conferred Graduate and Professional Degrees in addition to undergraduates while recognizing Bronze Tablet Scholars, who achieve a 3.5 cumulative GPA and are in the top three percent of the graduating class. 

When the graduates of LAS were asked to rise, there was a grand applause. The same applause met the Media graduates upon their standing. Easter conferred these degrees, as well, and a small group of graduates from Social Work rose, as well as an equally small group of Aviation students. Applied Health Sciences displayed a medium-sized group of graduates. 

All students were met with applause and carried with them the degree whose “rights, privileges and responsibilities” they would carry away with them.

Wise closed the ceremony asking mothers in the audience to stand, as this ceremony took place on Mother’s Day. At this, a large majority of the people in the State Farm Center stood, as family members were then called upon to stand and be recognized.

As tassels were moved to the left, students swayed and sang along to the singing of the Alma Mater as the Class of 2013 became a class of graduates.

Another ceremony was held at 2 p.m. in order to accommodate the colleges of Business, Education, Engineering, Fine and Applied Arts as well as Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.

Katie can be reached at [email protected].