Remembrances of Things Future

A favorite aphorism of mine would strike many people as illogical, which, considering its source (Through the Looking Glass aka Alice in Wonderland) would be completely understandable.

At some point in a conversation with Alice visiting Wonderland, a realm not renowned for conventional doings, the Red Queen asserts, “It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.”

Commencement 2026 was a year in the making, appeared the first weekend in May, and later that Sunday, finished. I could wonder if the graduates—undergrad and grad alike—felt their time spent at Wilson to have sped by as quickly as the ceremonies honoring their accomplishments.

Even momentous events have a way of dissolving into blur: impossible to accurately retain.

Which rather underscores the paucity of memory that only gazes backwards.

Had you been at Commencement, I think you would have been amazed at the sense of forward movement: not the images that were moving too quickly to remember, but rather the conviction that the Class of 2026 was so superbly equipped and eager to be about the business of taking their Wilson into the world and instigating great beginnings.

Watching President Wes present diplomas, I can tell you that no graduate slouched, stumbled, or shuffled to receive theirs. They strode with confident steps, trailing pride in their wake, as if they could see doors opening especially for them to walk through that very minute.

Many wore honors cords and heard Latin phrases after their names: “Magna”; “Magna Cum Laude”; “Summa Cum Laude.” Many wore recently awarded class rings: a tangible link to both Wilson and a generous donor alum. Every single one of them wore a smile that would have blinded the Cheshire Cat.

I submit this as memory already paying forward: reframing earlier experiences and knowledge gained into actions that will shape both the graduates’ future and ours.

To these graduates, Wilson years were not inert, frozen time. They were the stuff of connection: to the past, yes, but also to the present and the very-near future. Wilson will be the better for that sort of forward-looking memory.

“Gaudeamus igitur.” Therefore, let us rejoice.

Patricia W. Bennett ’68
President, AAWC