[00:00:00] [A large crowd of people sit outdoors in folding chairs, forming an audience. The audience is at the right-side of the screen facing the camera. Some seat beneath a large white tent. Large steps are visible behind the audience. Flags from countries around the world decorate the large concrete building. Volunteers and guests still move about. It is a mix of sun and cloud. Classical music plays.] [00:00:16] [Bagpipes can be clearly heard. A bagpiper in green and black kilt, jacket, and hat can be seen approaching from the left-hand of the screen. He leads the Graduand Procession down the stairs. The audience stands. The banner on the screen reads “Maury McCrillis. Piper.” Graduates receiving their Bachelor of Social Work degrees wear dark green gowns with waist-length sleeves and purple and dark green hoods. Graduates receiving their Bachelor of Arts degrees wear dark green gowns with waist-length sleeves and white and dark green hoods. Graduates receiving their Bachelor of Science degrees wear dark green downs with waist-length sleeves and gold and dark green hoods. The view shifts several times to show the audience and Graduand Procession.] [00:01:19] [The view shows the graduates entering a stage elevated by five steps at the front of the audience. It is brick. The stage is set with three sets of seats in a U formation, with all facing the centre-right of the stage. They sit first in the seats on the left-hand side of the stage, then the centre-back of the stage. There is a large lectern at the centre-right of the stage and facing the audience. It reads “Trent University.” The banner on the screen reads “Maury McCrillis. Piper.” The view shifts several times to show the audience and Graduand Procession. In the background, Trent’s Bata Library can be seen. It is large and three storeys of concrete with large glass windows and wooden awnings are visible.] [00:06:05] [The piper finishes playing. The view changes to show a group of people standing at the top of the back stairs near the flags. They are in academic and traditional Indigenous regalia of many forms. This is the Academic Procession. Nicholas Rimsky-Korsakov’s Procession of Nobles begins to play over the sound system. It is a grand, full-orchestral melody without words. The man at the front of the procession carries Trent’s Condolence Cane, the cane that is a symbolic representation of the governance power of the Haudenosaunee peoples and represents the academic governing power of the University.] [00:07:30] [The Academic Procession is shown taking their seats. They sit at the right-hand side of the stage.] [00:08:41] [A man from the Academic Procession approaches the lectern. He is in a dark green gown with elaborate silver and dark green embroidery and a round green velvet beefeater-style hat with silver tassel. The banner on the screen reads “Leo Groarke. President & Vice-Chancellor.”] Leo Groarke: Good morning everyone. Please be seated. My name is Leo Groarke. I have the privilege of being the eighth President of Trent University. Just before we officially begin, I wanted to go a little bit off-script and do a special shout out. And it occurs to me that there are two important things happening in Ontario today – one of course, there is an election going on, the other is this is convocation day at Trent University. [Applause in the audience.] Applause would be appropriate. And I wanted to say something about a special group of students who are graduating, so I’m going to ask the social work graduates to stand for a moment please. [Three rows of students stand at the left side of the stage.] And what I want to tell you is that these are the first graduates from Trent’s new Social Work Program. [Applause and cheers in the audience.] And I’m going to say without being political that no what happens in the election today, they are going to make Ontario better. [Applause in the audience and on stage.] In keeping with Trent tradition, I want to begin by respectfully acknowledging that we are on the treaty and traditional territory of the Mississauga Anishinaabe. We offer our gratitude to our First Peoples for their care for and teachings about our land and our relations. May we honour those teachings always. I’m very pleased to welcome graduates, families, spouses, partners, and friends to today’s ceremony. Some of you come from close by, others from across Canada and around the world. I’d like to preface the awarding of degrees, which is really the heart of this ceremony, by saying something about the convocation ceremony. At Trent I like to think that we aim for a convocation ceremony that is very like Trent in personality and here I would mention a quote from a recent review of the university which I like that described Trent University in this way. We are “a prestigious and elite small university, but one that is approachable and friendly.” And I want to emphasize the friendly. Because on the one hand, there’s a very formal aspect to the convocation ceremony. This is the end, at least of this stage of our student’s educational careers. It marks the fact that they have successfully completed all the requirements for their degrees. That’s