Full Column for the Washington Times Herald

I was a guest columnist for the Washington Times Herald - here is what I wrote:

I am officially now a Notre Dame University Alum. Over the last four years there were times I thought a title like that would never come. Other times, it was a title that I thought I didn’t want. Just as my four years at Notre Dame didn’t pass by without any hiccups in the plan, the three day graduation weekend didn’t either.

On Friday, the #2 ranked business school in the country, Mendoza College of Business, had a recognition ceremony for all of the students graduating in Business. I graduated with a degree in Business Management, in the Entrepreneurship area of study. The ceremony was held in the Joyce Center. For the first time, alphabetically, I wasn’t the last name to be announced, not because “Zeller” wasn’t the last name in alphabetical order but because the students from the marketing division were announced after the management students. It was a nice ceremony but didn’t start without the H1N1 virus (swine flu) announcement. We were told if we didn’t want to shake the hands of the leaders of the business school, we could cross our arms. I felt like I was back at one of hundreds of pre-game masses that I attended while at Notre Dame. Hand sanitizer was also available before and after going across the stage. Despite the announcement, everyone chose to accept their degree by shaking hands, and refused the offer of sanitizer and crossing of the arms.

In the beginning of our ceremony, our Dean, Carolyn Woo, delivered the commencement speech and then shook our hands while receiving our degree. We each had a card with the pronunciation of our names and any awards that we had received listed below. I didn’t win any awards, but if I had a marker I would have written “almost cum laude,” seeing that I missed cum laude honors by just .03%. When I shook the Dean’s hand there was a good rolling laugh because of the height difference between her (just over 5’) and me (6’ 11”). When I returned to my seat, a friend on the football team asked, “Did you feel like Godzilla when you shook her hand?” We received a golden canister that some thought had our diploma in it, but it was actually just a glorified baton with a sketch of the campus inside of it. I told mom I got bored during the ceremony and drew it myself. Afterwards, the Business school provided an informal reception where I celebrated with my parents and girlfriend, Hope. We also met with my teammates, Ryan Ayers and Zach Hillesland and their families to take pictures and relive the memories of the last four years.

When I woke up Saturday, I knew it was going to be a busy day. Eric Lane graciously drove all the way to Middlebury to pick up a 25 foot trailer and then to South Bend to load up all of my things from my house and drive it back to Washington. Eric was a lifesaver because without his help, the next option was volunteering Dad to drive Tom Boyd’s semi-truck from the 2005 State Championship. From what I’ve heard the last time Dad drove an 18-wheeler, he forgot to release the parking brake in his excitement. So, you’re welcome, Tom! That afternoon we had an open house to celebrate my graduation. As always, Mom had a wonderful display and presentation of my life and accomplishments at ND. The party lasted throughout the evening as we had a steady flow of people throughout the house. It worked out great and allowed us to spend some quality time with everyone that came. When I finally laid down for bed, I felt flooded with emotions about my last home appearance on the Joyce Center floor coming up the next day at graduation. I chose to quickly fall asleep so that I didn’t think too much about it.

By the way, at our open house that evening, we talked about security for the weekend. My roommate’s dad was in the FBI for over 20 years and he was telling me about all the retired FBI, Secret Service, DEA, and state policemen that were called in for the weekend for the President’s arrival. There were a lot of uniformed officers with probably many more in street clothes.

Sunday morning I woke up and packed up what was left of my things in the house I called “home” for the past year. I rented out a room in the upstairs of one of my best friends’ house. I got all moved out and had to collect my diploma (or my $240,000 placemat, as my roommate called it) at the Joyce Center around noon but the ceremony wasn’t set to start till 2:00. Because of the protestors and high security for the President, there were two checkpoints to get to the entrance of the Joyce Center. By this time, the protestors were already active near the entrance and some ND parents were seen arguing with them. While waiting to enter, my girlfriend, Hope witnessed parents accusing the protestors of ruining their children’s graduation. In response, the protestors accused the parents of supporting Obama and his pro-abortion policies. The arguments soon ended when the parents simply said they were trying to celebrate a great accomplishment with their kids. While the hour wait to get in through the Secret Service security checkpoint seemed tedious, in hindsight, it was worth it to see “Air Force One” fly over campus. Since the airport is not far from Notre Dame, it was flying low enough for us to see it. Once we finally got through security, diplomas were distributed and the class of 2009 assembled to process onto the Joyce Center floor. I stood by teammates Ryan Ayers and Zach Hillesland, as we are all business majors. Kyle McAlarney tried to switch tassel colors with someone in the business school so he could sit with us, but it was to no avail. (However, Kyle ended up sitting directly in front of Obama and definitely was excited about that). Ryan, Zach, and I (all over 6’7) stood out like sore thumbs in the middle of the sea of students but at 6’0 Kyle blended in much better.

