As we reach you today - on Graduation day -
we want to add a critical message to the speeches that we recorded in early May.
Black Lives Matter. Period.
The nationwide protests over the past few weeks, in response to continued police brutality,
centering on the senseless murder of George Floyd and other Black Americans,
have brought to the forefront the pervasive and institutionalized racism in America.
It must now become our responsibility to educate ourselves and continually do anti racism work;
to grapple with uncomfortable truths and make direct changes in our immediate communities
to dismantle structural racism through removing long existing structures of power and privilege
because geosciences, like all sciences, are done by people and cannot be separated from these issues.
We regret that this was not on the forefront of our minds when preparing our original speeches,
and urge all of you, our fellow Earth and Space Scientists,
to join us in pushing for real change beyond today or next week,
and beyond empty platitudes or hollow promises of change;
to quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "Shallow understanding from people of goodwill
is more frustrating than complete misunderstanding from people of ill will."
Geoscience has a poor track record for inclusion.
Of the 6,387 Earth Science Bachelor degrees awarded in the US
during the 10 years from 2005 to 2015
only 146 were to Black scholars.
Over the 30 years between 1977 and 2006
roughly 22,000 PhDs were awarded in geoscience.
Only 147 of those were awarded to Black people.
While Black people make up 12% of the US population,
only 1% of employed Earth scientists, geologists, and oceanographers are Black.
We must do much more to make geosciences welcoming
and to support anti-racism policies in our communities, institutions, and ourselves.
It is time for action.
First, we must educate ourselves about the experiences of Black and other marginalized people of color.
We can start by learning about their experiences. While books may be sold out nationwide,
the University of Washington library's website provides free and open access to many,
with articles and podcasts also available online.
Moving beyond personal work, it is imperative to create long-term plans
to sustain these efforts and support constant progress.
As educators, students, and leaders, we must create more inclusive communities
and recognize the structural racism that we exist in everyday.
Examine how these systems have served us and work to dismantle them.
We must create instead a system of inclusion and equity.
As you graduate, let us pledge together that we will take up this daily work
and create a future that is more equitable and just than today.
♪ 'VICTORY CELEBRATION' BY JOHN WILLIAMS ♪
Welcome graduates, families, and friends.
Graduation day is a very big day, not just for you,
but for your family and those close to you
and all of the faculty and staff here in Earth and Space Sciences who have been part of your career.
It's also usually a fun day
It may be a bit less fun watching this video, than it would be to do this in person
but I hope you will watch the whole thing, and take the time to reflect, and feel proud of your accomplishments.
Commencement is a mixture of celebrating what you have accomplished in the past and looking forward to planning the future.
In this strange year – with the pandemic of coronavirus, and the older but continuing pandemic of conflict
that our country has not yet comes to terms with – that planning for the future may take on new meaning.
I have some thoughts to share with you about this.
You are graduating from ESS with a set of tools that allow you to contribute to solving the challenges we face.
Your skills and knowledge are more relevant than ever.
Of course our society needs doctors, and activists, and health-care professionals
and some of you will go on to do those things. Maybe you are already doing them.
But we also need the earth scientists,
who can guide us about where it is safe – or not – to build our homes,
our schools, our roads.
We need earth scientists to take care of our rivers so that they flourish with salmon
and we need them to identify and address issues such as the transport of toxins in our rivers
the fate of fossil fuel carbon and climate change among many other things.
We also need our space scientists,
who launch the very same kinds of satellites that allow us to communicate across the world.
And we need those who are simply doing
their earth and space sciences research for its own sake,
expanding the scope of human knowledge.
And we need those of you who will go on to teach others about all of these things.
In his book, The Demon-Haunted World, published more than 20 years ago,
the astronomer and planetary scientist Carl Sagan wrote the following words,
"I have a foreboding on an America when the United States is a service and information economy,
when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away,
when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few,
and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues,
and where the people have lost the ability to knowledgeably question those in power,
and they are unable to distinguish what is true from what is not."
These are dark words, and they feel all too prescient today.
But Sagan has more to say.
