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[MUSIC PLAYING] [CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
ALEX SUSSKIND: Good afternoon. Thank you to everyone for joining us today. I'm the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Alex Susskind. It's a great honor to welcome you all to the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration's graduation recognition ceremony. We look forward to celebrating all of our graduates with you today. It's now my pleasure to introduce to you our amazing dean of Cornell University's Nolan School of Administration, Kate Walsh.
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
KATE WALSH: Well, hello, everyone. Thank you so much. Before I begin my remarks this afternoon and share with you a few thoughts, I'd like to introduce you all to Andrew Karolyi, Dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, who's joined me in our celebration this afternoon.
[APPLAUSE]
Dean Karolyi, Dean Susskind, and I are delighted to welcome our 2022 graduates, their families and friends, and members of our school and college community, to truly one of the happiest of days, Cornell's 154th commencement, a beginning. It has been a damp and whirlwind morning.
And I don't know what was happening in that larger ceremony, but everybody, as you look around this room to our graduates, I just want you to take a moment to take it all in and to feel the love and support of everyone in this hall. In fact, now that the larger ceremony is over and it's just us, I'm going to ask all of us here to show you how proud we are of each and every one of you.
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
Thank you. Give me goosebumps. This is really, really a happy day. And if the past two years have taught us anything at all, it's to appreciate, live in the moment of, and savor these days. Many of you began your time at Cornell experiencing what we would typically expect and hope for. And yet others joined us just as the world turned upside down, and we had to find new ways of working and learning together and yet apart.
And throughout the past two years, as we isolated ourselves, I kept thinking, how do we stay connected? And what happens to each of us if we don't? And I say this because this pandemic has caused me to reflect on this notion of connectivity, humanity, restoration, and happiness, and the role that hospitality plays in creating that for all of us. And the ebb and flow of physically being together and then online have truly been eye-opening. And so as I reflect on the past two years, I wanted to share what I see as the opportunity before us and before each of you.
So hospitality, to me, is any interaction where someone extends a hand, offers an understanding, or just reaches out. Hospitality turns transactions into connections. And connections become relationships. And relationships are what give us energy and focus and restore us. And hospitality bridges us and makes our larger world feel smaller, more like a connected community.
Its iterative and exponential possibilities are what give me hope and excitement for all of us. It is that profound and powerful. In fact, it's the best kind of power there is. And as the pandemic stripped away all the noise and distractions, the purpose of hospitality has never been more crystal clear and perhaps even more important.
So no matter what innovations drive our future, whether in the services industry or manufacturing, whether in operations, real estate, or analytics, or likely some combination of all three, by definition, hospitality will be core to impactful business models. The most successful enterprises are successful not because they leverage a deal or drive a strong EBITDA-- sorry, our accounting faculty-- but because they create value, add something better to our lives, and if they really do it right, make us feel connected and make our world a better place.
So what does this notion of restoration mean for today, your beginning, your purpose, and how you might find more of these happy days? Because really on our life journey, that's what truly matters. Here at the Nolan Hotel School, our tremendous faculty have taught you what it means to be a generous classmate, one who is other centered, contributing, making our own community stronger.
Research tells us that the number one factor that gets the very of few high achievers, and there's a lot of high achievers, to the C-suite of their organizations or defines successful entrepreneurs is not their IQ or their business savvy or their ability to drive profits. Lots of people can do that. It's that they are colleagues with whom everybody wants to work or do business.
These individuals have cultivated a reputation that draws others to them. They understand the importance of taking care of, helping their colleagues succeed. And they intuitively know that, in fact, by giving, they get more in return. It's satisfying. They also understand that the reputation they cultivate with everyone is their most valuable economic good. Hospitality is the means by which they shape and live their purpose.
So today, we launch you with this most important message, a gift, really. It's that the essence of our school and the alumni family you now join-- it's really about that success is not about what you do, but it's about who you are. Consider using hospitality to drive your purpose, to restore connectivity, being someone who makes the world, or if I break it down, the week or the day, better for others. One interaction, one relationship at a time is probably going to be one of your greatest sources of happiness. So on this very happy day, we ask you to be the essence of a hotelie, to show everyone what life is service not only looks like, but what it feels like. Nothing is really more rewarding than that. I'm taking that off.
