A Baby Boomer's view of today's Web generation of college graduates was offered by Diana Sieger, president of the Grand Rapids Foundation, during GVSU's 2000 Spring Commencement at the Van Andel Arena.
More than 1,350 graduates and their families and friends heard Sieger give several words of advice and wisdom in an address built on seven important life questions (click the button on the GVNow front page to hear excerpts of the address in RealAudio).
Sieger acknowledged that she loves the technology that is engulfing today's marketplace.
But the reality is that you can't really have a relationship via technology. I mean, thank goodness your mother and father didn't have the Web when they were 20-somethings; otherwise you might not be here today, she said.
Sieger also noted that research indicates that today's graduates are more optimistic than previous generations.
Maybe it's because you've grown up in a time when technology has empowered you. Jobs are plentiful and wages are high. Divorce rates are actually coming down, and we seem to be making some progress on environmental and social issues, she observed.
But she urged her audience to maintain its conscience.
Go ahead and log on and get rich; just please give back a little something to society.
The Arena was again filled to capacity for the ceremony, which lasted about three hours.
The program was rounded out by the GVSU Steelband, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and the Voices of GVSU.
