The following is the prepared text of the Baccalaureate address, titled “Being Present with Conviction for Others,” delivered by Vice President of Student Affairs Celestino Limas on May 16, 2024. Limas, who teaches American Sign Language, was selected by the senior class to deliver the address prior to their graduation. He joined Kenyon in 2021 to lead its division of student affairs and shepherd the student experience on campus.
It is a joy to be with you today, and I am humbled to have been selected as your speaker on such a wonderful occasion. I hope one day to be able to adequately tell you just how much this means to me as we both arrived at Kenyon together in the fall of 2021, so I feel a special connection to your class and consider myself 2025-adjacent. I remember being in a conversation with a member of our board of trustees in October after I had been here for a few months, and she asked me “Celestino, how would you describe the Kenyon student?” I thought for a moment and replied, “The Kenyon student refuses to accept ‘Because I said so’ for an answer.” And that is precisely how I knew that I would find purpose at Kenyon.
I like to tell prospective colleagues that if you are uncomfortable providing evidence in your teaching and reasons for your decisions, you will struggle at Kenyon. However, if you value inquisitive students who make you want to bring your best to the classroom each day, Kenyon will be Elysium. I have seen a few more sunsets than all of you, and I speak from experience when I say that your class has been one of the most vocal I have seen as none of you are wallflowers and your inquisitive nature has always been in pursuit of having Kenyon achieve its mission and live our values. You have accomplished an immense amount in your four years and demonstrated a range of talents and qualities that are nothing short of impressive, so today I want to talk about two in particular — your commitment to each other and your strength.
Let’s start with your commitment to each other. Like you, when I first came to Kenyon there was something about Middle Path that connected with me in multiple ways, but the most powerful was how connected it was to everything on campus. I began to appreciate this when you all arrived in August 2021 and I saw how your class used Middle Path as a gathering place, a friend locator, a source of inspiration and a metaphor of how your classes were landing with you that day. Some days the way the sun dances through the leaves that sway in the breeze is reflective of how thoroughly you are grasping concepts in class. Other days the readings seem so voluminous and daunting that the Gates of Hell truly earn their name as you pass through them. What has always been noticeable is how much your class uses Middle Path because of how it connects you all, as I have seen members of your class decide capstone projects there, find romance there and wrestle with complex ideas there.
Think of it quantitatively — let’s assume, conservatively, you walk Middle Path six times a day. That is six times a day for seven days for 15 weeks for eight semesters, which comes to 5,040 trips on Middle Path. Five thousand times in your Kenyon career have you been connected to your peers through Middle Path and five thousand times you kept coming back because of what your peers mean to you, what you feel you owe them, and how much solace and comfort Middle Path gives you.
In the American Sign Language classes I teach, early on we examine phonology and learn about the five elements of a sign — handshape, location, movement, palm orientation and non-manual markers — and how changes to any of them alter the meaning of the sign. The relationship of these phonemes is very reflective of how you all care for each other, as I have witnessed you all share joy, grief, inspiration and hope these past four years, as five thousand times you have been what others need you to be these past four years.
In general society, I always find it curious when someone who fails themselves or others will often say, “That wasn’t me” — no, that was you. I can appreciate that you donʻt like the you you were in that moment, but it was you and the good news is you get to be a new you mañana. Accountability can often be in short supply these days but your class has been stellar at owning your moments of awkwardness and triumph because you understand that where you end, one of your peers begins and that has been extraordinary to watch these four years. The level of vulnerability you have shown each other is like nothing I have seen among people your age — it has required you to couple forgiveness with expectations and transparency, which can be frightening but also deeply powerful. I am fond of reminding students that we are our decisions and the decisions you have made the past four years have revolved around each other, which is very “Middle Path” of you.
Now let’s talk about your strength, as this has been something I have admired in our four years together. Specifically, you have shown me that you all possess strength in conviction and strength in presence, which I know something about as I have seen both qualities in the two strongest people I have ever known. My wife and I will celebrate 25 years of marriage this summer and I remember when we found out she was pregnant with our son back when we were in our 20s, as it was of course a joyous time. When she looked at me nine months later one day and said, “We need to go to the hospital,” I was about to see just how strong my wifeʻs conviction is to our son.