So with that in mind, I cannot close without asking that we take a moment and acknowledge our very accomplished and caring faculty. My colleagues demonstrate, our colleagues, demonstrate their generosity and care each and every day with both heart and mind and really pure joy. They have had such a significant impact on our graduates' own personal growth and success. And I could not be more proud of all that they do. I'm going to ask them to stand and be recognized. Ladies and gentlemen, the Nolan School of Hotel Administration faculty.
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
On behalf of the entire Nolan Hotel School community, the SC Johnson College of Business, and Cornell University, Dean Susskind, Dean Karolyi, and I wish you the best of success and happiness. Wherever life may lead you around the globe, we will always look forward to welcoming you back to Statler Hall. And, graduates, remember, as you cross this stage in just a few moments to savor this very happy day, as you define and live your own purpose, may many more happy days lie ahead. Congratulations to each and every one of you.
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
ALEX SUSSKIND: We now present our graduating Class of 2022. We congratulate them on all of their outstanding accomplishments, beginning with our doctor of philosophy candidate.
[READING NAME]
And now we'll present our masters of science degree candidates.
[READING NAMES]
Oh, we've moved into the MMH group now. Sorry about that.
[READING NAMES]
I'm going to slow down a little bit. We have a backlog. There we go. All right.
[READING NAMES]
OK, now the Baker. Now we present our Baker Program in Real Estate degree candidates.
[READING NAMES]
OK.
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
OK, we now present the undergraduate Class of 2022.
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
As I call their names, I will recognize students who have completed the collaborative degree program with the Culinary Institute of America. We congratulate all of our graduating seniors on their outstanding accomplishments.
[READING NAMES]
I'll slow down a minute.
[READING NAMES]
Lilia Fromm, with distinction in research.
[READING NAMES]
Lucas Gray, Culinary Institute of America collaborative degree recipient.
[READING NAMES]
Noah Horns, a Culinary Institute of America collaborative degree recipient.
[READING NAMES]
Oh, thank you.
[READING NAMES]
Oh, there we go. Thank you.
ANDREW KAROLYI: Oh, man, he just jumped in line. Is that OK?
ALEX SUSSKIND: [LAUGHS] Yes.
[READING NAMES]
She's also a Culinary Institute of America collaborative degree recipient.
[READING NAMES]
He's also a Culinary Institute of America collaborative degree recipient.
[READING NAMES]
ANDREW KAROLYI: Well done, Alex.
ALEX SUSSKIND: Thank you.
KATE WALSH: Wow.
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
Wow. Congratulations. Graduates of the Class of 2022, we wish you fulfillment in every aspect of your lives, and we look forward to welcoming you back home to Cornell as alumni. We will see you in homecoming in October, right? Yes.
[APPLAUSE]
It's such, as I said, a happy day. The sun is out. Tomorrow, it's 80 degrees and sunny, so the celebration should continue. But as we conclude this celebration, a huge, huge thank you to our Statler Hotel culinary team for preparing that lovely lunch for each and every one of us.
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
We also had so many volunteers who helped make this day special for all. In fact, the Statler team usually comes out and applauds you all as you pass the hotel, but they were in here getting ready for the lunch with our student services team, with our career services team. So many volunteers who were so happy to be here today for each and every one of you.
Led by Dina Kristof, Ryan, and Cheyenne. Special thanks go to Calf Audio for providing the sound system, the Ithaca Brass Quartet for the wonderful music, and Empire Interpreting Service for helping make our ceremony accessible.
Now I'm going to ask everyone to stand while our graduates and our faculty recess out. We do hope you enjoy every moment of this afternoon and the rest of the commencement weekend. We invite you to head across the street to the Park Atrium in Statler Hall to take photos with your families and friends. And once again, on behalf of the entire school, college, and Cornell community, warmest, deepest, sincere congratulations to each and every one of you, the Class of 2022.
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration Graduate Recognition Ceremony 2022 recognizing B.S, MMH, and Baker Program in Real Estate degree candidates. Saturday, May 28, 2022 in Barton Hall.
