Mitchell College Graduation: A Major Milestone

For all the students graduating from Mitchell College on Saturday, commencement marked "a special milestone," said college President Mary Ellen Jukoski. But for the many students who had to overcome major obstacles to arrive at this day, the college’s 67th commencement was the end of a long and difficult journey.

For the Bentsen family in particular, today’s graduation ceremony was especially meaningful. Lloyd Bentsen said special education teachers had said his son, Ryan, would never go to college. Indeed, Bentsen noted, “not many colleges provide the support needed.” Mitchell College, however, is one of the exceptions. At Mitchell, 30 percent of the students have special needs and college faculty and staff are noted for finding ways to help students with learning disabilities achieve their educational goals.

Seeing his son, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, walk up to the podium in a cap and gown to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in communications, Bentsen said, “was maybe one of the greatest days this family has ever seen.” And that’s saying something, considering Ryan is the grandson of the late senator from Texas, Lloyd Bentsen, Gov. Michael Dukakis’s running mate in the 1988 presidential campaign.

The Bentsen family expressed their appreciation in a very real way by raising funds for a new resource facility inside the Duquès Center building on campus. Jukoski took the opportunity to announce that, the day before the commencement, Mitchell’s Board of Trustees decided to name it the Bentsen Learning Resource Center.

“The Bentsens, through their generosity, have demonstrated what is possible when commitment and passion are acted upon to create opportunity and access,” said Jukoski.

Overcoming obstacles and giving back to the community were recurring themes the commencement speeches, including the one given by former Mitchell College trustee, Gov. Dannel Malloy.

As a child, Malloy said, he had to overcome a variety of physical disabilities, including spasticity as an infant and poor motor coordination that made it difficult for him to hold a pencil. By eighth grade, he had managed to overcome his physical challenges but still struggled with dyslexia.

“Professionals told my parents not to expect too much of me,” said Malloy. His mother, however, wasn’t about to give up on her eighth child. Knowing that he was an oral learner, she bought him a radio so he could listen to talk shows. In school, he said, “I took most of my exams orally and I was able to earn honors-type grades.”

Malloy was the first student with a learning disability to be accepted by Boston College, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude before going on to earn a law degree from Boston College Law School.

“Like so many of the graduates here today, I was required to overcome obstacles,” said Malloy. “I never let it hold me back; nor should any of you. You’ve proven what you can do. I’m still trying to prove what I can do!”

Malloy echoed Jukoski’s wish that the students remain “lifelong learners” and urged all the graduates to “be good citizens, embrace the community where you live. Your state, your community, your nation needs you. Find a way to give back.”

Speaking on behalf of the students, new graduate Margaret Hoagland of Willington sounded ready to take on that challenge. In preparation for entering the job market, she said, she recently attended an employment seminar where she was told that employers have dubbed those born between 1970 and 2002, “Generation Me.”  

“The Baby Boomers now exclaim that “Generation Me” has no losers in any game, that they should love themselves before they can love anything else, and that the self always comes before any type of duty,” Hoagland said. “I almost fell off my chair in shock.”

At Mitchell College, Hoagland said, “I’ve seen students go above and beyond every chance they get. … We became a class that would extend a helping hand to each other. … We are willing work, to get a little dirty, to wake up early and to stay late as long as we could help out."

"We know what we bring to the table will not only better a company, a social group, a non-profit agency, or family, but will better our world in so many ways," Hoagland said. "So maybe this new generation can be lovingly called Generation We.”

Ledyard and Gales Ferry students who received degrees from Mitchell College were:

Ashlee Nicole Simonka, BA, Criminal Justice, Summa Com Laude

Nichole L. Preston, BA, LPS - Individualized

Joseph Paul Fenton, BS, Sports Management, Magna Cum Laude

Daniel Leighton Erhart, BS, Communications, Summa Cum Laude