Though I have heard a multitude of commencement speeches over the past few years, only two have gained permanent lodging in my mind. The first was in high school, when I was a junior watching the seniors graduate. The second was yesterday at my own college commencement.

I was sitting with the band, recovering from playing a gazillion choruses of “Pomp and Circumstance,” barely retaining consciousness while the endless parade of speakers droned on.

The only speech I remember from that high school commencement was given by a student. He was not the valedictorian or salutatorian (those people do not necessarily give speeches at my high school), but his wisdom needed no pedigree. As I was sitting, aware of my surroundings on only a subconscious level, I suddenly perked up. And I’m glad I did.

The speaker slowed his cadence and spoke closer to the microphone to hammer his point. “Shake the hand of your neighbor on your right,” he commanded the graduates. “Now shake your other neighbor’s hand.” He continued, “Take a good look at your classmates. This will probably be the last time many of you will ever see each other. It is appropriate that we have parted ways with a gesture of friendship.” So true.

I have not seen many of my high school friends since graduation. Likewise, I do not expect to see all of my college friends again. I’m not sure who I will see and who I will not; fate will decide that. However, I am making it a point to leave as friends with everybody I know. I am making certain to shake their hands and wish them luck in their endeavors. I know how way leads on to way, and I am not sure that we shall ever all be back at the same time. I made the best of the time I knew my friends, and they will always be such because of my investment.



Yesterday at my college commencement, I was sitting with my fellow graduates listening to our president, Dr. Samuel Hulbert, give the commencement address. I’ve heard Dr. Hulbert give numerous addresses over the years. They’ve all been memorable, but this one especially so. Sammy was obviously fraught with emotion as he gave his speech. It was his final one, of course: after 28 years as president of Rose-Hulman, he was retiring. The student body, the faculty, and the community deeply love Dr. Hulbert; and he, them. All of this made his speech more poignant. During several passages of the speech, Dr. Hulbert welled up and his voice quivered — out of character for a man of his stature, empathic though he is. It was wrenching and difficult not to be moved by his sentiment.



One such occasion occurred while he was talking about his childhood. He was reminiscing about how his family was quite poor but that his parents made it a point to get Christmas presents for the children of even poorer families. In his story, he talked about asking his mother why, with how little their own family had, they should be giving gifts to other children. Her response: “If we don’t, who else will?”

There, in those half-dozen words, was a summary heretofore unwritten of one of my central life tenets. It is the drive behind many of the things I do. I simply had never thought of putting it into words. That philosophy parallels a saying that I like to parlay: “Never be the last man to be the better man.” My big brother Kyle Allen used to say that phrase (origin unknown; maybe he first said it). I’ve always admired that maxim, much as I now do Sammy’s mother’s statement.

Make the world better. Don’t wait for somebody else to do it. Even if it’s somebody else’s responsibility, if it’s not getting done, step up to the challenge.

Do something. Force this to be the best of all possible worlds.

My couch has been moved out of my room, and today is my last day of work at the hospital. The end of school seems far more real now.

School is over. Seventeen years of formal education have finally culminated in this: my college degree.

People ask me how it feels to be done. Frankly, I feel today much as I did last week, and the week before that, and the week before that. I don’t think that the reality of my situation has set in yet. I imagine that it will finally dawn on me around the middle of October: summer will have ended but I won’t be in school.

I’ve immensely enjoyed the past four years, but it is time to move on.

I’m happy to say that I’m going out on top: for spring quarter (which included real classes, slaps), I pulled a 4.0. It’s interesting to note that my cumulative GPA has never varied more than +/- 0.04 since the autumn of my freshman year. In fact, my current (final) cumulative GPA is exactly the same as it was during my first quarter at Rose: 3.75. If nothing else, I’m consistent.

Last weekend was Pike Day. Good times. I missed the morning portion of it because I was working on a take-home exam, but the afternoon made up for it.

This week has been dubbed “Senior Week.” Since seniors don’t have any finals, we’re all doing pretty much whatever we want. Today we went canoeing, Thursday we’re hiring a karaoke outfit, and on Friday we’re going golfing. After that, our families will be in town, and it will be time for commencement.

“Good luck to you all,” says the man. “I don’t know any of you, but good luck!”

So exclaims a guy beside me in the water, prior to the start of the Triathlon. The first two waves have already started the swim; my wave, the “first-timers” and young males, has about a minute before the start. We, the people in the area, wish the nameless man good luck.

Snyder, Tappendorf, Voda, Tyler, and I are in the water. It is surprisingly warm in Hawthorn Lake. We wear wetsuits ostensibly for warmth, but their greater benefit is added buoyancy (and therefore greater speed). With an air temperature in the mid 50s and overcast skies, the 72-degree water feels downright balmy.

