Point News Article on commencement speaker Frank Warren of PostSecret

So sitting here high atop the blogging headquarters of St. Mary’s (which is the right hand side of my desk) I’ve been trying to think about what new features/content to add to the blog. Why not feature an article from the Point News each time a new issue comes out and it seemed appropriate to choose this article since Kathy recently wrote about meeting Frank Warren of PostSecret, this year’s commencement speaker.

This Point News article is written by first-year student Caroline Selle.
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The second annual President’s Reception, hosted by College president Maggie O’Brien and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, was held on Friday, February 20 in Glendening Hall. Attended by most of the senior class, it was an opportunity for the class of ’09 to meet their graduation speaker, Frank Warren.

The reception began with a welcome and introduction from Kalada Nemieboka, the president of the class of 2009. Frank Warren, the creator and author of the PostSecret project, followed.

Warren shared several of the Valentine’s Day secrets that were currently posted on the PostSecret blog and spoke briefly about his experience with the PostSecret project.

“One of the things I learned from seeing the three thousand secrets from strangers is that we all have secrets that can break a heart,” he said. “If we could understand that connection between friends and strangers, I think there could be more peace in the world.”

President Maggie O’Brien and David Sushinsky, the director of alumni relations spoke next. Sunny Schnitzer, the president of the Student Government Association, concluded with a toast.

Afterwards, Warren signed copies of his books and posed for pictures in the Glendening Annex.

The senior class began the process of finding a graduation speaker in their sophomore year.

“We tried something new,” said O’Brien. “It speaks a lot to the senior class that they chose a person who shows so much heart.”

“The students made a strong case for the speaker this year,” said Kelly Schroeder, the Assistant Dean of Students. “It’s a very relevant topic for the age that we’re in.”

“I thought he was fantastic,” said Nemieboka. “It’s not about the money. It’s not about the fame and fortune. He’s basically a hometown hero for us.”

The College is creating its own PostSecret project in preparation for the Class of 2009’s graduation.

“It’s open to the whole campus,” said Nemieboka. Students, faculty and staff are invited to pick up pre-addressed postcards from the info desk in the campus center or the circulation desk in the library and send in their own secrets. It’s anonymous and students are allowed to send in an unlimited number of secrets, the only requirements being that the secrets are true, anonymous, and have never been shared.

There is currently a display case with secrets on the second floor of the library. As more secrets are sent in, they will be displayed at other spots around campus.