Penn State Behrend's Spring 2024 Commencement was held Friday, May 3, at Erie Insurance Arena. The college awarded nearly 600 undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Graduates and their guests heard addresses by Dr. Jodie Styers, associate teaching professor of math education, and Mr. Richard Sayre, grandson of Penn State Behrend benefactors Ernst and Mary Behrend. The text of the commencement addresses are below.
See the Spring 2024 Commencement Program
Beyond the Numbers
Professor Jodie Styers
Thank you for the kind introduction, Dr. Filbeck.
Good evening, Chancellor Ford, members of the college leadership team, graduates, faculty, staff, family, and friends. Welcome to Penn State Behrend’s 2024 Spring Commencement Ceremony. In particular, I would like to welcome those of you that graduated high school in 2020 to your first in-person commencement ceremony. It is an overwhelming honor to be here with all of you this evening.
As the reality of accepting the invitation to speak at commencement set in, I did what any mature and responsible adult does when they are nervous about trying something new. I cried ... I ate a donut … and I reached out to my family and friends for advice. I asked them, “What can I possibly share that could be helpful ... or meaningful … or remotely useful?” Their suggestions ranged from encouraging to awful, comical to absurd, but a common theme emerged from their responses: Just share something you’re passionate about.
As a mathematics educator, my passion lies at the intersection of teaching and mathematics. So, this evening, I’d like to teach you a bit about the importance of being a mathematician.
The breeze you just felt was a collective eye roll from roughly half of the people in this room.
Most people think math is all about numbers. Tonight, as we gather to recognize and celebrate your achievements, as the Class of 2024, I'll share a few numbers with you.
At this ceremony, Penn State Behrend will confer 544 undergraduate degrees and 42 graduate degrees. Before the night is through, 438 graduates will cross the stage while roughly 2,700 of your family members and closest friends look on. I can think of no better way to celebrate our college’s 75th anniversary.
Over the last four years (plus or minus 2), you completed a minimum of 120 credits to earn your baccalaureate degree. Tonight’s master’s degree candidates have completed close to 150 credits over the span of your educational journey. You attended class, visited office hours, studied hard, completed assignments, and passed tests. Your graduating class earned a grade-point average of 3.365. While these numbers and statistics are impressive in their own right, they don’t fully capture what you have achieved during your time at Penn State Behrend.
You see, being a mathematician involves much more than using numbers and statistics to tell a story. Being a mathematician demands that we move beyond the numbers. It requires perseverance and problem solving. It’s about allowing yourself to make mistakes, and to be willing, when necessary, to revise your thinking. You spent the last four years honing these skills, and they will no doubt serve you well as you move forward.
Across the span of your college career, there were many notable moments and experiences that have become core memories from your time at Penn State Behrend. These memories might include adventures you went on, moments that you laughed so hard your belly hurt, or situations where you triumphed. Maybe the memory of your first hike in the beautiful gorge is embedded in your brain, or perhaps you still brag about that amazing prize you won at Midnight Bingo.
But it’s important to temper those feel-good memories against the less pleasant times you endured. There were moments of frustration. Times where you encountered adversity. Perhaps, you even shed a few tears along the way. Like most life milestones, college includes some hard moments. Maybe your challenge came in the form of a class that required you to invest a significant amount of time and resources into in order to pass by the skin of your teeth. Perhaps your educational journey was less linear than you anticipated. Some of you changed majors a time or two, while others added a minor along the way. Whatever adverse conditions you personally encountered, you found a way to persevere through the difficulties and be successful. I know this because you’re all graduating this evening.
As you move forward into the next phase of life, continue to use the perseverance you cultivated at Behrend to your advantage. Starting a new job, entering graduate school, having your own classroom, moving to a new place, and starting a family all come with new sets of challenges. That doesn’t mean that you should avoid doing these things. In fact, I would argue that you should do them, despite the fact they can be hard. Success is always sweeter when you persist through difficult moments to get there.
Mathematicians frequently encounter difficult challenges as they tackle new and novel problems. College has presented each of you with new problems as well. Some of these problems challenged your thinking or required you to learn new skills. Each problem you faced along the way bolstered your problem-solving skills.
