My Existential Breakdown in the Liberal Arts

Commencement Speech delivered May 11, 2007
by Louie Deán Valencia
B.A. 2007, European Studies and Spanish

Read more about Louie Dean Valencia

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I first and foremost would like to thank all of my family and friends for the support they have given me. Also, I would like to thank all my professors and my colleagues here at Texas State—with special regards to the faculty, students, and staff of the Mitte Honors Program and the Center for International Studies.

And to my graduating class… Wow… It is quite the surreal experience to stand in front of everyone at graduation. Can you believe it? We are graduating. And even though I have my robe on, my hat, and various other accessories to brighten up this black, nylon robe, I still do not believe that this day has finally come to pass. I honestly cannot imagine what my life is going to be like after graduation.

Today is but a transition. This is an incredibly important time for us all, and this day should mark the beginning of a new journey, rather than signify the close of another. We are going to take our Liberal Arts degrees into the world and we are going to... Eh… um…eh… Uhhhhh… Hummm… Oh, Man! What am I going to do with this Liberal Arts degree? International Studies major, what the heck is that?

Well, some might argue that the Liberal Arts are losing importance in the world. However, I would disagree. When philosophy finally branched off into mathematics, and later begot the sciences, some argued that math and science were entirely new disciplines that should be separated from philosophy—and so they were. However, through their origins, math and science shall forever be a part of the Liberal Arts.

The Liberal Arts do not limit us. In fact, some of our greatest scientists were heavily grounded in the Liberal Arts… Leonardo DaVinci, Benjamin Franklin, and most importantly, Texas State Astronomy Professor Dr. Donald Olson…(Hi Dr. O!!)

All fields in this university had their origins in the Liberal Arts. As Liberal Arts graduates, we are not relegated to a single discipline. When we leave this university, we are going to take with us new knowledge, friendships, and lessons learned. Moreover, we have to realise that these Liberal Arts degrees that we are about to receive truly do signify something important. The Liberal Arts, at their core, form our basis to question, evaluate and communicate ideas—creatively.

As Liberal Arts graduates, the one thing that we are always going to have, that trumps everything else, is the ability to analyze and question the world around us. We have the ability to create new ideas, question old ones, and we may have existential breakdowns in the process. Our historians hold our past, and based upon this history, public administrators, urban planners, diplomats, and policy makers use the lessons of the past to set forth our destiny. We will be geographers, diplomats, English teachers, and Spanish professors. We will be sociologists, neuroscientists, poets, writers, anthropologists, and maybe even Dharma Bums.

We live in a world that is increasingly more global. Only a familiarity with our human history, culture, literature, philosophy, and art can prepare us to encounter, appreciate and survive in this multicultural world. The Liberal Arts teach us to be respectful not only of results, but also of the process—to understand that “how” and “why” are as important as “what”.

There is a difference between “learning to do a job” and the process of acquiring an education—that difference is found in the Liberal Arts. Thus, my fellow graduates, our job is just beginning here tonight. Wherever you might go, and whomever you might encounter—please, please do inspire them to create a better world. We are the world we create.

Thank you and congratulations.