an important moment. But I also want to note that a convocation is supposed to be a celebration. It’s a party. It’s a party we are hosting to help you and the students celebrate their success. So, I want you to feel, in fact by whatever power is invested in me – I’m not too sure how much that is – I want to give you permission to treat it as a party. Don’t be shy. Be loud. Shout. Enjoy yourself. If you want, and you’re a parent, you may want to treat it as a party to celebrate the fact that your son or daughter finally finished their degree. [Cheers and laughter in the audience.] There we go, there’s a few up there. As you do celebrate, we want you to be comfortable. I did want to note that there are sun hats available. It’s been an interesting convocation week because last year we had lots of sun and people were very hot so we went out in preparation for this year and bought 2500 sun hats with the Trent emblem over it and so far, until today, nobody has used the hats. [Laughter in the audience.] I think there’s a kind of causal connection because we prepared that way, it’s been great weather. [The view shifts to show many in the audience wearing white baseball caps with the Trent logo on the front before returning to the large lectern.] To our visitors, I will say that I hope you will enjoy Trent’s deep sense of community. I also hope that our graduands will show you some of our beautiful campus here in Peterborough. I hope you will walk across the Faryon Bridge and visit some of the places they have lived and studied. If you are adventurous, I invite you to explore our wildlife trails on the east side of the river. If you are very adventurous, I invite you to sign out a canoe from the Athletics Centre and paddle down the river though our lawyers have told me that if you’re going to do that, I must ask you to sign a liability waiver. [Scattered laughter in the audience.] As a university, I believe that we have more canoes per student than any university in the world. [Scattered laughter in the audience.] Let me end these remarks by saying to our graduands that you are joining a prestigious Trent family which includes famous authors, Nobel Prize winners, Rhodes scholars, Governor General and Academy Award winners. And I truly expect that some of you will added to the list of those people in the future. I would note that this family includes scientists, artists, social scientist, religious and political leaders, and perhaps even more importantly, a cadre of teachers, researchers, medical practitioners, mothers, fathers, and good citizens. I believe that Trent has prepared you well for the exciting and challenging adventures that lie ahead. This is your moment, this is your day, enjoy it as an important time to imagine your future and create a life of consequence and a purpose that is uniquely your own. I now officially declare convocation open. [Applause in audience and on stage.] [00:15:47] I now have the pleasure of introducing our convocation speaker today: our very own Chancellor, Doctor Don Tapscott. Don Tapscott is CEO of the Tapscott Group and is one of the world’s leading authorities on the impact of technology on business and society. He has authored 16 books, including ‘Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything,’ which has been translated into 25 different languages. Don’s most recent and ambitious book was co-authored with his son, start-up CEO and Bitcoin governance expert Alex Tapscott. It’s called ‘Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Underlying Bitcoin is Changing Business, Money, and the World.’ The book was published in May 2016. In 2017, Don and Alex co-founded the Blockchain Research Institute to conduct the definitive investigation into blockchain strategy, use cases, implementation challenges, and organizational transformations. Don is a member of the Order of Canada and has been ranked as the second-most influential management thinker in the world and the number one digital thinker in the world. It is hard to imagine anyone who has been more prolific, profound, and influential in explaining today’s technological revolutions and their impact on the world. Don is in his second term as our Chancellor and is the first alumnus to serve in that role. He is an alumni leader and a philanthropic champion of Trent, supporting many projects including the new Student Centre. Mister Chancellor, I now invite you to address convocation. [Leo Groarke leaves the large lectern.] [00:17:37] [A man stands at the lectern. He is in a dark green gown with elaborate gold and dark green embroidery and a round green velvet beefeater-style hat with gold tassel. The banner on the screen reads “Don Tapscott. Chancellor.”] Don Tapscott: Thank you very much for that too-kind introduction. Mister President, Mister Chairman of the Board, graduates, friends and family. Let me start by saying heartfelt congratulations to each of graduating today and to those who share in your success. And congratulations on choosing psychology, sociology, and social work. Fine disciplines. They worked for me. That’s in fact my background at Trent. You’d never guess judging by my youthful appearance