Shannon Begley Graduates from Eastern CT State University

Eastern Connecticut State University's 122nd Commencement took place at the XL Center in Hartford on May 15. In all, 1,230 undergraduates and 88 graduate students earned their degrees. North Branford's Shannon Begley graduated with a degree in Visual Arts .

Michael S. Roth, president of Wesleyan University, delivered the Commencement address. He told the graduates he hoped they had learned three things at Eastern: "What you love to do, how to get better at it and how to share that with others...I hope that at Eastern you have found something that stirs your soul, that draws what is best from you." Roth also told the Class of 2012, "The habits of mind developed in liberal arts environments like Eastern's...will empower you to see opportunity where others see only obstacles." Roth concluded that universities "must continue to strive to be places where young people discover and cultivate their independence and must themselves resist the trends of inequality that are tearing at the fabric of our country."

Eastern President Elsa M. Núñez told the graduates not to sit on the sidelines. "The challenges we face today as a nation and international community are ours to face and ours to solve...there is no other country in the world that places its future so firmly in the hands of the people. You are now the next generation of citizen leaders in our state and in our nation. Together, you can be the force of change that can keep our country strong. It is your time. You are the leaders of the future, and the future starts now!"

Eastern Connecticut State University is the state's public liberal arts university. Eastern serves approximately 5,600 students each year on its Willimantic campus and satellite locations.

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Information courtesy of Read Media