Friends, family, honoured guests, and Brock University graduands: Welcome to Convocation! I am truly glad to be here celebrating with you all today.

Graduands, I want to start by congratulating each one of you.

Today is a milestone in your life. After the years of pandemic-related disruption and uncertainty, today has taken on even more meaning.

Earning a university degree is challenging at the best of times. But you, the Class of 2022, overcame some of the most difficult circumstances in generations: the closure of campus, a quick transition to online learning, and the stress and anxiety of not knowing when it would end or what would happen next.

These aren’t ideal circumstances in which to get your post-secondary education. But you and your families and friends adapted, with resilience, tenacity and perseverance.

I hope you take time today to reflect on your significant achievements.  And you may one day look back on the adversity you faced during this time and recognize that the situation you faced with such determination will have prepared you for whatever life may throw at you.

I want to acknowledge the family, friends and other supporters who helped you get to this day.

I am certain that they have been key to your success, acting as mentors, advisors, sounding boards and coaches.  I thank them for their commitment and share in their admiration for you.

Brock is a tight-knit community of people who want you to succeed. The faculty and staff have worked hard to give you the foundations for your future achievements.

I want to thank them as well for their extraordinary efforts throughout the last two years to offer you an exceptional education.

Brock is an institution founded on the support and generosity of the Niagara community. Our community partners and donors are our invaluable supporters.

This community advocated in the 1950s for the region to have its own university. In the 1960 it raised funds for the university’s first buildings. That generosity continues to this day. This year, we celebrated a transformative new gift made to the University by Dr. Haj-Ahmad, a former professor at Brock, and his family who are contributing to the expansion of the University and to a next generation of Brock students with a gift to the new Engineering program.

Organizations in our community also collaborate with Brock to offer hands-on, experiential learning opportunities.  These opportunities augment our excellent in-class education and help our students develop their full potential.

This wouldn’t be possible without individuals who recognize the value of working with Brock and our students.  To everyone we have worked with or who has supported us this past year, thank you so much.

Graduands, you’re receiving your well-earned degrees at a complicated time in the world. We are in a period of upheaval and rapid change. It may seem harder than ever to see what the future holds.

Yet I am confident that your experience at Brock has prepared you to move forward with confidence. The education you received and the relationships you’ve built at Brock will serve you well, as will the values to which we hold strongly at this University:  integrity, respect, inclusion, innovation, stewardship and reconciliation.

Graduands, congratulations on everything that you’ve achieved so far!  I wish you well and hope that we will see you here again at Brock often in the future.

Thank you.