For instance, you learned how to use the dual-authenticator app to log into every Penn State account two ... four ... twelve times a day. You learned to separate your laundry to avoid turning all of your clothes pink. You found a way balance your academic responsibilities alongside participating in activities like SGA, theater, and math club. And, most importantly, you discovered the best time to leave campus without getting stuck in the traffic jam on College Drive. You solved thousands of homework problems using the new concepts you learned in your classes.
You also worked on problems of a more complex nature. As a first-year student, you discovered ways to navigate the chaos of meeting thousands of new people and emerged with new friends. This is particularly noteworthy because you accomplished this challenge from six feet away while wearing a mask. You also learned how to advocate for yourself. You located resources like the Lilley Library and the Learning Resource Center and used them to enhance your learning and to advance your knowledge. You have truly become a master problem solver! Carry this skill with you as you transition into your next adventure. Attack problems with courage and creativity, and don’t lament when you get a problem or two wrong along the way.
Mathematicians know a thing or two about being wrong. It happens to us more than we like to admit. But being wrong and making mistakes are part of the learning process. Maybe you made a mistake or two during the pursuit of your degree. Remember that time you told your professor your “alarm never went off?” How about that assignment you never turned in? What about that final exam you forgot to study for? Mistakes have the power to make us feel discouraged or like we’re less than enough.
But here’s the secret that mathematicians know about mistakes: Mistakes provide opportunities to learn and get better. I’d encourage you to shift your mindset away from being scared of or embarrassed by your mistakes and, instead, to embrace them as chances to revise and refine your thinking. Your degree does not come with a complimentary worked-out solutions manual. You will continue to make mistakes into the foreseeable future. Earning a degree communicates to others that you can react to your mistakes with humility, that you are able to find the lesson in each mistake you make, and that you will use those lessons to tackle future problems.
Perseverance, problem-solving, and allowing yourself to learn from your mistakes are qualities that helped you find your way to commencement. But the usefulness of these mathematical skills doesn’t end when you receive your degree. You’ll need them more than ever as you transition into your next chapter as an alumni of Penn State. The most exciting part of your journey starts tonight,, and the possibilities in front of you are infinite.
I’d like to leave you with a quote from a book I read as an undergraduate student that changed my perspective. Surprisingly, it isn’t an equation or a proof from a math book. In his book titled I’d Rather Teach Peace, Coleman McCarthy writes, "Add peace where there's none, subtract violence when you see it, multiply love when you can, and divide hate when you must. No other math matters."
Congratulations Class of 2024. Go get started on your math homework!
Jodie Styers is an associate teaching professor of math education and chair of the Secondary Education in Mathematics department at Penn State Behrend.
Lessons from the Behrends
Mr. Richard Sayre
Thank you, Chancellor Ford, for your kind introduction.
Good evening, remarkable Class of 2024, esteemed faculty, proud families, friends, and guests. I am deeply honored to celebrate this incredible Behrend milestone with you. Just imagine, a group of 146 students, 75 years ago, has grown into a vigorous student body of 4,300!
I’m not here just as the grandson of Ernst and Mary Behrend; I’m here as a fellow traveler on the journey of life, eager (hoping) to share a few insights with you.
When my grandparents lived at the property which is now Penn State Behrend, they named it “Glenhill.” It was their home for 17 years before Grandmother gave it to Penn State as a tribute to her husband. It’s been your home for the last few years, and Glenhill has turned into an outstanding university, offering 47 associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees. Behrend is noted in national publications for its excellence because of the superb achievements of students like you, and for the dedication and hard work of Behrend’s excellent faculty and staff.
If they were here today, my grandparents would join us in being extremely proud of all your accomplishments.
Before I share a few thoughts with you, I’ll let you in on some advice my wife impressed on me about speaking to you today. In a biography she recently read, she learned that Louis Howe, a political advisor and speechwriter for FDR, advised Eleanor Roosevelt when she was preparing to make an important speech: “Speak your piece, and sit down.” Mrs. Roosevelt successfully followed that sage advice, and I’ll try to do the same.