He also says that scientists play a critical role in keeping our democracy healthy.
"Science" he says "is far from a perfect instrument of knowledge,"
"It's just the best one we have."
"In this respect, it's like democracy. The values of science and the values of democracy are concordant.
Science thrives in the free exchange of ideas. The same is true of democracy."
"Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of confusion
requires vigilance, dedication, courage, and skill.
But if we practice those tough habits of thought
– which you have all been doing for the last few years
as members of this community – we can solve the serious problems that we face."
The challenges you face in the future are not really so different than the ones you have already faced, and overcome.
As you have progressed through your studies in earth and space sciences, the problems you have tackled have become more complex.
Some of the scientific problems you have learned about haven't been answered yet.
But you have the skills, training, and experience, to tackle them.
And we Earth and Space Scientists – that's all of us, all of you –
are actually more experienced with these difficult problems than many others are.
Nature -- the way our earth works – and society – how we live -- are complex.
The stakes are high, but the complexity of these problems is something that earth scientists are familiar with.
It's what we do every day.
A few years ago, Bruce Nelson, our Chair at the time, gave our graduating seniors a homework assignment.
Save our planet, he said.
Well, I'm afraid I have two homework assignments for you.
Save the planet, and create a better society for all.
I'm joking, but I'm serious.
In your classes and your projects you have learned to work in teams.
You have learned how to be analytical and critical in your thinking.
You have learned how to deal with problems that don't have an obvious solution.
Most importantly at this time in our history,
you have learned how to communicate and converse about complex ideas and concepts.
Those skills that will help you to heal our planet, our environment,
our institutions, and our communities.
And these are also exactly the kinds of skills that employers are looking for
in the next person they hire.
Most employers are looking for evidence of teamwork
of analytical thinking, of communication skills
of empathy, understanding, and humility.
And they are looking for flexibility in the face of uncertainty.
Those are critical job skills. They are critical life skills.
You have them.
As you go out into the world, get a good job. Enjoy it. Flourish.
But also, use your status and experience as a scientist to help others.
Whether you go on to be a working scientist, a teacher, a lawyer, an engineer,
use your scientific insights. Be an agent of rational thought and discussion.
Now, seriousness aside, let's remember this is a celebration.
We are here to celebrate you and your accomplishments.
We are here to celebrate your family and friends and teachers
who have supported your education and growth as a scientist.
To those of you who are the ones providing that support, thank you.
You have supported individuals who enrich all of our lives.
Congratulations, and thank you, to all or our graduates in the Class of 2020.
And congratulations to all of their supporters,
Parents, Family and Friends for seeing them through
to this remarkable milestone in their lives. Thank you.
♪ 'VICTORY CELEBRATION' BY JOHN WILLIAMS ♪
It is my distinct honor to be one of the first to congratulate you
on your graduation from the University of Washington
This is indeed an accomplishment for which you should all be proud.
And I'm sorry we couldn't be together for this special occasion.
It's hard not to be able to celebrate in person.
And I know that the path that brought you to today's graduation
has been far from direct. The lessons that test us the most as students
are often not taught in the classrooms or the lab,
they're not assessed in exams. Any typical year of learning is peppered with obstacles
but in the final stages of this year you have come up against unprecedented complications.
The academic journey is not just about grades
it's about learning how to juggle, to prioritize, to sacrifice and persevere.
To be here today you have proven that you have those skills
and that adaptability will serve you well.
You take with you not just a degree
but a deep wellspring of life experience to draw upon as you move on in your life
Here, at the University of Washington, you learned to question and think more critically.
You learned the essential value of teamwork
and how to build something together with your classmates.
You immersed yourself in your chosen discipline
and at the end of the day you became a leader.
I can tell you that as Dean it has been inspiring to watch you grow
Thank you for giving me a front row seat.
As our next leaders you will make this world a more livable, sustainable place
for all of us. And I couldn't be more hopeful about the future knowing that
you will be the people leading the charge.
So what does come next?
For some of you it may be an internship or your first job.
For others the academic journey continues with grad school or professional training.
And for some of you the job hunt is on and it can be scary out there, particularly now.
