"A Deeper Calling": Convocation

Convocation activities of Thursday marked the start of four years at Boston College for members of the class of 2012. Coming together for the first of two ceremonial "bookend" parades through campus, freshmen were encouraged to make the most of the liberal education lying before them and build a community of their peers. The torch-lit path, lined with faculty, staff, administrators, and upperclassmen, led them to Conte Forum where Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author J.R. Moehringer spoke.

Moehringer, whose memoir The Tender Bar was given to freshmen over the summer to read and reflect on, offered advice and insight on the ups and downs of the college experience. Chosen not only for his renown and talent within the world of journalism, Moehringer presents an honest account of the most formative moments in his life in his memoir and grapples with issues that many college freshmen will face in the coming years.

Convocation, organized by the Office of First Year Experience, serves as a symbolic and meaningful way for the incoming class to begin its college experience. "Father Joe Marchese does an excellent job each year finding an author and speaker who can challenge students to think about their place in the world upon arriving at Boston College," said University Spokesman Jack Dunn. "Once again this year, his choice, J.R. Moehringer, had a message that clearly resonated with our freshman students in a compelling and thought-provoking manner."

Moehringer joked about following in the footsteps of the "elite speaking group" of past Convocations, which includes senators and presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, and author Jeanette Walls. "This is my first experience with the wonder of mandatory attendance," he said. "I feel like Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison."

A native of Manhasset, N.Y., Moehringer recounts the struggles and successes of his childhood and young adulthood in his memoir, paying tribute to the unofficial "family" he found at a local bar. Though his biological father was not present in his life, Moehringer finds a support system through the influences of other people, especially his mother and uncle, which filled this void.

"The men at the bar were my father by committee," he said. "I was Charmin-soft as a kid, and they were like sandpaper."

Along with the men at the bar, two eccentric bookstore owners, Bill and Budd, instilled in Moehringer a love for reading and books and fed his love for language. With their encouragement, Moehringer applied to Yale, the university of his dreams, and was admitted.

"College is a dream that I cannot stop remembering," he said. "Four years of it seemed massive when I was 18. In high school, you have to figure out how to get into college, but in college, you have to figure out how to fit into the real world."

Getting into Yale meant access to a first-class education, something that Moehringer never thought he would receive. "I came from nothing, we were on food stamps and were abjectly poor," he said. "College is paradise - you should feel out of place." Anyone who is too complacent in their ability to get a liberal arts education, he said, should be awakened to the privilege they have. "Disillusionment is the greatest danger that lies ahead," he said.

"I remember the emotional importance of this stage [going off to college]," he said. "Your family's hopes and dreams are at college with you."

While he encouraged students to be ready for change and to embrace it during their college years, he cautioned students against "thinking that everything is perfect."

"These are suggestions that can make you fireproof," he said, as students embark on their quest to 'set the world aflame.' "You must have a place within yourself that is safe from the fire, a place of hope and calm."

Moehringer then laid out several points of advice for students beginning their college years. "Everyday, do one thing you do not want to do. This will lead to other good things. Start fast. Don't wait - shyness hardens quicker than cement. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Have faith in yourself - you cannot wait to feel good about yourself. Real confidence precedes proof."

Of alcohol, Moehringer offered this: "Recognize that you are all a little tipsy 24/7," he said. "Youth is an organic intoxicant and stimulant. Just from being young, you already have a few shots in you."

Most importantly, "Don't forget that you will always come through for yourself."

In urging students to remember to look at education as a privilege, Moehringer reminded students to dedicate some time in college to someone who didn't go. "It's important to reset the gratitude button."

His final piece of advice for students was to make the most of the reading involved in their college education. "It's good for the soul," he said. "We have not come up with anything better than books. They are your way of blithely trespassing boundaries. For the next four years, it's your job to wallow in them."

In closing, Moehringer told students that the most satisfying jobs are not based around money but around a "deeper calling."

"Money is great, but a life aimed at money is missing the target," he said. "Telling stories is what I want to do to engage the world, work which will never end."

Aleksandra Jachtorowicz, A&S '12, said she had already recognized the truth in what Moehringer talked about after being on campus for only three weeks. "I have already started to do one thing every day that I don't want to do," she said. "I enjoyed the book very much, and I think it was very forward of BC to give us a book that so openly discusses issues like alcohol."

Though Moehringer joked about the fact that he followed high-profile speakers, Jachtorowicz said that this did not matter. "We were really able to connect to him after reading the book - it felt like we knew him already."