but I graduated from Trent almost 5 decades ago and reflecting on how the world has changed has caused me to think about the next decades ahead for you. 1970: the war in Vietnam was raging, the world was bifurcated, the Cold War was at its height, and we were divided between communism and capitalism as economic systems. Blacks, women, Indigenous people lacked basic rights, almost half of the world’s population lived in poverty. But things have changed a lot, although there’s still much to be done. But to me, the biggest changes that occurred were caused by the advent of the digital age. Back when I was at Trent, other than televisions, cars, and phones, there was no technology in our lives and none of those were really digital. Televisions didn’t have flat screens, they were cathode ray tubes. And it would be hard for you to imagine but telephones had a wire connected to them and they went to the wall and they didn’t do anything, but you could talk on them sometimes. There were no computers at Trent anywhere and nobody used computers except programmers. At Trent our tuition payments were calculated using adding machines and calculators, and for my Honours thesis in psychology, I figured it would take me a year to analyze all the data. So, I found a ticker-tape connection at Trent to the only computer in Peterborough – at the G.E. factory – and I learned a programming language and I programmed some basic statistical routines and I remember that the computer analyzed all this data in 90. I remember thinking ‘wow, these computers are going to be big!’ Now I’m not telling you all this as some kind of grandpa’s fond memories of the good old days. Au contraire, I want you to think about how the world is changing and what that might mean for you. So, the whole digital thing really began to affect all of us in 1982, the year of the personal computer: IBM PC. Coincidentally, that was the year of my first book. Thirty-six years ago, remember thirty-six. Flash forward thirty-six years into the future from today where technology, well flash forward to today – technology permeates everything. Most of you have a super-computer in your pocket today. Now the impact has not been all positive. Entire industries have been wiped out, our privacy has been undermined, big companies have captured the new asset class of the digital age – data: the new oil. And the benefits of the digital age have been asymmetrical. We have growing economies but declining prosperities. Wealth creation, but the middle class in many countries is shrinking. There’s been a fragmentation of public discourse, where we all follow our own point of view into little self-reinforcing echo chambers and I’m sure you’ve all been at a restaurant and at the table next to you the family is sitting there and they are all looking at their mobile devices instead of talking to each other. Drones have not always been used to deliver parcels for Amazon, not always been used for good. But the changes over the last thirty-six years will pale compared to the changes that you will witness and create and the reason is that growth in all of this is exponential. Digital is moving on to “the second half of the chessboard.” Now this is a clever phrase that was coined by American inventor and author Ray Kurzweil and he tells the story of the Emperor of China, who was just delighted with a game of chess and invited the inventor to come into the palace. He said, and I paraphrase, “I love this game. You can have any wish you want.” And the inventor said “well, I’m a modest man. I just want some rice. Give me a single grain of rice on the first square of the chessboard, two on the second, four on the third, eight on the fourth, just keep doubling. Exponential growth.” The Emperor wasn’t that good at math and figured that this was a few bags of rice, so he granted the wish. When the court mathematicians got at it though, he realized that couldn’t deliver. Because, while small at the outset, the amount of rice escalates to more than two billion grains at thirty-six squares, halfway through the chessboard and the final square, the sixty-fourth, would require two-to-the-sixty-fourth grains of rice. That’s a big number. Eighteen quintillion, four-hundred-forty-six quadrillion, seven-hundred-forty-four trillion grains of rice (18,446,744,000,000,000,000) – enough to cover all of planet earth six inches deep. So, imagine the effect of this exponential growth in this year, 2018, thirty-six years later we enter that second half of the chessboard. The next thirty-six years or the last thirty-six years will look like a quaint blip compared to the massive changes that are coming in the next thirty-six. Doubling year after year. Think about technology that’s quadrillions of times more important than that measly thing in your pocket today or in the Trent data centre. Think about where we’ve been in the last thirty-six years as being an inch and where we’re going being thousands of times taller than the Champlain Tower. So artificial intelligence devices will do things we don’t program them to do because they’re capable of learning. There will be no truck drivers, or drivers of any kind, replaced