Chris Matthews credits his post-college endeavor to serve with the Peace Corps in southern Africa as shaping the person he is today



Chris Matthews credits his post-college endeavor to serve with the Peace Corps in southern Africa as shaping the person he is today

’Hardball’s’ Chris Matthews Addresses the Graduating Class at Quinnipiac University

Quinnipiac University
5/23/2005 9:40:16 AM

HAMDEN, Conn., May 23 -- With advice to seize the day and gain some life experience to complement their academic degrees, 1,135 seniors received their diplomas at undergraduate commencement exercises at Quinnipiac University on Sunday, May 22.

Honorary degrees were given to four individuals who served as examples of success for Sunday’s graduates. Boston Red Sox announcer Joseph Castiglione and Cincinnati Reds announcer George Grande, both of who grew up in Hamden, commented on the growth of Quinnipiac and its soaring national reputation. Noted medical historian Dr. Heinrich von Staden saluted Quinnipiac for its commitment to scholarship.

But it was commencement speaker Chris Matthews, the news and political analyst who hosts MSNBC’s popular "Hardball with Chris Matthews" and NBC’s "The Chris Matthews Show," who had the most to say to the graduates.

"If you have hard plans for further education, get it. Get whatever education you need -- but also that thing called `experience,’" Matthews said. He used his own life as an example, telling the graduates he credits his post-college endeavor to serve with the Peace Corps in southern Africa as shaping the person he is today.

"Sometime in your twenties I urge you to bolt out, get out there and grab the one chance you’ll ever get to see not just the place or the country of your birth, but the world you were born in and the memories that come with it, your `moveable feast,’" he said, referencing Ernest Hemingway’s description of Paris.

"You were born in the freest of countries. You will never be so free. The choice is yours."

Quinnipiac is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls nearly 5,200 full-time undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students in more than 50 undergraduate and 17 graduate programs of study in Business, Health Sciences, Law, Liberal Arts, Education and Communications. Quinnipiac consistently ranks among the top universities with master’s programs in the Northern region in U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Colleges.

Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review’s The Best 357 Colleges. For more information, visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu.

When this story was posted in May 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:


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May 7, 2005: This Week's Top Stories "Peace Corps Online" on recess until May 21 7 May Carol Bellamy taking the reins at World Learning 7 May Gopal Khanna appointed White House CFO 7 May Clare Bastable named Conservationist of the Year 7 May Director Gaddi Vasquez visits PCVs in Bulgaria 5 May Abe Pena sets up scholarship fund 5 May Peace Corps closes recruiting sites 4 May Hill pessimistic over Korean nuclear program 4 May Leslie Hawke says PC should split into two organizations 4 May Peace Corps helps students find themselves 3 May Kevin Griffith's Tsunami Assistance Project collects 50k 3 May Tim Wright studied Quechua at UCLA 2 May Doyle not worried about competition 2 May Dodd discusses President's Social Security plan 1 May Randy Mager works in Blue Moon Safaris 1 May PCVs safe in Togo after disputed elections 30 Apr Michael Sells teaches Islamic History and Literature 28 Apr

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May 7, 2005: Special Events "Iowa in Ghana" on exhibit in Waterloo through June 30 "American Taboo" author Phil Weiss in Maryland on June 18 Leland Foerster opens photo exhibition at Cal State RPCV Writers scholarship in Baltimore - deadline June 1 Gary Edwards' music performed in Idaho on May 24 RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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