The processional was filled with anxious anticipation as everyone knew that President Barack Obama would soon walk in. When he finally did everyone erupted with applause and a standing ovation. Applause occurred each time his name was even mentioned in the ceremony. The Valedictorian gave a very good speech about “to whom much is given, much is expected.” She spoke about how we had all been given much and we were expected to do much. She had a long list of accomplishments--so long I would venture to say that it is longer than mom’s “TO DO” list for dad on Saturday’s that he doesn’t work. It was impressive and I was proud to be a part of a class that had a valedictorian with such accomplishments.

Notre Dame’s President, Father John Jenkins then made comments and introduced President Obama. He talked about how, as a Christian institution, we should extend our invitation to people who are our leaders even if their beliefs are different from our own. I appreciated his comments, especially when he spoke of the church’s stance on supporting leaders and respecting people of authority. I was reminded of the wonderful people Jesus surrounded himself with and what some people said about them as he spoke. I was proud of Father Jenkins for remaining firm in his invitation to President Obama and ensuring that the attention was directed at the graduating class rather than him. I’m sure he had plenty of opportunities for statements and public appearances, but he refused. Thank you, Father Jenkins, for being a strong leader of a Christian institution.

When President Obama received his honorary degree, in silent protest, some students chose to remain seated without applauding. While I stood to watch, I chose not to clap. President Obama’s stance on abortion differs from the moral standing of Notre Dame and the Catholic Church. Personally, I did not agree with Obama receiving an honorary degree, either, and did not support Notre Dame’s decision to give it to President Obama. I believe the Catholic Church and Catholic University should uphold their catholic mission of not giving honorary degrees to those who do not line up with their moral stance. Arizona State invited President Obama and made a statement by not giving an honorary degree. This was the only issue that left me unsettled about the ceremony and the President’s presence.

When President Obama began his speech we were all reminded that he is a great orator. I greatly enjoyed hearing him speak, as he had me on the edge of my seat. However, his wasn’t without interruptions. During his speech, three different people stood up and yelled anti abortion slogans. The police quickly escorted each of them out. The first time was shocking but expected, but the second and third times were quite annoying. While I may have agreed with what they were yelling, rudely interrupting Notre Dame’s graduation in such a way is not a positive production towards pro-life legislation. Truly protesting would have been to not attend the ceremony at all or other more civil and respectable means of sharing their beliefs. I’m not sure what result the protestors were aiming for but regardless those types of interruptions were unnecessary and disrespectful. I was very proud to be a part of the Class of 2009 and even got chills when the second protestor started during the President’s speech, the students started the “We are N.D!” chant. Our class was not going to let the protestors ruin our day that we had worked so hard for. If I had a chance to sit down with Obama at a coffee shop, I would listen to his stance on abortion and then tell him I disagree, but then buy his cup of coffee. Afterwards, I would then extend the proposition that should solve all great political debates. I would challenge President Obama to a game of one-on-one to solve the issue once and for all.

After the graduation, my parents had to get back home, but Hope and I went to a celebration dinner at Hacienda, which is not near as good as Mi Pueblo, but it has had to suffice since Mi Pueblo doesn’t yet deliver to South Bend. After dinner, I drove to my “home” for the next couple of weeks – the Marten House Hotel in Indianapolis. I am working out with Coach Ed Schilling of Champions Academy every morning and Ralph Reiff and his trainers of St. Vincent’s Sports Performance Center training to pursue a professional career. As of yet, I don’t know where I will be. I work out about 5 hours a day and my agent takes care of where I will be.

Overall, I am proud to be a Notre Dame graduate from Washington, Indiana. I know that without living and growing up in Washington, I would not be where I am at today. Whether it be the support of people in the Hatchet House, struggling through memorizing the Gettysburg Address in Don Spillman’s Class (I heard a rumor that he is making his class next year memorize President Obama’s recent Notre Dame address – good luck with that!!!), or the guidance and support of my first bus driver and amazing woman that was Coach Omer’s wife Wilda. I appreciate everything that has been given to me and since the day I graduated from Washington High School, I have been trying to live by our valedictorian’s mantra – to whom much is given much is expected. I am trying to do the best I can to everyday make Washington proud.