Selected Transcripts
commencement 2026
Professor Donna Davenport
Baccalaureate Keynote: Labor of Love
May 16, 2026
HWS Class of ’26, congratulations, not only for your imminent graduation, which is impressive—maybe you transferred here, you’re graduating early, on time, or late, you’ve just finished your master’s degree—no matter--
COMMENCEMENT is a big deal.
Yet right now, I congratulate you for showing up here today.
Seriously. I have been thinking about this new situation I notice everywhere: the reticence to SHOW UP, to be there in person.
At this moment you could be in your bed, sleeping off a … … long night conversing with a dear friend. You could be walking a dog. You could be eating. You could be cleaning. You could be going for a run by the lake. But you’re not.
You’re here.
We are here in community with one another. Take a moment. Breathe in, breathe out. Again, deeper, slower. Include your whole body. Inhale, exhale.
Now look at this magnificent space. Or if you cannot see with your eyes, FEEL it. Sense the ceiling, the walls, the windows, the floor, the people, sense one another.
That’s awesome. I love it.
Some sentiments are truly beautiful (they get a lot of “likes” on Instagram), hearts are full, intentions are noble, yet unless we act upon our values, again and again, nothing will change… Labor of love.
Labor of Love… my title… implicit in these three words is work… not just finding a good job or completing an essential task but labor that has meaning.
Unfortunately, it’s not enough to think you’re a good person… that is a great start; no doubt, we need more kindness in the world, but when we add ACTION to this mix, it becomes real:
Effort, follow-through, perseverance… to create the world we want to live in.
I expect you’ve heard those words before, so let’s embody them. Create your own movement or gesture or copy me. Say the words aloud as you do the motion.
Effort (palms pressed together, implied collaboration),
Follow-through (touch your own shoulders, send arms and hands outward)
Perseverance (soft fists, shaking both arms up… until you reach VICTORY)
Let’s do that again.
Labor. (That was the easy one.) Let’s do another... Stand if you can, or sit. Look to your left or right, behind you or in front of you; find someone you DO NOT KNOW WELL… yes, it gets a little messy in church… find a kind stranger and place your hand gently on the middle of their upper back and smile.
Maybe you look into their eyes, maybe not… that’s a big step. Yet simply with our gentle hand, very lightly, non-verbally without our words or our eyes, we say: “I see you, I care about you.” I see you, I care about you.
Okay, you can go back now…
The embodied metaphor of the caring hand (or arm, or torso) connected lightly to another human being is powerful. We can send loving energy through our being to another human, yes, even someone we do not know.
And you may be thinking “yeah, okay, but I can’t go around touching people,” and you’re right; in many societies globally, including this society in Upstate NY, it would be awkward to approach a stranger and touch them. I don’t recommend it.
Consent is a thing…
However… use your well-exercised imagination… without physically touching anyone:
IMAGINE sensitivity, empathy, understanding, and acceptance Repeat after me..."sensitivity"..."empathy"...“understanding”...“acceptance.”
These are the ways we touch another person without physically touching them. You all know. You are smart, Class of ‘26. You are graduating tomorrow: Care is not merely for the people we already know and love. Or ourselves. Care is for ALL people, especially those who are different than we are.
Just imagine how easy that labor of love becomes when we are excited by difference, curious about everything we do not know, anxious to uncover our own lack of understanding and to discover lasting connections.
Magically, from the labor of love we find humility and vulnerability. In this spiritual space, we openly praise humility and vulnerability.
This leads me to love.
Passion. Intimacy. Connection. Pleasure.
No, I’m not talking about sex. I’m talking about motivation that comes from the heart.
Think of all the times you have helped someone on campus or in the Geneva community. Think of all the times you have demonstrated compassion. Think of all the times you felt motivated to do the right thing. These are the achievements to love.
Let’s do our gestures again.
Link them together into a phrase… 1, 2, 3
Effort (palms pressed together, implied collaboration),
Follow-through (touch your own shoulders, send arms outward)
Perseverance (soft fists, shaking both arms high)
In sequence… 1, 2, 3… Maybe we have a 6… “1,2,3,4,5,6”
We all have our own labor of love. Mine has been teaching. I look back with deep, deep appreciation. Decades ago, I had no idea how lucky I’d be to have a career at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
You will discover your labor of love soon… if you haven’t already.
You will find a way to care—simultaneously—for yourself and others. It takes a while. And when that combination of self and other becomes your identity… Notice it… and nurture the synergy.
In the meantime, we congratulate you now, Class of ’26, for all the achievements, all the labor… all the love and care that got you this far!