BYU holds first live commencement ceremony in two years
On Thursday, 6,876 Brigham Young University students filled the lower half of the Marriott Center for the school’s first live commencement ceremony in two years.
The energy in the arena was electric, hopeful. Not only had graduates managed to earn their degrees, but they did it through the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After giving photography advice to the parents and friends of graduates, reminding them to focus, center and re-center while photographing graduates, Elder S. Mark Palmer, a member of the General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the day’s commencement speaker, delivered a message directly to graduates.
“After today, many of you will begin packing your books loading up the U-Haul and saying your goodbyes to cherished classmates and liked professors,” he said. “As you now commence this next stage in your life journey I likewise give you three tips, the advice will also be to focus, center, and re-center.”
Palmer stated that although there are many things in life that cannot be controlled, it is best to focus on the things that can.
“You look so happy today, but I’m sure there are some of you that are anxious about an uncertain future,” he said. “You will have little control over wars, or conflicts, pandemics or personal illness, over inflation or recessions, or even how you’ll be treated by a boss or coworker. But you can control whether you respond to such events with faith or with fear.”
Emilee Carr, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology, served as the student speaker for the commencement ceremony. Carr wasted none of her time at BYU, co-authoring several scientific publications, presenting at conferences and serving as vice president of the Honors Student Leadership Council.
In a way that Palmer or BYU President Kevin Worthen couldn’t, Carr talked about the COVID-19 pandemic and the twists and turns that will always color the graduates’ time at BYU.
“Our college experience looked unlike anything we could have expected… our budgets, previously allocated to nice school clothes and Aloha Plate, quickly shifted to be spent on impressive pajama collections and Door Dash hidden fees,” she joked. “We are all excited watching our futures open as the world opens back up. There has been a constant thread throughout this frayed time however, it’s the reminder that we cannot do it alone.”
Carr shared a story from her freshman year at BYU where she slipped and fell in the snow on the way to a school service project. As she returned home embarrassed, she failed to notice her friend crossing the street to help her up. Her message to her fellow graduates was to help others who may have slipped or fallen as they continued to walk this path of life.
“As we go forward into employment, graduate school, or another adventure, know there will be moments when we slip. Find the people who will hold you up and teach you how to glide,” Carr said. “Here’s a reality, we are not on our own sidewalks meandering to an unknown destination, we are on the same sidewalk headed to the same place, and it’s not a race.”
Karen Bybee, president of the BYU Alumni Association, welcomed the graduates into the next phase of their lives as alumni. Bybee elicited laughs from graduates and their families by telling them the motto of her freshman year dorm at BYU, a message she has used to calm her nerves ever since.
“Many of you may have had a similar experience when you first arrived as BYU students, and may once again find yourselves, now that you are about to graduate, feeling some apprehension for what this next chapter will bring,” she said. “To you, I happily share the unofficial motto of my freshman dorm which became the mantra of my college years. Our Mary Fielding Smith Hall motto was … ‘If they can make Penicillin out of moldy cheese, they can make something of you.'”
This year, the university awarded 5,418 bachelor’s degrees, 1,203 master’s degrees and 255 doctoral degrees — split almost evenly between male and female graduates. Graduates came from 49 states and 65 foreign countries, and the oldest graduate to earn a bachelor’s degree was 69 years old.
Video of the full ceremony can be found online at BYUtv.
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- Graduates wave as they leave the the Brigham Young University Spring Commencement ceremony in the Marriott Center on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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- Soon-to-be graduates walk into the Marriott Center for the Brigham Young University Spring Commencement ceremony on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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- Student speaker Emilee L. Carr addresses the graduates during the Brigham Young University Spring Commencement ceremony in the Marriott Center on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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- Graduates listen to speakers during the Brigham Young University Spring Commencement ceremony in the Marriott Center on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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- Elder S. Mark Palmer, a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, addresses the graduates during the Brigham Young University Spring Commencement ceremony in the Marriott Center on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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- BYU President Kevin Worthen speaks to the crowd during the Brigham Young University Spring Commencement ceremony in the Marriott Center on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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- Graduates listen to speakers during the Brigham Young University Spring Commencement ceremony in the Marriott Center on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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- Soon-to-be graduates file in to the Marriott Center for the Brigham Young University Spring Commencement ceremony on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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- Soon-to-be graduates file in to the Marriott Center for the Brigham Young University Spring Commencement ceremony on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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- A soon-to-be graduate gives a thumbs-up to the crowd before the Brigham Young University Spring Commencement ceremony in the Marriott Center on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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- Graduates listen to speakers during the Brigham Young University Spring Commencement ceremony in the Marriott Center on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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- Graduates embrace their loved ones outside of the Marriott Center after the Brigham Young University Spring Commencement ceremony on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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- Student speaker Emilee L. Carr addresses the graduates during the Brigham Young University Spring Commencement ceremony in the Marriott Center on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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- BYU President Kevin Worthen speaks to the crowd during the Brigham Young University Spring Commencement ceremony in the Marriott Center on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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