by autonomous vehicles. That will happen in the next fifteen years. Factories will be full of robots rather than people and drones will be delivering parcels everywhere. You will star in movies, the holodeck from Star Trek will exist. We’ll have technology throughout our bodies, replacing bones, organs, perhaps even part of our nervous systems. Blockchain, the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies, will eliminate stock markets, challenge the existence of banks, and many other industries including government. Most of today’s industries, companies, and job types will not exist thirty-six years from now. The implications for you are rather profound. They don’t need to be staggering. If we do this right, we can eliminate poverty, many illnesses, probably even ageing, turn back the tide on environmental destruction and build new, more-open democratic societies with peace and justice for all. If we do this wrong, let’s just say the future could be very bleak. Think Skynet from the Terminator. The good news is that your Trent education has equipped you well to start this journey into the second half of the chessboard, so I’d like to end by giving you some advice. Think about how you can design your life. Make design choices today, I never thought about that when I graduated, I just figured that I was going to have a career. Well don’t let the future just happen. Participate in achieving a future that works for you, your family, your community, and the world by making some important choices right here, right now, today. Three points, I’d like to make, to close. First, design your strategy for lifelong learning. My colleagues and I entered the workforce with a knowledge base and we kept up in our chosen field. I always figured I would be a psychologist. I actually never was, even back then. But we thought that we were set for life. Well today, you know that that idea is laughable. If your degree marked a milestone in your knowledge only, you’d be set for – well, to use Andy Warhol’s euphemism – 15 minutes. And if you took a technical course, a lot of what you learned in the first year is obsolete by the time you get to the fourth year. So, I know you’re celebrating a milestone today but don’t think your higher education is completed. It’s really just begun. Lifelong learning needs to be an assumption for you. And you will reinvent your knowledge base multiple times as you go through life. As graduates from a liberal arts and science university, you know that knowledge is important but what really matters and what you’ve really acquired at Trent is your capabilities underlying knowledge, your capacity to think critically, to solve problems, to research, to collaborate, to put things in context. And your passion for learning, reinventing yourself again and again and again. So, I also encourage you to design your media diet. And by that, I mean that when I graduated, there were several TV stations, a couple of newspapers, and you relied on them. You could trust news sources like Walter Cronkite to tell the truth. Well today you have millions of newspapers and TV stations and choices. So how are you going to inform yourself in a world where the old ways of doing that are collapsing? You’ll need to further develop your BS detectors and make choices about how you’ll interact with this avalanche of information. Don’t be cynical about all you read but think critically and skeptically. The antidote for information overload is to develop your personal filters and don’t just scan – read articles. From the beginning to the end, every day. Number two: design your vocation in ways that I never did. When I graduated from Trent, students went to work for a big company. IBM, GM, consulting companies were all lined up outside. You wanted to get a job with a big bank or be a teacher or government employee. Well today these options are less feasible as hiring in those areas has declined. Now you will all get jobs; the research shows that. There are new choices for you and the big one is to be an entrepreneur. The research shows that new jobs come from relatively new companies, so entrepreneurship is actually key to jobs. There’s a lesson here for you. Look for opportunities to join smaller companies or companies that crossover between the public or private sector and civil society. Or do the unthinkable: explore the idea of creating your own business. It’s easier to do that these days because small companies can have all the capabilities of big companies with the main liabilities. Now parents, don’t panic here. I’m not suggesting that your children throw caution to the wind and ask you to mortgage your house to fund their big idea, and typically it makes sense for you to get some work experience to develop an idea, a business plan, and connections to make it happen. But you might be a one of the new generation of business builders in Canada who will make a real difference in achieving prosperity in this country, or by being a social entrepreneur where you do well by doing good at the same time. And that brings me to my final point. Design your life as a citizen. You know, today your degree from Trent does