TRANSCRIPT

PRESIDENT ANNIE JOHNSTON'S ADDRESS AT THE 164TH CONVOCATION CEREMONY OF AUGUSTANA UNIVERSITY

27 August, 2024 

Good morning Augustana Class of 2028 and esteemed faculty and administration,

Thank you, Beth, for that warm introduction. It is an honor to be here today to kick off the academic year and officially welcome you to campus! 

I have always had mixed feelings about this time of the year. On the one hand, it is always exciting to see new students arrive on campus and slowly settle into dorm life. There is a vibrant energy on campus that is only similar to Viking Days, Augustana’s Homecoming Week, or when the Dining Hall has the Augie Bowl on the menu. However, I think much of my hesitancy about Welcome Week comes from the fact that, in addition to reminding me that I’m getting older, it also highlights that nothing quite compares to those first few weeks on campus as a first-year student.

Many of you had the first of many cornerstone experiences of your time at Augustana last Saturday: move-in day! Maybe some of you can relate to this, but when I moved into the Solberg Dorms my freshman year it felt like I was being dropped off at summer camp. I found myself waiting in a long line of cars, each one packed to the brim with belongings, while the upperclassmen, full of energy, screamed and danced as they lugged gaming consoles, heavy futons, and massive TVs up the sweltering staircase of Solberg. I can still vividly remember the moment I first stepped into my dorm room and the chaotic scene that greeted me: my grandma huddled in the corner, phone out, recording this "life-changing experience" (though it didn't feel that way at the time), while my mom frantically cleaned every surface and crevice in the 180-square-foot room in order to make it feel like a “tiny home,” and my dad was undergoing a midlife crisis as he tried to assemble my futon from Walmart. 

In the midst of this chaos, I felt like a rock in a stream. Everything was passing by me quickly, and I had no idea what to make of it–only that I was there. You will quickly realize that on your worst days, the best thing you can do is be present. This is especially true for those brave soldiers that have 8ams tomorrow. If you can make it to your 8am class, I firmly believe that you can accomplish anything. Not that my move-in experience was awful, but it was a period of rapid change that humans are naturally hard-wired to resist. And considering the global events of the past four years, rapid change is feared for good reason. The one thing that gave me a sense of stability during my first year was embracing a familiar routine: finding comfort in the rhythm of academic life.

Class of 2028, I have both good news and bad news for you. The good news: your job for the next four years is to simply learn. The bad news: your job for the next four years is to simply learn. It is a daunting task, one that requires a true feat of strength and self-discipline and one that will not be fully accomplished at the end of your undergraduate journey. Rather, it will be a lifelong pursuit, one that begins now, in earnest. You might find yourself pouring over a tedious textbook at 3am, frantically cramming for an exam the next day. Or perhaps you'll be stuck in the lab for hours while your business major friends relax outside, soaking up the sun, chatting about stocks, Roth IRA’s, or whatever else business majors discuss.  

Over the past four years, I have found myself in these situations quite often and there is a question that bounces around in my head everytime: Why am I doing this to myself?. After all, it was a decision, a choice, free of any external pressure or forces that led me to call Augustana University my home for the next four years.  I imagine that all of you have different answers to this question: to make your family proud, to earn a meaningful degree and then head off to graduate school, to discover your vocation in life, or to just boast that you graduated from the “Harvard of the Midwest.” No matter the answer, I believe that there is a common, underlying principle among each and every one of your responses: to become a better learner, and by extension, to become a better human.

Given your acceptance into this prestigious university, I have no doubt that many of you are familiar with an academic routine and thus achieving academic success. When I first arrived at Augustana, I equated achievement with excellence, believing that the most important thing was to achieve stellar grades, build an outstanding academic record, and make my family proud in the process. While this is one way to approach life, you’ll soon realize, as I did, that this kind of academic obsession can leave you feeling empty. 

Your time at Augustana will teach you how to think, most certainly, but it will also teach you how to be a better person. The Augie Advantage is so much more than pumping you full of knowledge or engaging in abstract, over intellectualized debates about the meaning of life, is the oxford comma necessary, or is water truly wet? Rather, the Augie Advantage is being able to think critically in the simplest sense, to gain a new understanding of the world around you, to equate learning with a fulfilling life, and to be a whole lot more curious and and a lot less arrogant in your thinking process. Excellence, a core value of Augustana, is defined by much more than your GPA or your athletic talent; excellence is the sum of everything you have learned, are still learning, and have yet to learn. Excellence is defined by your capacity for growth, constantly seeking challenges and embracing the mistakes made along the way. Augustana will hand you the tools to slowly build your own bold future; however, the heavy work of deciding what your future looks like resides within you.

I would be amiss in my speech if I left out some words of advice for you all. So, here they are, in rapid-fire succession: find that subject that sets your soul on fire, visit that professor that you will regard as the smartest person alive (and do so frequently), and most importantly, take yourself less seriously– if only for this first-year. When your aunt or uncle approaches you at a family gathering and inevitably asks that dreaded question: what are your plans for the future? You are in a fortunate position to simply respond with, “I do not know, I just got here and I am learning.” That is all. Over the next four years, your response to this question will become more nuanced as you slowly discover yourself, but for now, enjoy the process of learning and settling into a new community. 

A community that is vibrant in nature and extends much further than Summit Avenue; the Augustana community is composed of learners, innovators, teachers, and thinkers. Individuals that will challenge how you conceive the world around you, who will inspire you to add another major (or two…or god forbid, three), and who will ultimately make you a better person for it. That is the true Augie Advantage. 

Class of 2028, I wish you way more than luck on this next bold journey in your life. Thank you.

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