Darren Walker to Hamilton Graduates: Lead the Way Forward With Empathy, Courage, Compassion
In his address at Hamilton’s commencement, Ford Foundation President Darren Walker urged graduates to embrace history – good and bad – and lead the way forward with empathy, courage, and compassion. [Watch full speech]
Walker gave the address at Hamilton’s commencement on Sunday, May 20, in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House where 477 students received bachelor’s degrees. He was awarded an honorary degree, along with Nan Aron, founder of Alliance for Justice; Hamilton life trustee John Rice ’78, former vice chairman of General Electric; and Anne-Marie Slaughter, president and CEO of the think tank New America.
The Class of 2018 valedictorian was Natalie Poremba, an environmental studies major from Chesterland, Ohio. Salutatorian was Rebekah J. Brown, a creative writing and mathematics double major from Coleman, Okla.
Also speaking at Commencement was Marquis Palmer, of Utica, N.Y, recipient of The James Soper Merrill Prize as selected by faculty, and class speaker Eleni Neyland of Boxborough, Mass., chosen by her classmates.
Walker began his remarks by recognizing Hamilton’s motto, “Know Thyself.” He said it “must also mean knowing your history -- how this place shapes who you are today. We draw on our country’s history for a shared identity and ideas, but this same history continues to express itself in and through our nation’s toughest challenges,” said Walker...