New Balance President and CEO Joe Preston Tells Bentley
Graduates to 'Be the Leader Who Keeps People Connected'
WALTHAM,
Mass., May 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 900
undergraduates of the Class of 2024 celebrated their send-off from
Bentley University in a very different way than their 2020 arrival
amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The 105th undergraduate commencement
ceremony was marked by maskless smiles, long embraces, celebratory
high-fives and groups of friends and family posing arm-in-arm for
photos. Keynote speaker Joe Preston, president and CEO of New
Balance, addressed a crowd of approximately 7,500 who attended the
event on the Bentley football field on May
18. A livestream was available for those unable to attend in
person.
"Class of 2024, making it to commencement is never certain, but
you have jumped more hurdles, complied with more protocols and
dealt with more ambiguities than is to be expected in four years of
college; and that accomplishment deserves recognition today,"
Bentley President E. LaBrent
Chrite said as he welcomed graduates.
Acknowledging current global events, he said, "Often, it's
hard not to be pessimistic and even downtrodden.
It's near impossible to not feel some level of grief. Yet, it's
days like today that offer us a momentary pause from the ways of
the world where we can come together as a community and celebrate
accomplishment. Honor excellence. Recognize achievement. And, I
hope, lift our gaze toward a brighter future that will be, in no
small part, defined by those of you who sit before us
today."
Chrite expressed confidence in graduates as they begin their
next chapter. "You graduate from this institution with the
necessary skills, abilities, fluencies and worldview that will
enable you to overcome the challenges you will face — and the
mindset to consider, from multiple points of view, what exactly led
to the challenge in the first place.
"Your Bentley education has readied you to live a life of
purpose, to have an impact, to be a force that changes the world
for the better," Chrite continued. "The challenges today are
enormous. My expectation of each of you are equally
great."
During his remarks to graduates, Preston said, "Years from now,
society is going to be most curious about the Class of 2024: how
you handled the adversity, how you've grown and how your
contributions are impacting the world. What you have endured and
accomplished says a lot about your potential — certainly as a
business leader and most importantly as a person."
Recognizing the technical skills that graduates have acquired,
Preston also emphasized the importance of soft skills, including
the ability to make connections.
"You have seen how interconnected the world is … We have also
seen over the last four years the effects of isolation on mental
health worldwide," he said, challenging graduates to build
relationships. "Be the one — be the leader in your group, in your
community — that keeps people connected. And, when you don't hear
from someone in a while, reach out. Sometimes sounds of silence can
be a cry for help. Nothing in the human experience is more
important than relationships. And nothing in a relationship is more
powerful than being with each other."
The ability to lead, Preston said, comes from lived experiences
and a personal commitment to learn, explore, discover — and always
remain curious. "Over the last four years, you have been
strengthening your leadership competencies. You've demonstrated
resilience, you've operated surrounded by ambiguity, you were
adaptive when necessary and you were results-oriented. And, results
do matter. There was a goal. You achieved it. You are here
today."
Preston shared leadership lessons that he has learned over the
years, including the belief that effective leaders engage in a
"continuous cycle of listening and learning" and named crucial
characteristics of strong leaders: "They are authentic. They have
strong values and character. They operate with humility. They
demonstrate strength through resilience, and they also demonstrate
strength through acts of kindness."
He noted the positive impact of technology on innovation but
reminded graduates not to forget about human connections and
remaining present in the moment. "For each of you as you go
forward, leverage technology as a tool but never stop learning,
thinking and staying curious."
Preston applauded graduates as a generation that shows empathy
and passion. Acknowledging experiences that graduates had to forgo
during the pandemic, he said "Take nothing for granted … find joy
in the moments you have, both big and small.
"Let your experiences inform you, but never let one thing define
you," he continued. "Be proud of your past, and always be ready for
change that accompanies any growth."
During the ceremony, Senior Class Cabinet President and Double
Falcon Sanay Jhaveri '24, MSF
'24 addressed his peers, reflecting on the uncertainty of the
pandemic as they arrived on campus in fall 2020.
"Today, when we all walk across this stage and cap off our final
moments as students at Bentley University, we aren't just doing it
for the people we've become now, but also for the people we were
four years ago," he said. "We wondered how we would sustain
ourselves here. Personally, at the time, I didn't know whether I
would make connections with anyone on this campus. However, the
situation encouraged me to make even deeper bonds with the people I
started Bentley with, and today, I get to walk with them across
this stage."
Though he acknowledged his struggle to find motivation during
high school, Jhaveri said, "Bentley has molded me into the person I
always knew I could be ... Bentley taught us all about the
importance of networking; it taught us to excel in academics and be
a leader. However, something Bentley teaches that isn't mentioned
so often is the importance of perseverance and growth. Each of us
has faced our own journey here, and we can say we've passed with
flying colors because we're all gathered here today. That's what
perseverance and growth do. They push you to keep going, to be the
best possible version of yourself. They reinforce your ability to
achieve greatness, success and prosperity in life … this isn't the
end, it's the beginning of the rest of our lives."
