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Pre-Commencement Breakfast:
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Every year, Alumni Reunion Weekend unofficially begins with an extraordinary tribute to NYU’s golden alumni during the annual Pre-Commencement Breakfast. One of NYU’s most distinctive events, the Pre-Commencement Breakfast honors alumni celebrating their 50th and 50-plus reunion years and inducts new members into the Prestare Society—a special group for graduates who have embodied the can-do spirit of the NYU community for over 50 years. After the breakfast, alumni commemorate their graduation with a spirited march into Washington Square to welcome NYU’s newest graduates during the Commencement exercises. Below is a letter from alumnus Paul Keller about the celebration: A Walk Among the Violets
I have dreamt of walking in a sea of violets for the past 59 years…just like Wordsworth dreamt of “a crowd, a host of golden daffodils.” And finally, that dream became a reality. I walked, not among “ten thousand” but fifteen thousand of them, bathed in sunshine and excitedly “tossing their heads in sprightly dance,”… I participated in the 175th Commencement exercises of New York University. When I graduated from NYU 59 years ago, I was unable to attend the ceremony and, frankly, I have felt incomplete because of this blank in my life. I don’t know what it was that made me skip all the reunions of the past, but I had never in all these 59 years returned to Washington Square. Perhaps it was the fact that I had never developed deep roots at NYU. I used to take the subway from my home in Brooklyn to West 4th Street, attend my classes, get back into the subway and never really connect with many students. Yes, there was Frank, and Barbara, and Marty, and Leah, but those are all the names I can remember—and I have never seen any of these four since 1948. I was in a rush at the immediate postwar time, in a rush to get my degree because I was already 24 years old when I entered as a freshman, taking maximum course loads and attending summer courses. I had no time to socialize—and that was my loss. Earlier this year, I received a brochure and a letter from the NYU Alumni Association (as I did every year), inviting me to participate as an old-timer at this year’s Commencement. This time, I said to myself, “It’s now or never.” So, on the day of the ceremony, I woke up full of strange excitement that an old man really should not experience after graduating so long ago. But there I was! I took the train to Penn Station and the A train to West 4th. And as I reached the street, I could feel my excitement build because the entire area seemed infused with festive spirit. I had to ask for directions to the Bobst Library twice before I found it. The building, of course, did not exist in my day. I entered the library and my eyes were greeted by a sea of animatedly talking old-timers, wearing white boaters with violet ribbons, obviously enjoying a hearty breakfast at a vast array of tables. I joined them as soon as I registered and the inquisition began. “What class?”, “What school?”, “What business were you in?” And so it went. And I very quickly felt camaraderie with the group, all of us having graduated fifty or more years ago. It didn’t take long for our group to be asked to line up for the march into the Square where all the diploma candidates were already assembled, forming a huge ring of violet around the fountain in front of the famous Washington Square Arch. As we reached the park, the loudspeaker announced the entry of the 50-Plus alumni group that produced a heartwarming, prolonged, and loud cheer and applause by the assembled degree candidates. It is difficult for me to describe my emotions as I saw these young people stand up and applaud and cheer us who had come and gone a long time before them. As I waved to them, I had a lump in my throat and a tough time fighting back the tears. I felt for the first time that I was part of a marvelous, landmarks-achieving fraternity of NYU graduates. That is what I had hoped to feel for all these years, and after 59 of them, I finally did. Mission accomplished! I carefully took in the proceedings on the stage which were highlighted by outstanding speeches by two student speakers and by the beautiful rendition of a Jazz composition played on the trumpet by Dr. h.c. Wynton Marsalis. And then the ceremony was over except for the shouting. I slowly made my way through the mass of humanity on my way back to the subway and everyday life. But my step was lighter and my spirits were lifted. I no longer felt left out. I now was part of this huge brotherhood of NYU students that had produced hundreds of thousands of outstanding human beings over the last 175 years. I was part of them, and I was proud. |
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