The convocation ceremonies were held on April 26 in the Harris Fine Arts Center (HFAC)
The convocation ceremonies were held on April 26 in the Harris Fine Arts Center (HFAC)
The College of Fine Arts and Communications held three convocation ceremonies on April 26 in recognition of the CFAC undergraduate and graduate students receiving degrees during BYU’s commencement on April 25, 2019. After a welcome from Dean Ed Adams, the students showcased their work through keynote speeches and musical performances in the de Jong Concert Hall of the Harris Fine Arts Center. Students reflected on what they learned during their time at BYU and expressed their excitement to take the tools they had gathered into their futures.
School of Communications Convocation
The School of Communications, the first of the college’s ceremonies, had the largest number of graduates in the College of Fine Arts and Communications. News media student Camille Baker spoke first and presented on “The Power of One Step.” Baker focusing on the importance of taking life one step at a time, something she has learned as she has decided on a career path. “No matter what the future holds, taking that first step can be scary and the fear of making a mistake can sometimes paralyze us. But in taking that step, we can start on the path of changing our lives and the lives of others,” said Baker. “When we choose to act, our experiences will become spiritually strengthening, intellectually enlarging, character building, and leading to lifelong learning and service. But it has to start with that first step.” Following Baker’s address, music performance major Christian Hales played “Méditation” from “Thaïs” by Jules Massenet on the bass. Hales was accompanied by Zachary Adamson on the piano. After the musical performance, Spencer Norawong, a public relations student, presented “#the struggle is real.” Norawong described the struggles in his life — including being rejected from both BYU and the PR program the first time around — that have built him into the person he is today. “My time at BYU has not been a cake walk, and as my BYU chapter comes to an end, I feel like the times I’ve felt most satisfied were when I was struggling. My friends, the struggle is real and it is a concept that should be embraced,” said Norawong. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to take struggles by the horns . . . Life’s not worth wallowing in a struggling funkage.”
Department of Art and Department of Design
Convocation for the departments of art and design began at noon. Illustration major Melissa Kamba was the first student to take the stage. Her address was titled “Lessons with a Pineapple.” Kamba shared her journey through her major and how she came to understand what she wanted to do with her art. “Unfortunately, when I was younger growing up in my environment, I didn’t come across books with characters that looked like me, or as many characters I could completely relate to culturally,” said Kamba. “Hence, one of the ambitions I have adopted while in this college is to promote and normalize equal representation — showing those whose stories are pushed to the margins of society.” Following her remarks, art education K-12 major Chloe Welch shared her presentation, “Learning to Teach.” She focused on how her experience at BYU has taught her to push herself beyond her limits. “I’ve learned that being an artist enriches every aspect of my life, and my life in turn enriches every aspect of my art,” said Welch. After Kamba and Welch’s addresses, music performance major CJ Madsen performed his own piano composition titled “The Creation of Life.” Afterwards, art major Annelise Duque presented “To Be Close to You.” She discussed how art has allowed her to connect with her ancestors, particularly her maternal grandmother who passed away when Duque was a child. “I search through stories and memories, looking for strains that echo and resonate through to the present as well as speak from the past,” said Duque. “Through these connections, I begin to understand how I am the sum of everyone who came before me.” Sienna Forsyth, a graphic design major, closed the convocation with her presentation titled “What We Are Designed to Do.” She connected her experience designing and refining a typeface with her time at BYU. “I don’t believe that the refining of ourselves will ever stop. We will take our knowledge that we’ve gained at BYU and continue to build on it,” said Forsyth. “Just like the design process of my typeface, we have dotted a few of our i’s and crossed some of our t’s. We’ve prepared ourselves to accomplish what we’ve intended to do in our respective fields. But we must never stop working, refining and discovering better versions of ourselves. It is, after all, what we’ve been designed to do.”
School of Music, Department of Dance, and Department of Theatre and Media Arts
Catherine Boyack, a music performance major with a woodwind emphasis, opened the convocation with a flute performance of Philippe Gaubert’s “Sonate (1918)—I. Modéré.” She was accompanied by CJ Madsen on the piano. Following their performance, music dance theatre (MDT) major Channing Weir presented “Oh the Places We’ll Go, and the People We’ll Know.” Weir shared some of her favorite life lessons from her friends and faculty mentors at BYU and emphasized that learning and perseverance should continue beyond graduation. “Sometimes life is hard,” said Weir. “Sometimes you’ve been sitting on a bus for nine days straight and suddenly have to get up and perform. There are people in this world that need us to get out there and spread our light.” Morgan Hastings, a dance major, then performed “Sleeping Beauty Wedding Variation,” which was written by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, choreographed by Marius Petipa and restaged by dance faculty member Shayla Bott.