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College of Engineering Holds First-Ever Virtual Commencement
On Sunday, May 17, the College of Engineering held its spring commencement ceremony virtually for the first time ever because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a new experience for everyone and a time to remember for years to come.
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The commencement ceremony started with a prerecorded speech by University of Iowa (UI) President Bruce Harreld, who told the graduates, “As always, we stand together as Hawkeyes today, with strength, purpose, and pride.”
The graduates also heard from UI Provost Monserrat Fuentes, Iowa Board of Regents President Mike Richards, College of Engineering Dean Alec Scranton, alumni speaker Kristi Bauerly, and mechanical engineering graduate Allison Rowe.
Following the speeches, the audience enjoyed a commencement slide show featuring photos submitted by the graduates. The Department of Mechanical Engineering graduated 83 BSE students, and we are proud of each of them! They showed remarkable dedication to achieving their dream of completing a degree, including a virtual final semester, during unprecedented times.
Allison Rowe did a wonderful job with her speech and gave her permission to reprint it here:
“I could think of no place more fitting to deliver this virtual speech than the Pentacrest, the place where we met nearly four years ago for convocation, brimming with possibilities and excitement.
“And now we’re here. Or there, or wherever you’re watching from. We formed friendships, made plenty of mistakes, learned like crazy, and snatched up all the opportunities we could. And as I reflected on the passage of time between that August afternoon and today, I was reminded of an essay by Marina Keegan,
written for a commencement edition of the Yale Daily News. She says, ‘The notion that it is too late to do anything is comical. It’s hilarious. We’re graduating from college. We’re so young.’
“And she’s right. It’s never too late to try something for the first time, whether that be rock climbing or painting or even a master’s program. We’ve already tackled one of the steepest learning curves there is, and that’s getting an engineering degree. So embrace new learning curves. Try and fail and achieve and start over – we have time.
“Keegan also writes, ‘We can’t, we MUST not lose this sense of possibility, because in the end, it’s all we have.’
“And frankly, I disagree with her. Yes, that sense of possibility is vital, but the fact that we made it to graduation today proves that we have so much more: creativity, dedication, ingenuity, passion, innovation.
“In the face of uncertainty, especially now, we’re ready. To my fellow engineers in the University of Iowa class of 2020, I wish you all the possibility in the world.”
Rowe and 82 others received BSE degrees in mechanical engineering at the spring 2020 Commencement ceremony. Allison started her career at Design Engineers MEPFT in Madison, Wis., over the summer. Congratulations to all the new ME graduates!
Campus is extra quiet as students are welcomed back for fall semester under strict social distancing guidelines. Students are taking a mix of online and small in person classes to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