She was in labor with our son for 26 hours — with no drugs. Now, I was in the delivery room with her the entire time and saw how much she struggled, so after the nurses came in and asked a third time if she was open to taking something, she declined again and this time one of the nurses couldn't help herself and said, “May I ask why?” My wife gathered herself and said “I’ve carried this baby for nine months, and when he arrives I want him to know that he could never cause me any pain.” Strength. In. Conviction. Twenty-six hours and no drugs — when he finally decided to arrive, it was something I’ll never forget as she was committed to having an experience with him and nothing was going to interfere with that.
You have stood by each other the past four years through some difficult times because your commitment to each other is profound. This commitment has been mirrored in how strong your commitment has been to your coursework as you took seriously your identities as scholars. Every time you came to see your faculty outside of class, every time you invited a peer who was struggling to study with you, every time you pursued additional research and readings not because it was assigned but because you wanted to deepen your knowledge, you showed strength in conviction. This made you a joy to teach and mentor and your class will be remembered for this strength in the years to come.
Finally, let me discuss your strength of presence, as this has been something that has given me hope for the future as the way your class embodies our motto of being “here on purpose” is so effortless. Being able to be truly present and not just passive requires profound strength as sometimes being present is the most difficult task one can undertake. Here at Kenyon your courses are difficult because 1) we know you are able to do the work, and 2) you did not come here for simple; you came here to be challenged. This requires you to be fully present each day, and when I give exams, my students know they are going to get their money’s worth, but they also know they are ready and can be successful.
Being a friend to others at Kenyon also requires strength of presence, as I have seen your class struggle with how to embrace someone despite the fact that you disagree with a small part of them. Understanding that binaries can harm relationships is a gargantuan task, but your class understands that agreement is not a requisite of compassion. Similarly, Kenyon relationships can at times make you witness those close to you experience pain, and that can be unbearable, yet in the past four years I have seen you stand with each other because you genuinely appreciate one another.
That strength of presence is something I witnessed when I was younger in the other strongest person I have ever known, my mother. She never let me forget the power in being present as it can soothe a loved one in their hour of need, open your eyes to knowledge and ideas unknown to you, but also give you enlightenment about your place in the world and in the lives of others. When I was 24, my mother passed away from a battle with cancer, and it took her life in a matter of months. As my father, my sisters and I watched her, it was heartbreaking as we could do nothing to stop it and we felt powerless. But there were several moments where her clarity about the experience was profoundly moving and taught me so much. She never once complained about the massive pain she was experiencing or was angry about the years and milestones she would not see in the future; instead, she was grateful for the family she raised, how much joy we had given her, and how she would live on through us.
I remember one time after her treatment she was sitting with me and was just a shell of herself, but as I held her hand thinking I was comforting her I began to realize that it was she who was comforting me. She looked at me the way a mother looks at her child and said, “Mijo, I’m so glad you all are grown up in this moment.” Four weeks later she passed away and I initially thought that when she said that it was because she didn’t need to worry about small children not having their mother, but then I realized that as a 24-year-old young man I could appreciate the grace and perspective she demonstrated while she fought the cancer that claimed her life. If I were younger, I do not think I would have realized that strength is not measured by success or failure, but rather by how you meet the moment.
Your class has demonstrated immense strength the past four years in many different ways as no moment has been too big for you, and you understand the difficulty and gifts that come from truly being present each and every day. What has been all the more inspiring is how your class navigated those moments with those around you — Kenyon students display strength in how much they elevate each other, and this is nothing short of beautiful, and I am honored to have been a witness to it.
As you embrace what life brings you after graduation, please remember that the past four years you have been your best not when you’ve been perfect, but when you’ve been present with conviction for others. There is a wonderful gift called “yourself” that this world needs, and I hope you feel comfortable offering it more times than not moving forward.
I am so very grateful that you have allowed me to walk alongside you the past four years, and myself and those on this stage will cherish the moments in the future when you choose to keep us in your lives as we will always be here for you. Congratulations, members of the Class of 2025, and mahalo nui loa for spending the past four years with us on the Hill.