But one thing I know for sure is that our
students are the most employable in the country.
You are now equipped with the knowledge, skills, and outlook that employers all of the world need right now.
Our graduates have persevered through terrible hard times before
and no doubt they will do so again.
But that now, more than ever, our world needs smart, kind graduates.
We need you to be voices for equity,
balance, and crucially, our planet.
So students, in appreciation of all your efforts and talents this year
the College of the Environment is partnering with the Campus Sustainability Fund
to help fund the Precious Plastics Project
to help UW Recycling meet its goal of 70% waste diversion by 2020.
The funding will help make a small, DIY plastics recycling workshop
in the Maple Hall Maker's Space.
Four machines will be installed to shred, melt, compress, and mold used plastic
transforming it into new usable products such as 3D printing filaments.
This project was chosen based on a recommendation from our Student Advisory Council
and then voted on by you, our graduating class.
We believe that making this investment on your behalf serves as a fitting tribute
to your role as the next generation of leaders in environmental science and decision making.
It demonstrates our shared commitment to doing as much as we can
to extend our understanding of this planet
and to manage its resources for all of us
and future generations.
Wherever you go next I want you to take confidence
and comfort in the knowledge the world needs you.
That your smarts are precious and valuable.
Stay curious.
Be adventuresome.
Stretch your limits and be kind to yourself. You have what it takes.
And know that I will still be in the front row cheering you on. Always.
Congratulations.
♪ 'VICTORY CELEBRATION' BY JOHN WILLIAMS ♪
Thank you so much for inviting me to talk with all of you at this momentous time
– your graduation!
This is a time for congratulations and celebration,
for reminiscing and reflecting on the many years you've had at the University of Washington
and in Earth and Space Sciences,
and a time to look forward to your own personal next frontier.
But of course I'm also talking to you in a time that looks anything but normal.
I'll divulge a secret -
I've once or twice daydreamed about sharing advice in a graduation speech –
an opportunity to reflect myself and attempt a bit of sharing.
I certainly didn't expect that I would get the pleasure and the honor
of stepping onto a graduation stage with myself –
and perhaps dozens of you – in slippers and my invisible regalia.
And I suspect that this is also not the graduation celebration
that any of you had imagined.
But this bump is not a reason to slow our celebration. Instead, let's take this bump
with a bit of extra speed and commitment and catch some air time today –
your graduation day -
to dance, click your heels, and pat yourself on the back
for making it through late night sessions to cram for an exam,
for finding the joy in examining lumps of rock
on a sometimes dusty or sometimes soaking field trip,
and for staying curious about how the Earth and the Universe work.
While you're catching this extra air time today, also hug the people you are sharing this with in person,
and virtually high five the others who have helped to get you here –
your friends, families, colleagues, the faculty and staff in ESS,
and the helping hands all across the University of Washington.
Your own hard work and your community have helped you to gain the privilege
of a couple of very special letters – a BS, an MS, a PhD.
But as the old saying goes, with privilege comes responsibility.
I want to talk today about a few of those important areas of responsibility.
First - your responsibility to represent the knowledge and ideas of Earth and Space science.
Second - your responsibility to yourself to create your own path.
And finally – your responsibility to remain curious.
If you aren't already calling yourself an Earth and Space Scientist,
today is most certainly the day that you should begin to do that.
But what does that mean? How does it make you different?
Well, it turns out – and, yes, this is backed up by published scientific research
– that as an Earth scientist you do look at the world through a different lens.
And not just of the hands lens variety.
As an Earth scientist, you differ from the average Joe or Jane.
You have an ability to use the tools of spatial thinking
and to investigate a landscape in the field.
You also have a deep understanding of time.
Not just the tick tock of the wall clock but the accumulation of thousands
and millions and billions of years. An understanding of geologic time,
of the constant and unending evolution of our Earth and our universe.
And you also have what I consider one of the most valuable tools of an ESS graduate
– an understanding of the Earth as a complex and connected system.
You have learned about how unnoticed connections
can create surprising amplifying or dampening cycles.
