Last weekend's graduation festivities culminated at one of the most highlighted Commencement events -- the University-wide Baccalaureate ceremony.
On Sunday afternoon, students, parents, friends and family crowded into a packed Irvine Auditorium to celebrate both academic achievement and the moral aspects of education.
University Chaplin William Gipson welcomed the group and invited them to celebrate each other's successes.
"I hope that your time here will be one that is memorable and meaningful to you on this Mother's Day," Gipson said during his opening blessing.
As an interfaith celebration, the Baccalaureate ceremony incorporated prayers from a variety of religions along with several musical selections.
Counterparts, one of Penn's a capella groups, and a brass ensemble performed for the audience as well.
University President Judith Rodin addressed the graduates and families, reminding them of University founder Benjamin Franklin's life, work and goals.
But most importantly, Rodin advised the graduates to seize the day.
"Stay in hot pursuit of that rapturous consciousness of life within and beyond," Rodin said. "You have a job to do, but you also have a life to live -- may you live it to the fullest."
The ceremony featured Professor of Classical Studies and Vice Provost for Information Systems and Computing James O'Donnell as keynote speaker. O'Donnell will be leaving the University at the end of June to become the Provost of Georgetown University.
Drawing on his Classical background, O'Donnell described the first siege of Rome and its aftermath during his address.
"Our current strife may find its own comparable resolution, if we are wise and generous and visionary," O'Donnell said. "Whether the vision we need comes from theologians or politicians or the holders of McDonald's franchises is very much in doubt."
But O'Donnell said that he had faith in the graduates to find the answer to the world's precarious situation. While some graduates found the task that O'Donnell laid upon them to be daunting, many said that they had been affected by his words.
"I thought that the idea that we were making history was incredible, and relating it to the fall of Rome was really clever," Engineering graduate Evan Randall said. "Everyone had a lot of good things to say -- it was really nice to hear."
