17³Ô¹ÏÍø

Members of the Class of 2021, like you, I am also preparing to leave the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø, and I know that none of us expected to be ending our tenure here after 14 months of responding to a global pandemic which has required remote learning and great economic upheaval.  Nor did we anticipate that racism and violence, which sadly have always tarnished our republic, would erupt so intensely this year; that our national elections would be so polarizing; and that global warming and environmental sustainability would become so obviously threatening. The impact of these diverse challenges have significantly affected our consciousness and our way of living and studying.

But these unprecedented events have also stimulated much greater reflectivity, required of us a more intense search for ways of living and serving our world with greater intentionality, and have called us to become active agents who will transform our society and world into a more just, compassionate and sustainable home.

As you discern your next steps and assume greater responsibility for your lives and work, you have received an education which will help you to understand and respond to the challenges facing our country and world. You have been educated to be ethical and active global citizens, and you have been offered spiritual and faith-filled resources to sustain you in your work and family lives. The values of a 17³Ô¹ÏÍø education have never been more important, and our world has never needed citizens and leaders such as you.  As you and I leave this sacred place, let us go forward with hope, knowing that we have what we need to make a difference, that we will always have this community to return to, and that our loving God will give us what we require to transform our world in ways which reflect God’s deepest desires for us all.

And now, it is my privilege to introduce your remarkable 2021 Valedictorian, Emma Davison.  From West Caldwell, New Jersey, Emma is a Double Major in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies, with a concentration in Peace and Conflict Studies.  In the Fall of 2019 Emma participated in Middlebury College's Arabic Language Program in Amman, Jordan and in the spring of 2020 she was the Student Coordinator of the Washington Semester Program. Emma is a Dana scholar, a Desmarais Scholar, a member of national political science honor society, Pi Sigma Alpha, and President of the Jesuit Honor Society, Alpha Sigma Nu.  She has been a Weiss Summer Research Assistant and a Math Department Teaching Assistant.  She is the Chair of Pax Christi, a multicultural peer educator, the Summer and Fall Gateways Orientation Leader, the Civitas Community Leader Coordinator, the creator of the Hadwen Park LGBTQIA+ Asylum Task Force documentary, and a Mustard Seed Catholic Worker volunteer.

After graduation, Emma will begin working as a Government Relations Associate with L3Harris Technologies in Washington, DC where she also will continue to study Arabic at the Middle East Institute.  Eventually, Emma plans to go to Graduate School to study evolving threats to international stability including the climate crisis and nuclear proliferation.

Please welcome, our 2021 Class Valedictorian, Emma Davison.