That sometimes a small change or action now can reverberate through the system,
creating vast changes that expand across space and time.
As a person who is passionate and involved in science communication, especially about climate change,
I used to think that it went without saying…
that if I was talking to a journalist about ice loss,
they would feel connected to it because it's a part of the connected planet
that we are also a part of. But that's not true.
I regularly receive questions wondering –
how can this change all the way over in Greenland
be affecting me here in Georgia or Montana or Washington?
Isn't climate change mostly an environmental issue?
How does it connect to my interests in health or economics or architecture or agriculture?
Many smart, capable people who are making important business, policy, and community decisions
have not been trained to understand the intricate connections
that bind all of Earth's landscapes, plants, animals, and people.
It is your responsibility to bring your knowledge of these scientific connections
to the work, people, and communities that you are and will be a part of.
Your knowledge is needed.
As you move forward you also have a responsibility to create your own path.
And to believe in your ability to do that.
When I finished my PhD at UW, I knew that I wanted a job as a university professor.
Aside from a few wandering years along the way, that was the job I had wanted
since I was 12. I was hard working, determined, and persistent, and I
did snag a faculty job at the University of Bristol in England,
a place with a long history of excellence in glaciology.
Arriving at Bristol, I loved my job.
I taught first-year undergrads about the mysteries of Earth's ice sheets,
mentored seniors in completing their final dissertations,
had Thursday tea and biscuits with colleagues,
and dreamt about landing a big European Union research grant.
I was proud. I perceived that my mentors and supporters were proud.
But in my dream, becoming a professor was a big golden egg,
a huge sphere that took up the full screen and reflected its bright light
onto anything else I might have going on.
But that dream was not the reality.
It turns out that life is composed of many spheres –
friends, hobbies, spouse, sense of place, culture, family, food –
and as you move ahead those spheres often accumulate.
In England, while my job sphere expanded into the work I had dreamt of,
many other spheres in my life shrunk or withered.
My husband's medical license was stuck in bureaucracy and instead of saving lives
he was selling running shoes.
My connections with friends and family were carefully timed to span a 7 hour time difference.
And my love of the wilderness had to be satiated with muddy runs
through bucolic pastoral scenes. Brexit loomed.
The path I had dreamt of since childhood did not in fact lead me to a golden egg.
I was devastated at this discovery.
And I was even more conflicted when I considered my options.
For 10 years before moving to England,
my husband and I had lived in Big Sky, Montana,
a town of a few thousand people an hour away from the nearest university.
We dearly missed it, but moving back would mean giving up my tenure track dream
and it felt to me like making that decision would be a guillotine stop to my path forward.
The story I had for myself about my path
so clearly brought me to a professor job.
I felt like my story, my identity would crumble in taking this leap.
Leaving the tenure track pursuit felt radical to me
and I felt unmoored by the idea of cuttin off the path I was on and starting anew.
But somewhere within those months of anxious reconsideration,
I had a glimpse of hope.
I literally wrote down all of the things I had most dreamed of in that faculty job –
intellectual community, opportunities to create new programs and collaborations,
time to mentor, acknowledgement as an expert.
And then I pulled out my colored markers,
put on my most creative attitude, and explored how I might find those same things
but in a different position. And it turns out that I was able to see it.
I was reminded that I was able to use my own hands to craft my future.
I was not going to be leaving a dream only to be floating in space, unanchored.
Just the opposite –
I was going to take all of the experience, and knowledge, and skills
I had built along this path with me –
and curve my own path into the future.
A direction that wasn't pre-determined by my 12 year old dreams,
but that responded to the complex realities of a life composed of many spheres.
With the uncertainty surrounding us today I imagine that some of you might feel
that your planned path has come to a crashing halt,
the narrative of your story blown to bits.
I hope that instead of repeating my experience of anxiety and dread,
you skip that part.
Instead - take a deep breathe,
remind yourself of your skill, creativity, resilience,
and forge a new path ahead.
As you do this, one of the skills that surely helped you to arrive here
today at graduation will also help you to find a rewarding
and impactful path into the future. Curiosity.
And this is your final responsibility – to remain curious.