The commencement ceremony concluded a week of Class of 2024
festivities, including a champagne toast at the President's house
and an awards ceremony. Smaller celebrations for different campus
groups and programs were also held, including a Rainbow
Graduation ceremony for graduating LGBTQ+ seniors and a
cording ceremony to celebrate students who are the first in their
family to graduate from college.
PROCTOR & GAMBLE EXECUTIVE KARAN DYSON
ENCOURAGES GRADUATE STUDENTS TO 'BREAK DOWN WALLS OF FEAR'
On Friday, May 17, the university
also honored PhD and graduate students in the 49th annual
commencement ceremony for Bentley's McCallum Graduate School
of Business, which saw a crowd of approximately 2,500 gathered
inside the Bentley Arena. President Chrite greeted the graduates
with congratulations and expressed the optimism he has for
graduates as they use their advanced degrees to become "engaged,
high-integrity, empathetic and talented leaders" with the power to
positively change in the world.
At the graduate ceremony, the university awarded 211 Master
of Business Administration degrees and 284 Master of Science
degrees in subjects including Accounting, Business
Analytics and Human Factors in Information Design. Six
graduates were awarded PhDs — three in Business and
three in Accounting — and were presented with diplomas and
hoods from their faculty advisers.
During the ceremony, keynote speaker Karan Dyson, vice president, Global Grooming
Process and Engineering at Procter & Gamble, told
graduates, "On the other side of this graduation wall, the world is
waiting on you all to rise as leaders — not just average leaders
but transformational leaders."
That kind of leadership, Dyson said, is informed by resilience.
"First, it will require creating your life map and owning it. You
have to know where you are going, otherwise life will take you to
where you land … Resist just following what others have done
because their plan may not encompass the magnitude of greatness
that you desire for yourself and your life."
Dyson said that assessing fear early can help avoid self-doubt
and imposter syndrome — something she sees often while serving as a
mentor. To emphasize the potential impact of outside barriers, she
reflected on a personal story of how people cautioned her against
taking a career opportunity to lead an engineering organization in
China.
"I was actually relieved as they shared their concerns, because
I could quickly assess that these were not my fears nor concerns
that would prevent me from embracing the opportunity," she told the
graduates. "Was I afraid? Heck yeah, I was scared. But I committed
to myself that when fear seeps in, I will run towards it because I
know what lies beneath the fear is an opportunity for me to learn
and grow exponentially."
As for life's inevitable curveballs, she said, "Expect them and
plan for them. Every good plan has a backup plan. It doesn't mean
that you aren't slowed down from the setbacks or that your path
doesn't require a modification, just don't abandon your plan, don't
abandon your goals, don't abandon your aspirations and don't
abandon your dreams."
Referencing successful inventors — like Thomas Edison, Steve
Jobs and the Wright brothers — who experienced early
failures, Dyson said, "I want you to clearly see and believe that
on the other side of failure there is success … Celebrating your
achievements and milestones is a secret weapon that you can use to
help motivate and build your own confidence."
She concluded, "I give you permission to boldly step into this
next chapter of your life; to dream big, to break down walls of
fear and doubt. And when you are knocked down, pop back up and
allow the resiliency muscle that you have created to kick in … You
are ready."
Graduate student speaker and Double Falcon Aleshia Green '19, MSF '24 began by talking
candidly about her uncertainty to pursue a master's degree. "I
learned that my hesitation didn't stem from those practical
considerations I had previously questioned; rather it was my own
fear of failure and not being good enough to achieve that was
holding me back. My mother encouraged me to take a leap of faith to
take a chance on myself — and that's just what I did."
She encouraged her classmates to take chances as they follow
their life goals and reminded them of their preparedness. "You are
more than ready; you are more than good enough and you are
well-equipped with the necessary tools along with the knowledge and
confidence to make it all happen. Today I challenge you to dream,
to leap, to fly, to believe in yourself. Pass the glass ceilings
that will cease to exist, you'll never know if the opportunity is
missed. Be brave, be fearless. Never be afraid to fly because you
might even soar. So, here's to the dreamers and
believers."
ABOUT THE GRADUATES
The Class of 2024 includes 867 undergraduate students
representing 34 states and territories and 40 countries. The
degrees include 855 Bachelor of Science degrees and 12 Bachelor of
Arts degrees. The class also includes 501 graduate students
representing 27 states and territories and 29 countries. They
include 284 Master of Science degrees, 211 Master of Business
Administration degrees and six PhDs. Fifty-eight students earned
their bachelor's and master's degrees, and nine students earned
both MBA and MS degrees this academic year.
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SOURCE BENTLEY UNIVERSITY