Thank you Dr. Jarvis---

I am honored to be a part of this important day in your lives.

I shared this same SEU moment at three of my own graduations and like many of you.

I am linked to the legacy of SEU and I share this legacy with a daughter and my son who graduated from SEU.

Today is about your future this is not the end of a journey, but the beginning.
You now have knowledge and experience you can use to better your own lives, the lives of your families, in your workplaces, and communities all over the world.

This new found wisdom will generate new opportunities, successes, and endeavors; but also carries with it new responsibilities. As an alum of SEU - First, join the alumni association - Never stop learning about SEU - keep abreast by visiting the association's web pages.

In fact, mark your calendars - on August 12, 2005 at 6:30 the alumni association will be hosting a welcoming reception for new and old alumni - that's on Friday, August 12. Detailed information can be found on the SEU website Next, prepare to offer your time, talents and resources to keep SEU moving forward.
Consider volunteering for a committee with your alumni association.
Encourage a local high school student to attend SEU University.
Aspire to be a volunteer.

For 126 years before you, alumni have symbolically carried Southeastern's "Lamp of Knowledge", along with all of the opportunities and responsibilities that accompany it.

I hold in my hand a small replica of the lamp that is on Southeastern Unviersity's seal. The lamp is a symbol of the knowledge you have gained.

To represent your initiation into the alumni community, the alumni association passes on to the Class of 2005 this symbol which is engraved:

SEU Alumni Association
Lamp of Knowledge,
Entrusted to the class of 2005,
June 26, 2005.

The alumni association is your connection to SEU family forever. It makes the SEU experience last a lifetime. If you take the steps to become engaged and to stay connected, you will enjoy a lifetime bond with your SEU family.

To the newest members of our SEU family, congratulations, best of luck and hail SEU!