The work of science is to ask questions,
to explore the things we know but are not quite sure about,
to wonder 'what if' and then to poke that question and consider new angles.
Ian Joughin, my beloved PhD advisor, liked to tease me about my ability to ask questions –
someone could read my own research back to me and I'd find a laundry list
of new questions about how, why, where, when.
But I can tell you firsthand that asking questions – being curious -
has been key for finding successes.
Take your responsibility to be curious seriously.
Asking questions of people you admire can help you to learn about jobs you never knew existed.
If you're continuing in science, being curious will help you to sniff out discoveries
not yet made.
And if you seek to share your knowledge with others,
asking questions of them first will ensure that you are connecting your message
with their interests and values.
And curiously exploring your own boundaries
can help you to forge a new path,
one that can be more rewarding and adventurous than the path you set for yourself before.
You are graduating today into a world we did not imagine a few short months ago.
And as much as we might wish it otherwise,
the hard reality is that the future is always cloaked in uncertainty.
But if you keep your curiosity perked,
focus on bringing your unique Earth and Space Science perspective to your endeavors,
and understand that you have the power to forge a path as straight or curvy as needed,
even an uncertain future can be a fulfilling one.
Congratulations on your graduation, and enjoy creating your path forward.
♪ 'VICTORY CELEBRATION' BY JOHN WILLIAMS ♪
Good morning everyone and thank you for being here today.
While we can't be together in person
I'm glad that technology enables us to connect remotely
and celebrate this important moment.
To start off, thank you to all the family and friends who are here today.
Completing a degree is no simple task
and your support through the years has been crucial in helping us reach this milestone.
Thank you as well to the entire ESS department,
the faculty, the staff, postdocs, and our fellow students.
You make this department what it is and have positively shaped our experiences
and everything we have learned.
Finally, congratulations to all of today's graduates.
I've been asked by the department to share a graduate student perspective on ESS.
While reflecting on my personal experience
I find my self caught between considering two opposite directions.
Thinking back to what I've learned in this department
and thinking forward to what comes next.
While some of my fellow graduates may have their next career steps carefully planned out
I've struggled quite a bit to decide
how I want to put my degree to use in the world.
Do I pursue a postdoc in academia and follow my passion for research?
Do I seek out positions in science outreach
bringing my excitement for science directly to the public?
The career possibilities are simultaneously seemingly endless
and also worryingly nonexistent in the current moment.
But in considering together my experience here in ESS
alongside the challenge to choose a future career path
I've realized that these opposite directions are actually intimately connected.
Specifically, during my time in this department
I have not only learned but I have learned how to learn.
And this skill is directly applicable to confidently sorting out my next steps,
even in this moment, when society as a whole couldn't seem anymore uncertain.
A core aspect of learning within the grad student experience
comes from the process of completing a thesis.
The research in this department literally spans the entire planet and outer space.
But everyone's thesis boils down to asking
and answering questions about how the world works.
The process of formulating these questions and developing these answers
can take quite a bit of time.
I recently saw a depiction of how your perception of knowledge
on a topic changes as your expertise increases.
I think it summarizes the process of completing a thesis quite well.
As you begin to build expertise in an area
you quickly increase the amount you think you know.
This continues until you have learned enough to realize just how much there really is to know.
and then the amount you think you know falls back to nearly zero.
This can be a somewhat discouraging realization
but meanwhile as your expertise has progressed
a third measure, the amount you actually know, has steadily expanded.
The process of developing my thesis certainly resembled this sort of
up and down journey in the pursuit of knowledge
and my experience in the ESS department has taught me three important lessons
that have helped me navigate that nonlinear path.
The first lesson is to challenge yourself to ask questions.
The fastest way to learn new things is to get curious
and the ability to pose meaningful questions is a key skill in developing your thesis.
In fact, our first milestone exam in the research program
is about crafting valuable scientific questions.
Learning to ask questions increased my perception of how much I thought I knew.
Though as I asked more questions I understood how much more there is to know
and I quickly realized I still had a long way to go.