Today, I’d like to share three lessons from the Behrend family that I hope will help you as you go on your way as Behrend graduates. I’ll share something learned from my grandfather, my grandmother, and another respected member of the Behrend family whose name and face you’ll recognize immediately.
My grandfather died before I was born, so I didn’t know him personally. I’ve learned about his generosity, his fairness, and his care for others through stories from Grandmother and Mother, through books, and through conversations with people here in Erie. Having studied mechanical engineering in Germany, he came to the United States with his brother Otto in 1896 at age 27, an age not far from yours. Together, two years later, they began what would become the Hammermill Paper Company here in Erie.
Imagine the times: William McKinley had just become president. Only 44 states comprised the United States. The Wright Brothers hadn’t flown at Kitty Hawk.
I’ve learned a great deal about Grandfather’s character through this little leather book which contains guidelines that he and his father created and applied to their successful work at Hammermill. One such motto is: “I believe sharing in the broadest sense of the word, is the fundamental solution.”
Let me repeat that: “I believe sharing in the broadest sense of the word, is the fundamental solution.”
This sharing, the Behrends applied to actual ownership of the shares of Hammermill made available to employees. Additionally, Grandfather was an early adopter of healthcare plans for employees, and he offered his workers hourly bonuses and paid vacations at a time when doing so was most unusual. In current words, we might express his guideline this way: “Let other people share in credit and reward for the work of any venture.”
A further view of his principles comes from another quote in the same book: “A title gives no authority. Understand your business, be just, and hold the respect of your associates in business as well as in private life, and then authority comes of its own accord.”
The New York Times recognized Grandfather’s respect for the people with whom he worked when they wrote of him, and I quote, “Besides pioneering in paper manufacture, Mr. Behrend was one of the nation’s pioneers in establishing friendly relations between employer and employee”.
So from Grandfather, you can learn:
The sharing of accomplishments and benefits provides an important road to success. Be just, and treat everyone you meet with respect.
My grandmother relocated to Connecticut after donating Glenhill to Penn State. She played a significant role in our lives; we visited her often and celebrated holidays at her home. Generosity was an important thread in her life for as long as I can remember. Always imaginative, she was an artist and cartoonist in her early years. Her art studio at Glenhill is now Behrend’s Studio Theatre.
One example of her generosity and creativity is when she came across several unused and battered doll houses needing restoration and purchased them. She then stripped the doll houses, painted or wallpapered each room, and finally filled the rooms with miniature furniture and figures she had collected during her travels. What made these doll houses unique were the imaginative stories she wrote and illustrated about fictional families who supposedly lived in them. Upon completion, these doll houses were donated to local charities for raffles, thus generating funds to support organizations that helped people in need.
So from Grandmother, you can learn:
With a little creativity, effort, and generosity, you can bring joy to yourself and benefit others at the same time.
Finally, something to learn from a Behrend family member whose face and name you know well: Bruno! (Let’s hear it for Bruno!)
The Behrends were extremely fond of the dogs who shared the property with them: a great variety of poodles, hunting dogs, and German-bred dogs. It was thought that at one time as many as 16 dogs were living at Glenhill. You might know that the current South Cottage on campus was originally the dog kennel. Legend has it that when Grandfather visited the paper mill for inspections, he would have two of his faithful dogs, one believed to have been Bruno, precede him into the plant to prevent the employees from being surprised by his scrutiny.
For years, an oil painting of Bruno, reportedly his favorite dog, hung outside of Grandfather's office, indicating their mutual love and respect. When the University allowed students to choose a name for the student cafe, they chose Bruno's, and an enlarged copy of that painting was hung in the Café where it continues to hang today. Bruno has become an important symbol of loyalty and devotion.
So if Bruno could talk, he might say, and you could learn from him:
Give respect and demonstrate loyalty in your relationships with others.
In conclusion, I urge you to carry into the next phase of your lives, the Behrends’ lessons of:
- Sharing your successes and good fortune,
- Working to better the lives of others with generosity, and
- Practicing a life of respect and loyalty to others.
We can’t wait to see how you will impact the world and reflect all that you have learned, both personally and academically, here at Behrend!
Congratulations, Class of 2024!
Richard Sayre is the grandson of Penn State Behrend benefactors Ernst and Mary Behrend.