equip you well for thinking and collaborating and learning. So, as you leave these hallowed halls, by all means as Spock would say, live long and prosper. Build a successful and prosperous life for yourself and your families. Most of you will do that. But let me argue that humanity and Canada need more of you. You know, as you travel through the second half of the chessboard, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that just about everything we know about civilization will change. You will be the generation to lead in the rebuilding of our institutions, of our economy, of our society, and hopefully a reindustrialization of planet earth to protect this little planet from its inevitable destruction if we keep going the way that we’re going. So, you’ll need to participate in big change in your workplace, community, country, causes you join as a global citizen. And you will need to teach your children well. One simple thing you can do is vote. I’ve just come back from some parts of the world where young people your age would actually die to have the right to vote and have some control over their future. But all around the world today, people are cynical about our political institutions. A lot of young people agree with the bumper sticker “Don’t vote, it only encourages them.” And when you look at the behaviour of a lot of politicians, it’s sort of understandable. But don’t give up on democracy because the alternatives for you and your families and loved ones are really undesirable. So, I encourage you to be a political person. Political with a small ‘P.’ For starters, by voting in every election that comes along. And as President Groarke has mentioned, today is an auspicious occasion. It’s the day of your graduation, it’s also the day of an election in Ontario. And your generation is actually the largest voting block, you will determine the outcome of this election if you vote, but also the outcome of most elections for the better part of this century. So, with great power comes great responsibility. I seem to be making a lot of movie references. But you can make this the perfect day by voting. Canada needs your good judgement, your critical thinking, your passion, and your demographic muscle to ensure that this smaller country that your children inherit is a better one. Actually, I’ve never been more optimistic about the future, because I believe that we are in the early days of a new civilization, enabled by a new technological and communications revolution and forged by you, a new generation of young people who do think differently around the world. Each of you can participate in this renaissance and because of that, it’s surely an amazing time to graduate and an amazing time to be alive. So hopefully you’ll have the wisdom and the will to design your life to make it work for you and for our collective future. Godspeed to each of you. Thank you. [Applause in the audience. Don Tapscott leaves the large lectern.] [00:34:55] [Leo Groarke stands at the large lectern.] Leo Groarke: Thank you for those inspiriting words, Mister Chancellor. Mister Chancellor, Professor Kim Calderwood, the Director of our Social Work Program, will now present candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Social Work Honours. [The view shows Chancellor Don Tapscott move to the center-front of the stage. Graduates begin to move out of their seats to line up outside of the camera’s view.] Graduands, she will read your name, you’ll come some across the stage, the Chancellor will congratulate you, I’ll congratulate you, then the University Registrar Tracy Al-Idrissi will congratulate you. [00:35:26] [The view changes to show a woman in black academic robes with a bright red and white hood standing at a small lectern at the far-left side of the stage. The banner on the screen reads “Kimberly Calderwood. Director, Social Work.”] Kim Calderwood: Mister Chancellor, I am pleased to present for the degree of Bachelor of Social Work in the honours program, candidates whose names will be read, whom the Senate has duly declared worthy of the honour, that they may receive the degree at your hands. [As names are read, the named graduate walks across the stage from left to right, first shaking hands with Chancellor Don Tapscott at the centre of the stage, then the President & Vice-Chancellor Leo Groarke at the centre-right of the stage, then Registrar Tracy Al-Idrissi at the far right of the stage.] [00:21:43] [Applause can be heard after each name is read.] Kayla Adams Emily Buckley Sara Ann Bullied Kaitlyn Nicole Chapman Lauritta Chineke Okoh Hannah Jo Coates Chelsey Madaline Collins Melanie Dubois Cassidy Jacklyn Eames Morgan Olivia Emerson Amanda Joy Farrow Melissa Lynn Ghori Jessica Lynn Haarer Katelyn Hemminger Victoria-Joy Twila Huys Patricia Elizabeth LeBlanc Sarah Lewis Emily Susan Pecena Mary Emily Schingh Jonathan Everett Sheehan Michelle Carly Stankevicius Nikyla Marie Marcella Talgoy Kristen Nicole Taylor Aimee Nicole VanKoughnett Erin Elizabeth Wismer Please join me in congratulating the recipients of Bachelor of Social Work degrees in the Honours Program. [Cheering and applause in audience and on stage. Chancellor