The second lesson I've learned from ESS
is to seek out help and advice from others
rather than become overwhelmed when realizing how much more there is to know.
I learned the importance of proactively asking others for help.
Whether brainstorming a research idea with a faculty member.
receiving feedback on a talk at the grad student brownbag seminar,
or enlisting help from an officemate in debugging a piece of code,
someone in ESS has always been at the ready to lend a hand whenever I have asked.
This help enabled me to confidently pursue
the depth of knowledge I realized was out there.
Finally, the third lesson, is to engage with the community.
When I showed up for the first day of orientation six years ago
I knew no one and felt slightly out of place.
It wasn't until I signed up for departmental events
and took on positions of leadership that I developed a sense of belonging.
Even through activities that weren't directly related to my research
like coordinating science outreach and organizing conferences
the community connections I forged helped me further my thesis.
By getting involved in the community
I steadily increased the amount I actually knew about my research.
And of course, the last two months have highlighted
the importance of being involved in a community
even when those connections are virtual.
So now that I've completed my thesis
what am I taking away?
Beyond the specific questions and answers that comprise the content of my thesis
the most valuable part of my education here has been learning how to navigate
the ups and downs of learning itself.
Now as I consider my future direction
these three lessons I have learned in developing my PhD thesis
are exactly the tools I need to help me develop my next thesis,
my life thesis.
First, challenge myself to ask questions.
Explore new ways to relate my skills and interest to the world.
Second, seek help and advice.
Talk to others, get inspired by directions peers have taken,
and create connections that might open new doors.
And third, engage with the community.
At the end of the day I need to get out there and do.
By becoming involved and building off the work of those that have come before me
I'll be making progress even if I don't know now exactly where I'm headed.
I want to stress this last lesson of engagement
because I think we and the world have the most to gain from it.
As graduates of ESS we are all scientists
in a time when science is being politicized and undervalued
how can we best engage with the community?
We all have different skills, interests, and areas of expertise
so that engagement will look different for each of us.
But regardless of how it looks,
we have the potential to make an impact in the community and the world.
To my fellow graduates, I challenge you to think about how you will engage
and represent what it means to be a scientist.
And, in addition to engagement,
as we leave behind the structure of being a student in this department
how will you incorporate the other two lessons on learning
as we launch into an uncertain world.
Congratulations to my fellow graduates for completing your science thesis
and I wish you the best of luck as you continue to develop your life thesis.
♪ 'VICTORY CELEBRATION' BY JOHN WILLIAMS ♪
♪ 'POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE' BY EDWARD ELGAR ♪
♪ 'VICTORY CELEBRATION' BY JOHN WILLIAMS ♪
♪ 'ROGUE WAVES' BY MIGUEL ♪
♪ 'VICTORY CELEBRATION' BY JOHN WILLIAMS ♪
Thank you Professor Steig.
I am honored today to be the undergraduate speaker for the 2020 Earth and Space Sciences graduation.
These are of course not the ideal circumstances for this event,
but nevertheless, here we are today to celebrate the new journeys
that the class of 2020 are setting off on.
We are moving on to jobs, graduate school, and the rest of the terrifying
yet exciting world after college.
I don’t need to tell you all how unprecedented this virtual graduation
or the surrounding circumstances are. Like many of you, over the past few months,
I have taken up baking bread, doing puzzles, and have repeatedly contemplated cutting my own hair
in between zoom class, zoom meetings, zoom social hours…
zoom you-name-it and I can’t believe I’m saying this,
but Mike Brown was certainly ahead of the curve when he recorded all the 212 lectures
years ago. And little did I know that being glued to my computer while I binge
re-watched of all 30 hours of the lectures during dead week
a couple years ago was just a taste of what was to come.
Today, I find some small sense of comfort in this sense of togetherness,
in knowing that my fellow graduates, our friends and family have come together for us.
I personally would like to thank my loved ones for supporting me throughout this journey
and I know I can only express a fraction of the gratitude of this graduating class.
To our friends, family, partners, and supporters: Thank you a million times over,
and on behalf of my fellow graduates, allow me to offer you an apology
for all the geology puns I’m sure you’ve put up with over the years.
