May 19, 2025
Class oration by Samuel Seda ’25
Samuel Seda ’25, one of eight top students in the Class of 2025 at Providence College, presented this oration at the Academic Awards Ceremony on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in Peterson Recreation Center.
Father Sicard, esteemed guests, distinguished faculty and staff, friends and family and, most of all, members of the Class of 2025, welcome to Providence College’s 2025 Academic Awards Ceremony. It is a tremendous honor to share this moment with each of you this morning, as we gather here to celebrate our hard work and our achievements over the past four years.
I would be remiss if I did not first take the time to say, “Thank you.” Thank you to the professors who so diligently taught us during our time at Providence College, for sharing the fruits of your research and study with us. Thank you to the Dominican friars, for your witness of praising, blessing, and teaching. Thank you to the friends who accompanied us through times of adversity and who supported us along the way. Thank you to all of you, fellow students, for enriching our classes together through your presence and participation. Thank you to our parents, whose love and whose sacrifices have made each of us the men and women we are today. Thank you, most of all, to God, for uniting us here at the College, and the city, so aptly named for Your Providence.
Four years ago, our Class of 2025 was the first to begin its college journey after the lockdowns which, the year prior, marked the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the country began to cautiously turn the page from this drastic chapter in its history, there was a desire, and a hope, that the next four years would bring healing, stability, and growth. Our class has indeed been, in many ways, a class of new beginnings. Certainly, our time here at Providence College has opened doors for each of us. Many of us, for example, have had the opportunity to participate in one of the College’s many study-abroad programs. Through the generosity of the College, I myself was able to study abroad with the Humanities Program, an opportunity which, as a first-generation graduate and the son of Puerto Rican parents who struggled with financial insecurity, I had, quite frankly, never dreamed of having. Each of us, moreover, has made friendships which we hope will last a lifetime. We have built community within our majors, within the many student organizations on campus, and in support of our athletic programs. Yet, at the heart of all the many ways Providence College has formed us, lies a common thread: namely, the opportunity to engage in the rigorous pursuit of Veritas, or Truth.
As a Catholic and Dominican institution, the pursuit of Truth is central to the mission and identity of our college. It is reflected in the rich interdisciplinarity of our curriculum; in the outstanding scholarship of our faculty; in the commitment of students of all backgrounds to learning and excellence; and in the witness of the Dominican friars, who in their ministry daily accompany, counsel, and teach us all. It is likewise reflected in our countless opportunities for class discussions; in the concern each of our faculty members shows his or her students; and in the many opportunities offered for undergraduate research under the mentorship of professors. Presented with such a wealth of opportunity, many of us have availed ourselves of these as often as we could. Nevertheless, the pursuit of Truth is not only an academic endeavor, restricted to the hallowed hallways of Harkins or to Mondor’s sleek, new corridors. Truth, rather, is sought and attained in community, something which became ever more apparent in the wake of the pandemic. It is, ultimately, the friendships we have formed with our classmates, the mentorships that have arisen with our faculty, and the spiritual direction and accompaniment we have received from the friars that have enabled us to experience growth through our studies, preparing us for the future. I will always be grateful, Class of 2025, to Providence College for teaching me this.
The pursuit of Truth is, moreover, fundamentally linked to a spirit of service. Reflecting on Truth, especially the truth concerning the human person, cannot but spur us to a profound commitment to justice and charity. It attunes us to the concerns and the aspirations of the poor, the marginalized, and the forgotten. It calls us to look outside of ourselves, with eyes of compassion and mercy towards the suffering. It reveals to us the needs of the vulnerable at all stages of life, which are all too often overlooked. Formation in the Truth enables us to approach our neighbor in a new, more penetrating light, convicting us of the dignity of all. Only in this way do we authentically learn to accompany, to listen to, and to serve those we meet along our journey. Here at Providence College, this connection is not lost, with a broad array of opportunities available for students to engage in service, including the Faithworks program for incoming freshmen, the Smith Global Fellowship, and collaboration with organizations such as My Brother’s Keeper, to name only a few. It is precisely this which enables us, as we return to the communities from which we sprang, or as we set off to join new communities, to contribute to their flourishing through our participation. At the heart of a Providence College education is, ultimately, a commitment to living charity in truth. As we prepare for commencement tomorrow, may our time here at Providence College inspire, in all of us, a desire to do just that.
Finally, the pursuit of Truth is not merely the pursuit of an abstract ideal. It is, instead, to pursue a Person; or, more precisely, to be pursued by a Person. The pursuit of Truth leads, in the end, to an encounter with Him who is Truth – with the Risen Christ. This is not only brought to the fore by the prominence of St. Dominic Chapel on campus, or by the presence of chapels in many of our halls and dorms, or by our required Theology courses. It is brought to light in our studies across all disciplines, in each of our communities, and in the witness offered by this College to the wider city of Providence. It is my deepest hope that Providence College has, above all, been a place of profound spiritual growth for each and every one of us: a place where we have been able to place faith in dialogue with reason, and a place where we have encountered the love of God across the different areas of campus life. Fellow graduates, as we prepare to embark on our careers, or to pursue graduate studies here or elsewhere, let us carry with us the deepest lesson Providence College offers us, namely, to “live by faith in the Son of God, who loved [us] and gave himself for [us]” (Gal 2:20).
Class of 2025, we have been told that we are forever Friars, that this weekend is not the end, but only the beginning, that we will always be part of the Friar family. This is much more than mere sentimentality; through our pursuit of Truth together, we have forged a community which will endure far beyond these four short years. Yet, how do we give testimony to this fact? How will the world, looking at each one of us, be able to identify us as Friars? This is done through living these lessons in our daily lives: in our work, in our study, and in our families. As we have sung in our alma mater: “Our lives shall thee with noble deeds adorn.” Setting off into a turbulent world, may we become persons committed to Truth in every area of our lives, transforming ourselves, our relationships, and our society. Then, Class of 2025, will we show the world that we are indeed Friars forever.
Thank you, and may God bless the Class of 2025.
