Welcome to New Students and Families
by
Father Jonathan DeFelice, O.S.B.
President
Saint Anselm College
23 August 2007

I am delighted to welcome you here today. On behalf of our monastic community, faculty, staff and students, I offer our heartfelt congratulations to our new transfer students and every member of the Saint Anselm Class of 2011. You have worked hard to get to this day. You have earned a place in this community. And, we are so very happy that you are here – we believe that you have exercised great judgment by applying, and then by accepting our offer for you to attend Saint Anselm College.

You have chosen to come to a College that believes in high standards – for ourselves and for you.  You have chosen a college that believes that God is present and active in our human history and in your lives.  You have chosen a college that believes deeply in the dignity of every human person, and in their ability to build a better world.

We believe in you and in what you are capable of accomplishing, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.  We also believe that we have an outstanding program of liberal arts education that will help you to become truly well-educated men and women, citizens of our democracy who are engaged in your communities, leaders in our free society who will know right from wrong and will have the courage and the will to build a civilization of love.  We believe that we offer you an education that will help you be in awe and wonder of the world around you for the rest of your lives.

We gather this afternoon in a place that has very deep meaning for everyone associated with Saint Anselm College.  One hundred and eighteen years ago this month some other people arrived on this piece of God’s good earth.  It was a small group of German Benedictine monks from New Jersey.  They had a vision of what could be a great College and so, to begin, they built the building in front of you today. 

You are sitting on what we affectionately call the quad, a place where thousands of men and women before you walked on their first day at Saint Anselm - and on their last - and on so many days in between.

The twenty thousand men and women who are our alumni began their journeys here - on this grand expanse of green - on this hilltop overlooking the city. This is the place where that great journey begins today for you.

It is a journey that will challenge you intellectually, inspire you personally, support you spiritually, and embrace the special and unique qualities that each of you brings to the Saint Anselm community. On this journey, you will ask and answer some of life’s most enduring questions.  You will form lasting friendships.  You will ponder and analyze and question and find answers.  You will worry on some days and laugh on others. You will slowly, one day at a time, one course at a time, one challenge at a time, learn just how very precious a gift is your education.

The journey that you begin today will lead you to much more than the acquisition of a college degree.  It will lead you to the true freedom that comes with an education.  Not every man and woman in our country has the opportunity that is before you today.  There are many who never get to take this journey; so savor every step of your journey – beginning with your very first step today – in this place where you will, with the support of all of us here, build the bridge that will connect your past to your future.

If you feel a bit of awe right now, a twinge of excitement, or perhaps some apprehension … savor that feeling too.  Hold onto it in your heart and never let it go.  Look up at the building behind me and know that you are in a place where the generations that have walked before you began with the same apprehensions, the same questions, the same hopes and fears.

The ground beneath your feet is ground that has been walked upon by all who came before you. It is the place where doctors and teachers, lawyers and nurses, men and women of business and  of the Church, political office holders, heads of government agencies, writers and poets, psychologists, scientists and parents of the next generation, where they found their way to the lives they were meant to lead.

This is the ground soldiers returned to after World War II in search of an education. This is the ground where more than a thousand people gathered with candles to mourn the loss of life on 9/11.   This is the ground where snow falls on winter mornings and frisbees fly on spring afternoons.  This is the ground crossed after long nights in the library or afternoons in the laboratory or on your way to classes and sporting events, meals with friends, midterm exams – and where you spend many moments you will never forget.

This is one of those moments; and I ask you to remember it every day that you are here. When the challenges come, as they will, conjure up the memory of today.  Remind yourself why you came here and what is that you set out to do.

To the parents, grandparents, family members and friends who accompanied our new transfer students and members of the class of 2011 today, we offer you a heartfelt welcome as well, and we offer a promise too. No person gets to take this journey without the assistance, encouragement and love of their family.  That you are here today is proof of that love and of your commitment.  Our promise to you is that we share that commitment. 

We are, and will remain, ever mindful of the trust and faith you have placed in us, of the many sacrifices you have made and will make to support your loved ones on this journey.    We believe in the great potential of every new member of the Saint Anselm community and we will work to always merit the confidence you have placed in Saint Anselm College and in the power of education.

So, welcome to Saint Anselm College.  May God’s blessings be yours in abundance during the years to come.