Now more than ever we must rely on these bonds to one another.
And for many of us, these are friendships forged in Montana’s sweltering heat,
in cramped field trip vans, or around the black lab tables that hold so many memories.
For many of us, the path ahead is uncertain,
but I know that the resilience that saw many of us through not 1,
but 2 geobiology exams will continue to be our guiding light.
This was not anyone’s plan for the end of our time together.
Many of us have come to UW, and ESS, with less traditional backgrounds
that have made the happy blend in this graduating class.
As a cohort, we have worked incredibly hard to be here today,
and I don’t just mean how hard it’s been to get up for zoom university.
I know many of you, and I know how much you have pushed yourselves to balance school,
work, research, family, and whatever else might be in your life.
It is certainly difficult to see all those things changing,
but I have faith in the strength and resilience of this group to continue to persevere.
I have incredible admiration for our graduating class and the strength I have seen,
which I know to be but a tiny slice of our depth.
I know that this journey has not been easy for many of us,
especially over these past few months and I hope that we all recognize the strength
that it takes to just keep going.
I personally have struggled with anxiety and depression
for the duration of my college career, not to mention throughout this pandemic,
and I know that many of you have faced the same, other, and worse struggles.
Whatever challenges college may have held for you, you have overcome them,
surpassed them, and outrun them and I hope everyone here today
is deeply proud of themselves and all they have accomplished.
Many of my fondest memories with my fellow ESSers come from the hallways of Johnson.
Officially or unofficially, it seemed that we were always gathered there,
whether for snacks before colloquium, a GeoClub fundraiser, or the painful groans
and emphatic hand motions that always came with any post exam discussion.
It is strange to not have said goodbye in a fitting way
or to have more of that strangely delicious water from the ground floor water fountain.
I would give almost anything to be panickedly staring at a ‘choose all correct answers’
exam, just a measly three feet away from another student.
Beyond these memories and experiences at UW
and in a time where so many things seem uncertain, and the value of truth wavers,
we can all take comfort in the simple fact that rocks will be there for us.
The solid nature of the physical world brings comfort
and reminds all of us of things beyond ourselves.
Many of the objects that we study – rocks, minerals, faults, formations,
and even planets, have stood the ultimate test of time,
and perhaps are the greatest reminder of resilience among us.
I am continually awe stuck by the strength of this world to have sustained so much turmoil,
and yet to have produced so much beauty and life.
I am reminded of my classmates in the fortitude and grace
I see in the world around me.
And unlike these earth system objects, we, as humans, students, and about to be graduates,
have the ability to grow, change and adapt quickly.
This has been an important part of our journey especially over these past few months.
As the world has turned a bit sideways,
I have admired the patience and determination I have seen from my peers
and the department in continuing to provide access to education, support, and community.
I eagerly anticipate how this unusual year will lead to changes in the university;
in the accessibility of field work and classes
and in our understanding of work and power in the times to come.
And I know that as ever, we will face these challenges with plastic deformation:
moving, shaping and becoming without breaking.
Congratulations class of 2020.
♪ 'VICTORY CELEBRATION' BY JOHN WILLIAMS ♪
♪ 'POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE' BY EDWARD ELGAR ♪
♪ 'VICTORY CELEBRATION' BY JOHN WILLIAMS ♪
Congratulations ESS Class of 2020. You have done it.
Throw your hat. Take a bow.
Make sure you take it all in and reflect on your amazing achievements. Cheers!
Coming to you live from the Hill backyard
This is graduation 2020
[cheers and laughing]
Alright, happy graduation from the puppies.
[laughing]
That has nothing to do with happy graduation.
C'mon Charlie. C'mon buddy.
C'mon, c'mon.
Good job Mia.
Congratulations! Congratulations!
Avocado says congratulations mom! I love you.
[purring]
Rainbow says congratulations!
[purring]
Jax says congratulations Hill!
Jasper do you say congratulations?
Congratulations! Congratulations!
Chargo says congratulations Hill!
Congratulations! Congratulations!
Congratulations Class of 2020.
