 |
 |
|
Bill Hogan, executive director of athletics at USF, and his daughter, Holly, valedictorian of the class of 2002.
|
Valedictorian Recognizes Selfless Acts
Holly Hogan, valedictorian of the University of San Francisco class of 2002, was a college drop-out.
After graduating from high school, she went off to college but after one month decided she hated the school and left. Returning home to the Bay Area, she felt a mix of emotions—relief, anxiety, and confusion.
“I had no assurances about where or when I would start again or whether I would hate the next school, too,” she said during her commencement address May 17 in St. Ignatius Church. “But then I met a professor at USF who put me on the route to exactly where I was supposed to be. Professor Patrick Murphy spent hours calling around campus, visiting departments, and finding students for me to talk to, even though he had never met me before. He knew that I needed USF.”
For Hogan, the politics professor exemplifies the character of USF students, faculty, and staff: men and women who live for others. Whether it is a professor attending to students before their own publishing, or students raising money for September 11 victims, the university community is defined by selfless acts, Hogan said. When she discovered the character of USF, Hogan knew she had found her place.
Hogan was among several student and guest speakers featured during commencement weekend in May. Invited speakers and honorary degree recipients included Deborah Tannen, author of You Just Don’t Understand: Men and Women in Conversation and Gregory J. Boyle, S.J., founder of the youth mentoring program, Homeboy Industries.
“We choose selfless actions when we know that no one may notice, no one may recognize, no one may thank us,” she said. “Our character shines not when we receive media attention, adoration, or fame, but when we choose selfless action while no one else is watching. As graduates, we must continually challenge ourselves to uphold the character of this university.”
USF President Stephen A. Privett, S.J. offered his own piece of advice for the approximately 1,500 graduates.
“Live your lives free from the tyranny of popular culture, which would have you believe that wealth, pleasure, power, status, and youthful looks will bring you happiness and satisfaction,” he said. “This is simply not true.”
|
