By Barbara Brugnaux ’70, trustee emerita
感谢今天有幸与你们在一起度过你们生命中作为圣玛丽森林学院学生的这一特殊时刻.
A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far away, well, not so very far away, on March 16, 1969, my classmates and I received our rings, and my ring has rarely left my hand in the years since. 请不要为数学而烦恼，我已经告诉过你那是很久以前的事了.
We have many traditions at SMWC. 我在校园时的一些传统已经淡忘了, some have continued, and some have evolved with the times. The one enduring tradition, however, is receiving, 佩戴并纪念伍兹的戒指，这对我们每个人都意义重大.
今天的仪式包括伍兹家族各方面做出的四个承诺, 因为这首戒指歌的最后两行，所以把这些承诺包括进来是很合适的, “I have miles to go and promises to keep,” with due credit to Robert Frost. But I want to reflect, not about the promises made today, but the legacy that wearing this ring imparts to you, and the opportunities that come with that legacy. Your theme for today is a good starting point. Grow Your Roots, Extend Your Branches.
圣母西奥多·Guerin的一生无疑体现了这种精神. For despite fragile health, she left her beloved community in France, 去了一个她不会说当地语言的国家, 然后在印第安纳州的土地上扎下了根，并建立了一个遗产，将其分支扩展到她的第二故乡. A legacy we who wear the ring must carry on. Not a burden, not a challenge, but an opportunity.
尽管我的桌子上贴着许多圣·西奥多母亲的名言, the side of my refrigerator, 在我的化妆台上，有另一位著名女性的一句话，我经常反思并从中获得力量. 埃莉诺·罗斯福在二战的恐怖中写道:
You gain strength, courage, 每一次经历都能让你不再直面恐惧. You must do things you think you cannot do.
Wow. 这不正是圣母西奥多和她的姐妹们在前往印第安纳州荒野的旅途中所做的吗, a whole century earlier?
And what a legacy we are charged with carrying on, 我们共同的伍兹经历给我们带来了力量、勇气和信心. Campus, online, undergraduate, graduate, 你们都被这个特殊的地方感动了，这里充满了爱和接纳，接纳了你来时的样子和离开时的样子.
今天的阅读节选自圣母西奥多的第三次旅行日记, 她让我们看到，慈善在于真诚地爱那些与我们的倾向最相反的人, in pardoning those who injure us…. 她写道:“仁爱不是只爱一两个人，而对其余的人漠不关心.”
Charity does not have to be grand and expansive. 慈善可以很简单，就像每天努力对别人好一样，也可以是为一个拿着包裹的老妇人开门, 或者让另一个司机插队，或者花时间真正倾听需要别人倾听的朋友或同事.
圣母西奥多说得最好:“我们要做什么才能成为圣人? 没什么特别的，只不过是我们每天所做的. Only do it in the love of God.”
生活给了我们很多机会去实践圣·西奥多嬷嬷的信条, if only we take advantage of those circumstances. And your ring, our ring, 是一个切实的提醒，提醒我们每个人每天都有责任践行深深扎根于这片心爱的森林土壤中的价值观, no matter where you may roam. For one day, God willing, 你将毕业并离开圣玛丽森林学院, but Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College will never leave you.
Timothy Foster, in his 2019 ring day reflection, said, “The ring, despite all our differences, 把每个伍德西都连接到我们称之为家的地方.我引用这句话是因为我说得再好不过了.
今天，当你把戒指戴在手指上时，它的重量会让你大吃一惊. You get accustomed to it very quickly, 很快，如果你不戴戒指，你就会想念那种让人安心的舒适感. 你的戒指是一个有形的提醒，提醒你们与这个地方和彼此之间的联系和根源. 就像我们都经历过第一澳门威尼斯人备用网址一样(我每次来学校都会经历)。, 戴上伍兹的戒指会让人想起美好的时光, hard times, respect, and love. 在取得这一成就的过程中，你们每个人都面临着自己的挑战, each of you in your special way, has earned the privilege of receiving a Woods ring. You may have thought at some point, “I cannot do this, I cannot read one more book, or do one more equation or write one more research paper,” but you did. Remember Eleanor Roosevelt’s words…. “You must do things you think you cannot do.”
不管你们的生活中会发生什么，现在你们已经达到了这个里程碑，并获得了接受伍兹戒指的特权, 永远不要失去你的好奇心和你的承诺，让你的世界变得更美好. If you do that, 你将继续播下西奥多母亲1840年在这里种下的种子, and your roots will remain firmly planted at The Woods; you will continue her legacy which becomes our legacy, and your branches will grow and strengthen.
愿我们的上帝在你的旅途中指引和保护你. Congratulations.
Barbara Brugnaux ’70 成为维戈县第一位女法官, Indiana, 1994年2月，她被印第安纳州最高法院任命为法官. With her election to a full term in November 1996, 她成为该县第一位被选为法官的女性. After 15 years as a full-time judge, she is now enjoying the life of a senior judge, which she often compares to being a substitute teacher. 1970年，她在The Woods获得新闻学学士学位，随后在俄亥俄州立大学获得新闻学硕士学位. 她获得了印第安纳大学布卢明顿分校的法律学位. 布鲁诺法官毕业于印第安纳州司法学院和印第安纳州法官研究生项目. 在担任法官之前，她曾在私人律师事务所执业，并担任过副检察官. Additionally, 布鲁诺是2024年圣玛丽森林学院杰出校友奖的获得者.
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