Farewell, Molloy class of 2011

Molloy College bid adieu to 882 new graduates at its 53rd annual commencement, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on May 23.

The ceremony, which began shortly before 6 p.m., opened as members of the senior class proceeded to their seats. Dressed in their graduation caps and gowns, the class of 2011 listened as Molloy’s president, Drew Bogner, praised them. “The best and the brightest are not Harvard MBAs who have a narrow definition of success,” Bogner said, “but individuals like you who understand that success is multidimensional.” Bogner divided success into two areas, personal and professional, encouraging graduates to pursue both as they embark on their post-college life.

“You are called to be agents of transformation and to live lives of significance,” he added during his welcome to the audience of family, friends and Molloy staff.

Bogner introduced the commencement speaker, Eileen McDonnell, a Rockville Centre native and a 1984 Molloy graduate who is now the chief executive officer of the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company. He described McDonnell — who received the school’s honorary doctor of laws degree during the ceremony — as having attained the “personal and professional success” he spoke of, saying, “She has balanced all of her remarkable complexities that comprise a life of significance and success.”

In her 20-minute speech, McDonnell offered hope to the graduating class through a series of life stories. Her first advice was to dream about what is possible. In 2008, as chief financial officer of Penn, McDonnell recalled, she told her colleagues that the company refused to participate in the recession that was crippling so many companies. Many of Penn’s competitors were struggling, McDonnell said, but she wanted to set a positive tone and rally her coworkers. As it turned out, Penn found new and creative ways to stay afloat financially — and has doubled its revenues over the past three years. “Don’t settle for less than what you’re capable of doing,” McDonnell said.