turns towards graduates and removes his hat to bow toward them.] [00:40:56] Mister Chancellor, Professor Gillian Balfour, Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning will now present candidates for all degrees. [Kim Calderwood leaves the small lectern. A woman in a black academic gown with red and gold hood and a black mortarboard hat steps to the small lectern at the left side of the stage. This is Gillian Balfour.] Mister Chancellor, I am pleased to present for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the Honours Program candidates whose names will be read, whom the Senate has duly declared worthy of the honour, that they may receive the degree at your hands. [00:41:29] [Applause can be heard after each name is read.] Braelyn Amodeo Priscilla Asiama Megan Baker Lianne Emily Brandt Madison Lea Brooks Meghan Rose Cory Broomfield Shanique Nicole Brown-Reynolds Christian Fay Buck Erin Marie Busby Cassandra Rose Butler Brendan Callaghan Robyn Lorraine Kathleen Campbell Robyn Alexandra Cavanagh Mackenzie Taylor Clark Brianne Linda Jean Dart Carl Anthony De Abreu Kaela Duncan Lydia Freeman Nicole Jean Harrod Meaghan Horrocks Hannah Alexandra Johnston Natalie Sue Sun Kim Laura Elizabeth Knapp Tess Lavelle-Sutton Alexandrea Elizabeth Leach Crystal Lynn Lewis Kaleigh Anne Lewis Heather Dana Moore Leann Marie McGhee Cole Patrick McWilliams Dana Noffke Laura Elizabeth Noseworthy Jennifer Ngozi Onuah Amy Elizabeth Orr Katelyn Palmer Kali Pieters Catherine Richardson Christina Paigton Ritskes Lea Genevieve Rogers-Balgobin Haylie Alicia Rowan Lubna Sadek Kurstin Taylor Salisbury Eric Samtleben Paige Sawyer Emily Elizabeth Schilling Samantha Blair Siemens Courtney Caroline Snow Melissa Elaine Stevens Emily Storey-Hurtubise Jessica Thacker Sarah Anne Thistle Hayley Van Allen Maria VanDermeer Claudia Akemi Walker Jessica Lynn Waltner Breanna Marie Webb Megan Webb Emily Ann Williams Hayley Elizabeth Willis Abby Wise-Till Please join me in congratulating the recipients of Bachelor of Arts degrees in the Honours Program. [Cheering and applause in audience and on stage. Chancellor turns towards graduates and removes his hat to bow toward them.] [00:53:44] Mister Chancellor, I am pleased to present for the degree of Bachelor of Science in the Honours Program, candidates whose names will be read, whom the Senate has duly declared worthy of the honour, that they may receive the degree at your hands. [00:53:59] [Applause can be heard after each name is read.] Eric Donald Serge Beland Kaitlyn Alisha Blewett Derek Bowles Krista Elan Brewster-Macdonald Rebecca Ann Brown Samantha Burns Hannah Mackenzie Cahill Emma Gloria Ann Claypole Ashley Cockle Scottie Jean a Curran Kaitlyn Marie Davis David Harris Jules Engelberg Matthew Arthur Hagopian Sharayah Dannielle Harbridge Frederick Alexander David Hooke-Wood Adam Michael Johnston Pirapajini Karunakaran Jessica Heather Johnston Kimberly Francis Kerr Jessica Lenters Kimberly McDonnell Larissa R. Monaghan Cameron Solar Francis Moniz Tarle Daniel Morris William Douglas Morris Jordan-Jerrica Neoma-Lin Marie Mulgrew Marley Grace Neate This next student is receiving the Symons Medal. The medal is named in honour of Professor Tom Symons, Founding President of Trent University and it is awarded to students who achieve high overall academic standing on graduation at the Honours level. Mister Chancellor, I call upon you to present the Symons Medal to Ryan Connelly O’Byrne. Jessica Patel Laurel Ann Grace Pirrie Gwendolyn Preston Robyn Rochon-Kaiser Lauren MacPherson Roth Breanne Christine Roy Kara Rutherford Marla Rose Sarta Alexis Nicole Serpe Holly Kathleen Millie Stephen Taylor Straub Brent William Teunissen Madeline Tur Please join me in congratulating the recipients of Bachelor of Science degrees in the Honours Program. [Cheering and applause in audience and on stage. Chancellor turns towards graduates and removes his hat to bow toward them.] [01:03:06] Mister Chancellor, I am pleased to present for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the General Program, candidates whose names will be read, whom the Senate has duly declared worthy of the honour, that they may receive the degree at your hands. [01:03:23] [Applause can be heard after each name is read.] Olivia Catherine Austin Kelsey Amanda Bateman Erinn Beaton Rashida Kinda Boyrard Zoe Lauren Brown Shannon Burke Elizabeth Ann Eaton Cottrell Ellis Lauren Ferguson Emily Fitzgerald Miranda Giroux Michelle Goguen Christopher Paul Hifawi Marissa Clarice Hopkins Samantha Margaret Ireland Crystal Judith Jessup Zara Lobsinger Taylor Lee MacKenzie Taylor Gloria Marshall Kelsey Tabitha Mathura Chloe Celeste Marie Matthews Julianna Jennifer Musclow Brandi Pentland Hannah Pomeroy Samantha Christine Sceviour Lija Steins Please join me in congratulating the recipients of Bachelor of Arts degrees in the General Program. [Cheering and applause in audience and on stage. Chancellor turns towards graduates and removes his hat to bow toward them.] [01:08:56] Mister Chancellor, I am pleased to present for the degree of Bachelor of Science in the General Program candidates whose names will be read, whom the Senate