Up ahead, we can make out Krystal’s figure. Well, no, not really. She is in the second wave, two-and-a-half minutes ahead at this point. Her person is indistinguishable from the rest of the black-wetsuited, blue-capped competitors.

“Thirty seconds,” booms the public address system.

Nervous? I am shivering, but not from cold. What the hell am I doing in the water? Why am I doing a triathlon? I never would have guessed, even four months prior, that I would be doing anything like this. Me, a person who is obviously not athletic, testing my endurance in this multi-hour epic — what was I thinking when I signed up?

The chatter is still around. Friends wishing friends good luck, strangers wishing strangers the same good luck.

“Five seconds.”

Everything is eerily quiet. Time slows down to a near standstill. I’m aware only of what lies straight ahead of me. It’s like the world is taking a deep breath.

I mentally count down the final seconds. Four. Three. Two. One.

“Go!”

Go go go! Start swimming. Don’t get kicked! Make sure my goggles don’t fall off; I don’t want to lose a contact lens. Swim faster! No, not that fast; I have a long ways to go. Oops, too much kicking. Most propulsion is from my arms not my legs, and I don’t want to get my legs tired — yet. Swim. Swim. Swim. Here comes the shore. Get out, get recorded. Now up to the transition area for my bike! Run, run. Whoops; sandal slipped. Careful! Now at the transition area. Glance at Farmer taking photos with my camera. Hey, Tyler and Krystal are still at the transition area. Now, off with the wetsuit. D’oh, it’s stuck around my ankles! Son-of-a… Pull, no, ouch, that’s a cramp. Pulling hard is not the solution. Must figure out a better way. There; now it’s off! Quick, pull the socks and clipless shoes on. Don’t forget the helmet! Rapidly now, to the mount point.

I’m riding! But only one foot is clipped in. And here comes a hill. Come on, come on. Pedal Pedal Pedal. Come on, right foot, clip in! Half-mile down so far. Don’t get flustered! Still not clipped. Clip, darn it, clip! *kick* *slam* There we go; both in now!

Bike bike bike. Up hills, down hills. There’s the leader, passing the other way. Wow! Almost to the turnaround now. There we go; it’s all downhill from here. No, wait, never mind. They’re the same hills as before. And the overall elevation change is minimal. I probably should have trained more for this bike ride.

Back at the transition area. Biking stuff off, running stuff on. Step, step. Ug! This bike-to-run transition is brutal. Do my legs still work? Run run run.

There’s the finish line! Sprint time: give it all I’ve got. There! I finished! I didn’t finish last! I didn’t hurt myself in the process! Goals accomplished.

We all made it.

Check out the photos from the event. Thanks again to Farmer for getting up at 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday to come take the photos of us crazy folk.

Thanks to everybody who helped me and gave me support, particularly Tyler and House. Even though House didn’t compete, there is no way that I would have gotten up to train if he weren’t getting up early to train with me. Thanks to Tyler for the encouragement and the procurement of the wetsuits and sweet bikes.

Yeah, yeah. You all want numbers. Okay, here they are:

NAME              Ag S Rank  SWIM Rank    BIKE Rate Rank     RUN  Pace  Total TIME
================= == = ==== ===== ==== ======= ==== ==== ======= =====  ==========
MARK TAPPENDORF    19 M  189 16:26  205 1:26:52 17.2  118   39:38  7:59    2:22:56
TYLER HICKS-WRIGHT 20 M  175 15:51  221 1:29:11 16.7  142   40:44  8:12    2:25:44
KRYSTALL ALTMANN   20 F  239 19:48  227 1:30:54 16.4  212   46:57  9:27    2:37:38
JEFFREY KEACHER    22 M  222 17:52  244 1:36:21 15.5  253 1:01:16 12:20    2:55:28
RYAN SNYDER        20 M  254 22:10  250 1:38:27 15.1  246   56:43 11:25    2:57:19
MARK VYVODA        23 M  242 21:04  256 1:47:52 13.8  245   56:40 11:24    3:05:36

(Complete results)

I had a great time. I will do it again next year (after improving my run and bike, of course). I think more training would have been helpful, particularly with the bike and run. The bike ride was the longest I have ever completed — my bike training over the past few months was nearly nil.

Take advantage of opportunity. Do something you normally wouldn’t do. I did, and I’m better for it.

The triathlon begins in nine hours. I’m surprisingly calm about it.

The current Pike triathlon roster: Snyder, Voda, Tyler, Tappendorf, and me.

I’m ready.

It’s time for sleep.