NORTHAMPTON — The historical and current achievements of women were celebrated at the Smith College commencement Sunday as speaker Megan Smith, U.S. chief technology officer, urged the graduates to collaborate in their passions to innovate and inspire.
Some 6,000 people gathered in the chilly and blustery Quadrangle to watch 684 undergraduates and 73 graduate students be awarded their degrees.
In a change of pace from typical end-of-year exercises, the Smith graduates marched into the quad not by the sound of “Pomp and Circumstance” but the bagpipe stylings of the Holyoke Caledonian Pipe Band.
In what marked the end of a two-decade-long tradition, Hampshire County Sheriff Robert J. Garvey called the festivities to order clad in a bright yellow vest, top hat and carrying a staff, which he banged on the ground.
He was later honored by Smith President Kathleen McCartney for his 30-plus years serving as “one the most progressive sheriffs in the nation.” Garvey is not seeking re-election this fall.
In her remarks, senior class president Bree Ann Currier reminisced about her four years at Smith, framed around memories of class photos that were taken at first-year orientation and another just a few days before commencement.
She urged her fellow Smithies to consider the personal and academic growth experienced through long nights in the library and perhaps longer nights spent chatting with friends.
“I know that we have all accomplished something that we are proud of during our time at Smith,” Currier said. “Congratulate yourself.”
Currier presented McCartney with a $2,016 gift from the class to the college’s Fund for Organizations and Developing Leaders.
“We hope this fund will play an instrumental role in the lives of Smith students for years to come,” Currier said.
McCartney awarded the Honored Professor Award to Andrea Hairston, a professor of theater and Africana studies.
Honorary degrees were given to six women influential in their fields: cartoonist and activist Alison Bechdel, known for her graphic novel memoir “Fun Home” and the Bechdel test, which considers whether fictional works feature at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man; civil rights leader and national NAACP Chairwoman Roslyn Brock; journalist and sexual slavery abolitionist Ruchira Gupta; Olympic gold medallist and soccer star Abby Wambach; and NASA astronaut and engineer Stephanie Wilson.
Megan Smith, the speaker, was also awarded an honorary degree. She urged the graduates to consider three things — confidence, interconnection and intensity — as they get ready to live and accomplish things post-college.
She called on suffragist and abolitionist Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s “Declaration of Sentiments” to illustrate the importance of confidence and pointed to the fact that it was the work of Stanton that helped increase educational equity for women.
“Confidence in how you see yourself in the world, confidence to take action, confidence to break molds — confidence to be your true self,” Smith said. Before Stanton was a notable figure in human and women’s rights and written into history books “she was a young person like all of you,” she said.
In her role as chief technology officer, Smith said she is tasked with advising President Barack Obama and his staff on how to harness the power of data, innovation and technology.
One of her most important questions concerns how to unlock the talent of the whole of the American people.
“One of the best ways to unlock talent is for everyone to have creative confidence to do the extraordinary things that each of you could and will do,” she said.
And she said that means overcoming a lot of bias against women, people of color and LGBT people — “against people who would think differently.” When that bias succeeds in stifling ideas, it causes talented people to not realize their full potential.
Smith pointed to the fact that many of history’s unsung heroes are its most important, though recognition is slowly coming their way. There’s Katherine Johnson and two other African American women who were critical contributors to the mathematics involved in the space race, about whom a film is being made. Women suffragists and equality leaders Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Antony and Alice Paul will soon be featured on the back of the new $10 bill.
Working together is a key to solve the world’s challenges and unlocking the full potential in a group of people, Smith said.
“Life is a team sport,” she said. “You don’t have to be great at every single thing. You just have to find friends and colleagues who are maybe more interested in things that you’re not.”
Though traditional narratives sometimes focus on the “founders” like the Wright Brothers when it comes to flight, there’s always a team behind that success. In their case, there was a Wright sister, Katherine Wright, who helped support field operations for flying and acted as business manager.
She urged people to think beyond the barriers of school subject matter as a matter of interconnection to explore their passions and intensities — “that Smith intensity that you came here with” and to work together to achieve greatness.
“We’re not sure exactly what will happen — it’s unpredictable. But I do predict that it will be extraordinary,” Smith said. “Congratulations to all of you and welcome to the powerful alumnae of Smith College!”
Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com