has duly declared worthy of the honour, that they may receive the degree at your hands. [01:09:10] [Applause can be heard after each name is read.] Brenna Kristen Bomberry Debra Clark Brenda Kong Olivia Elizabeth Krysinski Sonia Maset Kiranjeet Kaur Sahota Jazmin Marie Lynette Warner Please join me in congratulating the recipients of Bachelor of Science degrees in the General Program. [Cheering and applause in audience and on stage. Chancellor turns towards graduates and removes his hat to bow toward them.] [01:10:50] Mister Chancellor, I ask you to confer degrees and diplomas in absentia on candidates whose names are before you and who are unable to be with us today. [Chancellor holds the brim of his hat and nods.] [01:11:02] Provost and Vice President Academic Jackie Muldoon will now recognize faculty receiving special awards and honours. [The view shifts to the large lectern. A woman in deep red and white academic gowns with a deep red mortarboard hat moves to stand at the large lectern. The banner on the screen reads “Jackie Muldoon. Provost and VP Academic.” The Chancellor moves to centre-stage. He is joined by a woman in a black academic gown with red hood with white trim. This is Deborah Kennett.] Jackie Muldoon: Mister Chancellor, ‘emeritus’ is an honorary title given to professors upon their retirement from the University. Mister Chancellor, I ask you to confer the title of Professor Emeritus upon Professor Deborah Kennett of the Psychology Department. [The Registrar hands a large framed certificate to the Chancellor and steps away. He is presented with the certificate and the Chancellor and Professor Kennett shake hands and pose for a photo at centre stage. The banner on the screen reads “Deborah Kennett. Professor Emeritus.”] [01:11:55] Mister Chancellor, Professor David Newhouse will now introduce the Honour Song. [Jackie Muldoon leaves the large lectern.] [01:12:04] [A man in a black gown with a gold and purple trimmed hood and black mortarboard hat stands at the lectern. The banner on the screen reads “David Newhouse. Director, Chenie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies.”] David Newhouse: On this beautiful day, before all words can be spoken, we bring greetings to all of Creation and we give thanks for another day of life. Mister Chancellor, Mister President, honoured guests, graduates. In the custom of the first peoples of this land, we offer the sound of the drum and our voices to honor our mother, the Earth. We send our profound and deepest thanks to all of Creation and we greet the world with humility and embrace the richness, diversity, and wonder of life. In the Anishinaabe teachings, the sound of the drum represents the original sound of Creation. The heartbeat of Creation echoes still throughout the universe and infuses our being with our life. We sound the drum to connect us with all of Creation, to honour and celebrate this life, and to live with humility among all living things. We offer these words of praise to those who are graduating this day. We offer these words of thanksgiving to those who have made these accomplishments possible. We offer these words of respect to those who have come before us and who brought dignity to our lives. We offer these words to remind of the Seven Grandfather Teachings to live with respect, kindness, honesty, sharing, courage, and strength. We offer these words to honour the words of our Chancellor, Don Tapscott. And we offer this song to accompany you on your travels. May you travel well and may your lives be filled with grace and dignity, and may you use your good minds for the benefit of all living beings. Mister Chancellor, Mister President, honoured guests, graduates, I have the pleasure of presenting Unity. And may I ask you to stand if you’re able for the Honour Song. The Honour Song is Southern Sunny Song. [Three women move to the front-centre of the stage. They carry traditional Anishinaabe hand-drums decorated with ribbons and played with single-head mallets. They face the audience. The audience, graduates, and Academic Procession stand. Many remove their hats. The banner on the screen reads “Unity. Honour Song.” The Honour Song is Anishinaabe vocals with harmonic melodies over rhythmic drumming. The women sway in time with the music. The song ends with whoops and applause.] David Newhouse: Thank you, Unity. You may be seated. This song is also an implication to bring sunny days into the lives of our graduates. [01:18:31] Mister Chancellor, I would like to invite Ms. Maile Loweth Reeves of the Trent University Alumni Association to welcome the graduating class. [David Newhouse leaves the large lectern.] [00:59:56] [A woman in Trent’s dark green gown with a white and dark green hood approaches the large lectern. The banner on the screen reads “Maile Loweth Reeves. Alumni Welcome.”] Maile Loweth Reeves: Mister Chancellor, Mister President, graduates, honoured guests, parents. I am absolutely thrilled to be here today. Thirty-four years ago, I sat where you are now, looking forward to a world of possibilities. That might be a cliché, but it’s true. Today I stand before you to welcome you to a distinguished and inclusive