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Post by wgt on May 17, 2009 0:06:37 GMT -5
All the very best to our Bona 09 grads as they receive their degrees at this morning’s graduation ceremony. Wolf Blitzer, CNN News & John “Jack” Butler, Bona 51 & all pro defensive back for the Steelers in the 50s will be speaking. I’m sure Senator Schumer will be there. Good luck to Tyler, D’Lancy, & Owen as they leave the Enchanted Mts.
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Post by fjs64 on May 17, 2009 6:38:41 GMT -5
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Post by wgt on May 17, 2009 17:27:14 GMT -5
fjs64...Congrats on your son's graduation from HS. Too bad Bona doesn't have a men's Lacrosse team.
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Post by fjs64 on May 17, 2009 19:02:40 GMT -5
fjs64...Congrats on your son's graduation from HS. Too bad Bona doesn't have a men's Lacrosse team. Terrific memory Bill. He will actually graduate in about a month. I wish Bona's had a lacrosse team, but I understand why not. His grades will keep him out of D1, but he will play at the D3 level.
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Post by room109 on May 17, 2009 19:54:49 GMT -5
Wolf Blitzer and the Communist News Network at St Bonaventure? A SAD DAY FOR SBU AND WNY....
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Post by fitz44 on May 17, 2009 20:27:11 GMT -5
Yes, it doesn't get more troubling than having a journalist speak to college graduates. I hope and pray that SBU and WNY can be saved next year by a visiting Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity. They are real journalists who work for a network that knows how to keep it down the middle without letting politics cloud their reporting.
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Post by keplerjd on May 17, 2009 21:43:07 GMT -5
I swear on my life, if O'Reilly, Hannity, or any broadcast reporter speaks at my graduation next year I will start a personal riot. I can't stand what broadcast news has become. Congrats to the 09ers, good luck starting out on your own from the Bona Bubble!
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Post by Bonas08 on May 17, 2009 22:57:34 GMT -5
I swear on my life, if O'Reilly, Hannity, or any broadcast reporter speaks at my graduation next year I will start a personal riot. I can't stand what broadcast news has become. Congrats to the 09ers, good luck starting out on your own from the Bona Bubble! haha I would LOVE if bill or sean were at our grads.. Although one that I really want is to get neil back on campus!
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Post by rockyllewellyn on May 18, 2009 14:43:12 GMT -5
Ha! It would be hilarious to have Bill O the Clown speak at graduation. Perhaps he could offer our outgoing grads some valuable advice on how to "do it live!" www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tJjNVVwRCY
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Post by haygood on May 18, 2009 14:54:29 GMT -5
I can't even remember who spoke at our ceremony in 1972. I was on campus last Friday for the baseball game vs Charlotte and anticipation was in the air for graduation as the seating was all in place for Sunday on the Lanier floor.
Congrats to the grads...
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Post by donniesbu82 on May 19, 2009 10:35:18 GMT -5
Congrats to the class of 2009
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Post by sony on May 19, 2009 11:42:30 GMT -5
I was at Niagara's graduation on Sunday where Tim Shriver, Chairman Of Special Olympics Inc. and advocate for persons with Intellectual Disabilities, was the commencement speaker. Tim, you may be aware, is a member of the Kennedy-Shriver clan that has some very significant ties to politics. Shrivers speech was pretty close to brilliant, filled with some great humor, significant insights, heartfelt encouragement and plenty of gratitude to those who made the day possible. It was a wonderful message, not just for the graduates but for the audience as well. Oh - did I also mention zero reference to politics - of any persuasion! It does not have to be controvertial. Additionally, I was filled with joy and pride when ten graduates were sworn in and received their commissions in the Army and received a prolonged standing ovation, not just from their classmates but from everyone in the packed U of Buffalo arena.
