Graduates Told of Routes to Success
By Andrew Rafferty
Canisius College’s newest graduates found out on Saturday how to get rich, but not by making money.
Calvin Darden, retired senior vice president of UPS and a 1972 alumnus, told the almost 750 undergraduates gathered in University at Buffalo’s Alumni Arena that becoming wealthy is not about financial gain. It is about hard work and sticking to your values.
"Along with your education there is a sense of responsibility to use your gifts for the benefit of others," Darden said.
Darden began at UPS as a part-time package handler, and in 34 years he never missed a day of work. In 2001, he ranked eighth on Fortune Magazine’s "50 Most Powerful Black Executives in America."
"Success is not a 24-hour accomplishment, there are building blocks," Darden said. "So go to work every day and do it better than anyone else."
Sen. Charles Schumer also briefly addressed the newest Golden Griffin alumni.
"My message is very simple," he said. "Go for it."
Schumer told the graduates that he measures success by the "Monday morning" and "Friday afternoon" tests. If you look forward to going to work on Monday and look forward to going home to your family on Friday, you know you are doing the right thing.
"It is my hope, it is my prayer, it is my confidence that you will pass this test with flying colors," Schumer said.
Clement Eckert, retired president and CEO of the Food Bank of Western New York and Herbert Hauptman, president of the Hauptman- Woodward Medical Research Institute Inc. received honorary degrees.
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Daemen College
Daemen College awarded diplomas to 267 undergraduate and 394 graduate students. Another 28 diplomas went to students with undergraduate/graduate degrees.
Assemblyman James Hayes delivered the commencement address in Kleinhans Music Hall. He told the graduates that it is important to challenge authority and not be afraid of failure. Hayes attributed learning from failure as the reason for his success.
"I learned more from that failure [to get elected] than I would have, had I succeeded," Hayes said. "I took what I learned from that failure, and used it to get elected the next time I ran."
Hayes, who represents the towns of Amherst and Pendleton and part of the City of North Tonawanda, is a 1986 graduate of Canisius College.
Special honors were awarded to graduates Jennifer Joy Barwell, Anne Stoll, Tiffany Goldwire and Michelle Kmentt.
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D’Youville
About 775 students graduated from D’Youville at the college’s 100th commencement ceremony in Kleinhans Music Hall.
State Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dillon gave the commencement speech and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Dillon is also on D’Youville’s Board of Trustees.
Dillon served as Erie County District Attorney from 1988 to 1996. He was elected to the State Supreme Court in 1997 where he currently serves in the Eighth District.
Bishop Edward Kmiec also received an honorary degree from D’Youville’s at the college’s Baccalaureate and Hooding Ceremony on Friday.
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Fredonia State College
Fredonia State College awarded degrees to about 1,300 graduate and undergraduate students in two different ceremonies held on the college’s campus. Author Wendy Corsi Staub gave the keynote address.
Staub is Fredonia alumna and native of Dunkirk. She is the author of more than 70 novels, and her work has been translated into more than a dozen languages.
"Not only is Wendy an example of the seemingly countless high- caliber individuals who began their remarkable careers here at Fredonia, but she also underscores for our graduates the potential that awaits them," Fredonia President Dennis Hefner said in a press release.
Over her career, Staub has written a mystery series, ghostwritten for celebrities, and in 2007 launched a paranormal series for young adults titled "Lily Dale."
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Alfred University
State Appellate Judge Karla Turkheimer Moskowitz delivered the commencement address at Alfred University.
Moskowitz is a 1963 alumna of Alfred and went on to graduate from Columbia Law School in 1966. She has served as a judge since 1982 when she was elected to the Civil Court of the City of New York. In 1987, she was appointed an acting Supreme Court Justice and served on the court for 18 years.
Moskowitz is a former president of the New York Women’s Bar Association and in 2005 received the Jurist of the Year Award as a Commercial Division Justice from the Metropolitan Black Bar Association.
Alfred University awarded her an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the graduation.
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NCCC
Lisa Myers, a senior investigative correspondent for NBC News, delivered the keynote address to Niagara County Community College’s graduating class.
Over the past two years, Myers and her colleagues have won an Emmy and Edward R. Morrow award for coverage of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, terrorism, politics and contracting problems in Iraq.
Prior to her work as an investigative reporter, she covered eight presidential campaigns and was a floor reporter for NBC at four Democratic and Republican conventions.
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JCC
Kurtis Fletcher, a physics professor at Geneseo State College, was the commencement speaker for both commencement ceremonies at Jamestown Community College. JCC’s Cattaraugus County campus graduated on Friday while the Jamestown campus graduated on Saturday.
Fletcher graduated from JCC with a degree in engineering science and science and mathematics. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Originally published by NEWS STAFF REPORTER.
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