group with 43,000 members – Trent Alumni! Although I was a modest donor for many years I didn’t get more involved until pretty recently, and I wish I had done so a lot sooner. I love Trent and I love giving back to an institution which means so much to me and gave so much to me. I did a graduate degree at another university, but my heart belongs here. The Trent University Alumni Association is delighted to have you officially join our community today. As I speak, an email is being delivered directly to your inbox, so you can update your contact info. You can do it now, right away, during this speech. I won’t mind! We want to keep you informed – we have awards, benefits, and services we’d love for you to take part in. Trent is not only a part of your past but is a part of your future. Today, the entire alumni family celebrates you. On behalf of the Trent University Alumni Association, it is my honour and privilege to say welcome, and congratulations! [Cheers and applause on stage and in the audience. Maile Loweth Reeves sits.] [01:20:47] [Leo Groarke stands at the large lectern.] Leo Groarke: Thank you, Ms. Reeves. As we come to the end of the ceremony, I did want to thank a few people. I try to thank at the end of the ceremony, you know, some of the unsung heroes of convocation. It takes a lot of people and a lot of commitment from people to make this happen. So, I’m just going to shine the light on one person today. I’d like to ask Nona Robinson, the Associate Vice-President of students to stand up. Nona comes to every convocation. Parents, I will tell you that she’s the closest thing to a parent for students at Trent – of course I say this and I’m a parent, and nobody can replace a parent. But when students have needs, emotional or otherwise, they go to Nona and she makes it a point to be here at every convocation to congratulate students. So, a round of applause for Nona Robinson. [Applause in the audience and on stage.] Finally, graduands, I’d like you help me send out a thank you to some other people who have been key to this. This does not diminish your accomplishments in anyway but you’ve received your degrees partly because you had a support network. That support network provided emotional support, maybe even a little bit of financial support, and maybe when you had issues here or there, they were for you and they will probably be there for you always – as will Trent University of course. I ask you to stand up and give a rousing applause and thank you to your parents and your supporters in the audience. [Graduates stand at the stage and face the audience, cheering and clapping.] Thank you. Feel the love. Please join us for a reception in the Alumni Atrium in the Student Centre following the ceremony – that’s the building behind this building. The procession will leave the stage following the singing of ‘O Canada’ and I would ask that you remain standing if you are able until the procession has started. Mister Chancellor, I now call upon you to dismiss convocation. [Leo Groarke leaves the large lectern.] [01:22:24] [Chancellor Don Tapscott stands at the large lectern.] Don Tapscott: Well thank you all for being here today and I do have to announce that the skating rink that we’ve had in the parking lot for the last two days is closed today. And thank you to Mother Nature for that. I hope that you look back on today with fondness, and not just as the end of a stage in your life, but as the beginning of an exciting career. Closing remarks like this are designed to inspire the graduating class and give some helpful ideas. I’ve already given you a lot of suggestions, so let me dispense with that task briefly. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Good things come to those who wait, and what doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger. Turn lemons into lemonade. Buy a good suit, and more importantly a good shirt and good shoes – hello, it’s all about the accessories! Brush your teeth, floss – I can’t overestimate the importance of flossing. Increase the proportion of vegetables in your diet. And I want you to write this one down, please never show up at a job interview with your parents in tow. Okay, that about sums it up. Are there any questions? Good, I think we’re done here. Seriously, I’m not going to give you anymore advice because you will be successful. So again, congratulations to all of you. Good luck. Dream big. Be bold. Be Consequential. Change the world. Convocation is now dismissed. [Cheers and applause from all.] [01:25:07] [O Canada plays. It is an orchestral version without words, played over the sound system. Audience members, graduates, and members of the Academic Procession stand as able. Most remove their hats. Some sing along to the melody. A sign language interpreter signs the words from the right-hand side of the stage. The views shift multiple times to show both audience and stage.] [01:26:26] [O Canada ends. The Academic Procession leaves the stage, following the same order and path used to enter the stage. The Academic Procession is followed by the Graduand Procession. The banner on the screen reads “Thanks for watching. Congratulations to All!”]