Today is all about celebrating our graduates.
We are here ...
... "as family", ...
friends, and faculty to celebrate your amazing accomplishments.
It has been inspiring getting to know
both the graduate and undergraduate students in ESS,
and to see your progress, and growth, through both normal and not-so-normal times.
After all your hard work to get to where you are,
you deserve an in-person send-off.
I always look forward to the in-person ESS Graduation Ceremony,
and I am sorry that this year it's not possible.
The skills that you take with you as you leave the University are unusual.
As you have come to understand, our planet is incredibly complex,
with connections between the atmosphere and rivers,
between oceans and continents that are all connected
to the deep interior through volcanoes, earthquakes, and plate tectonics including subduction.
We have just begun to fathom the intricacy of these interconnections.
You have learned to work with time scales
that range from milliseconds to billions of years.
Because of Earth's complexity,
the environmental problems our society faces are not easily answered.
We don't have all the data we need,
and we don't have all the understanding and we never will.
But as ESS students,
you have learned how to deal with unknowns and uncertainties.
Please help us save our planet!
You have the tools to do this.
Use your curiosity to guide you,
ask important questions,
then gather useful information,
and analyze them carefully.
The people of the world need you now more than ever
to advance the science
and promote scientifically sound decision making.
Please go into the world
and make a positive difference and feel good about it.
During this special year,
I wish that my 20/20 vision
would allow me to see past the end of my nose,
but I have no idea what the future has in store for us.
I would like to think that through all the hard work of the past several years,
you have learned both the basic Earth Science
and how to be responsible citizens,
and this will serve you well down the road.
The world needs you and you need the world.
I wish you the best in your future endeavors,
be safe,
and congratulations!
♪ 'VICTORY CELEBRATION' BY JOHN WILLIAMS ♪
Congratulations ESS Graduates 2020 !
Rockstar and myself are here to extend our sincerest congratulations to you.
Job well done.
I thought since I could not spend graduation
with you at the University of Washington this year,
that I would bring you out to me favorite spot on Whidbey Island.
This is the Saratoga Erratic.
It is one of the largest Glacial Erratics on Whidbey Island,
and its not even the Puget Lowland.
I think there might be one bigger one over near Lake Stevens.
But in any event, this erratic has a lot of significance to me and my Geologic career,
and I wanted to share this ... with my last moment with you.
Its special, just as you are special to us, the faculty in this Department.
We are going to miss you, and we know you are going to be successful
in whatever career endeavor that you choose.
Again, just a heartfelt congratulations to you.
Please remember ... say Hello to us ... email out to us ... come by and see us,
and know that you always hold a special place in our hearts.
I wish you all the success. Graduates 2020.
God bless you all.
Be Safe.
Be well in life.
Congratulations to all the students graduating today.
I wish I could be there in person but we know that we have to do it virtually due
to restrictions from COVID-19.
I especially want to call out Paige Northway
who is graduating today with a Doctor of Philosophy in Earth and Space Sciences
for her innovations for plasma thrusters on cubesats.
Her problem was especially difficult because she had to fit all of her equipment
into the size of a loaf of bread
and more than that she had to share it with other efforts.
so she only had actually 1/3rd of the loaf of bread to put all of her equipment in.
But she got there, lots of trials and tribulations,
lots of failed experiments, but she actually managed to get it
launched, just last year, placed on the space station
and it has orbited earth.
So congratulations to Paige, and as she did her work
she actually mentored a whole lot of undergraduates
through a whole lot of different efforts
including helping some of my other students working in the plasma lab
and in our NASA funded penetrator work for sample return.
And speaking of our undergraduates I'd like to also thank and congratulate who worked
in my classes learning about rockets and instrumentation.
I'm sorry that we couldn't get our last launch in, our last big launch,
but you all guys got to dream big, you got to launch at least some of the smaller rockets
later on in the year, and I hope you will take that same kind of
can do spirit to continue and be successful
in this continuing era of COVID-19.
Congratulations and good luck.
♪ 'VICTORY CELEBRATION' BY JOHN WILLIAMS ♪