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Post by longislandbonnie on May 19, 2009 11:56:11 GMT -5
sony, that was great to hear about the standing ovation. Here is another great story:
Siblings in Arms
ST. BONAVENTURE - As Sgt. Susan Condello participated in the “First Salute” ceremony for her newly-commissioned kid brother, Tim, pride shown in their parents’ eyes.
2nd Lt. Tim Condello was among six cadets who were commissioned Saturday as officers during the Seneca Battalion Army ROTC Commissioning Ceremony at St. Bonaventure University.
Another newly-commissioned officer, 2nd Lt. Joshua Bode, also received a first salute from his enlisted brother, Spec. Jake Bode.
The service, held at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on campus, was attended by friends and family of the cadets, as well as staff and officials from St. Bonaventure. The university will conclude its 150th anniversary celebrations today during its 149th Commencement Exercises at the Reilly Center.
For 2nd Lt. Condello of the U.S. Marines, the ceremony was extra special because his sister, a sergeant in the Marines, was able to attend and salute him during the closing ceremony. The First Salute ceremony includes the tradition of the newly-commissioned officer pressing a silver dollar into the hand of the first enlisted soldier who salutes him or her.
During the first part of the ceremony, 2nd Lt. Condello was uncertain whether his sister would arrive on time because her flight from California had been delayed.
She was picked up at the Buffalo airport by her father, retired Marine Master Sgt. Jim Condello, and the two of them made it just in time for the last part of the ceremony.
After the ceremony, Sgt. Condello said she was glad she made it to her brother’s commissioning.
“I’m so proud of him, and I’m so happy for him,” Sgt. Condello said of her brother.
Kate Condello, mother of 2nd Lt. Condello and Sgt. Condello, said she wasn’t surprised her children joined the service because both were “military brats” growing up. She said her husband had been stationed in the South and in Japan, and they lived at several bases when the children were young.
Mrs. Condello said her daughter, 27, served two tours in Iraq as a helicopter crew chief. Sgt. Condell is now studying Arabic at the Defense Language Institute to become a translator and hopes to eventually become a commissioned officer. Her son, who turned 23 on Saturday, also served one tour in Iraq as an infantry soldier before attending St. Bonaventure.
“I’ve been very blessed that they both came back uninjured,” Mrs. Condello said of her children.
During the ceremony, 2nd Lt. Bode also was saluted by his brother, Spc. Bode, who served a tour in Iraq and is now with the Army Reserves. Second Lt. Bode said he plans to serve with the National Guard’s military police in the near future.
During the ceremony, 2nd Lt. Bode also was saluted by his brother, Spc. Bode, who served a tour in Iraq and is now with the Army Reserves. Second Lt. Bode said he plans to serve with the National Guard’s military police in the near future.
Their mother, Cheryl Kaminski of Dunkirk, said she was proud of her two sons and their accomplishments. She said her son, Joshua, 21, has always had an interest in the military and had planned to attend the ROTC program at St. Bonaventure. Her other son, Jake, 24, surprised her several years ago when he signed up with the Army and served in Iraq.
Lt. Col. Thomas Leitch, professor of military science at St. Bonaventure, said the Army ROTC program welcomes other branches of the military to the university program, as was the case with 2nd Lt. Condello of the Marines.
During the ceremony, Sister Margaret Carney, president of St. Bonaventure, said that following graduation, the commissioned officers will enter “immediately into a service that will demand everything of them, physically, spiritually, intellectually and morally.
“We thank them this morning for giving us the assurance that, yes, the Star Spangled Banner will wave,” Sister Margaret said.
Also during the ceremony, Father James Vacco, chaplain for the ROTC unit, received the Distinguished Service Award, a belated honor from the university.
“We’re very pleased to honor Father James and his multiple, multiple services on campus,” Sister Carney said.
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Post by sony on May 19, 2009 13:22:11 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing! Hearing these things make you feel really good!
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Post by az63 on May 19, 2009 15:34:13 GMT -5
Great stuff sony & back nine!!!!!!!
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