Bringing family to commencement takes on whole new meaning

Photo courtesy of John Morrison

"I came to Albion to talk about my book (‘Courtroom 302: A Year behind the Scenes in an American Criminal Courthouse,’ published in February)," Bogira said. "And the next morning, as I am rolling by campus on the train from Jackson (toward Illinois), my cell phone rings and it’s Dr. Mitchell asking me to give the commencement speech."

Bill Rose, professor of political science, invited Bogira to campus to speak about his critically-acclaimed and best-selling book for Albion College’s Law, Justice & Society program in late March. Students and faculty were impressed by Bogira’s speech and passed the word on to Mitchell.

Mitchell, who had read Bogira’s book and enjoyed his writing, wanted to make sure Bogira could do more than write before Mitchell invited him to be Albion’s commencement speaker on May 13.

"I read his book and admired his passion and his prose," said Mitchell in an e-mail response. "But I know (Albion College) seniors like an effective public speaker, so I waited until he spoke on campus.

"I was out of town (when Bogira gave his speech), so I asked faculty and staff who attended the speech about his style and they were very complimentary. That was the clincher."

Bogira is a first-of-a-kind commencement speaker in that one of his family members will be a part of the graduating class. Peter Bogira, Evanston, Ill. senior, is his son.

"The commencement speaker has never been the parent of a graduating senior," Peter Bogira said. "It’s an honor for my dad to be the illumination of my Albion experience.

"It’s also great that he’s the (commencement) speaker, because I haven’t been close to home during my years at Albion and this is a way to tie my family into my college—something that my family hasn’t really been a part of. It’s kind of a cool way to go out."

Mitchell believes having Bogira speak at the 2006 commencement ceremony will show that Albion College truly is a family.

"As an institution that uses the metaphor of the family to describe Albion, inviting a parent to give the commencement address reinforces that metaphor," Mitchell said.

Michelle Ilitch, Livonia senior, believes students should first view Bogira as an accomplished man with a message to share, instead of a relative of one of the soon-to-be graduates.

"Even though I have not read the work of Mr. Bogira, I do believe he should be viewed first as a qualified writer with a unique perspective, and second as the father of an Albion graduate," Ilitch said. "One cannot dismiss the fact that compensation is associated with graduation speeches, but I believe that the administration has already considered this.

"This decision only implies to me that Mr. Bogira is a man of merit."

Bogira enjoyed getting to know his son’s Albion College friends and is looking forward to speaking to the graduating class.

"I’ve always been interested in oral communication," Bogira said. "I’ll always be a writer first, but when speaking I have to relate to the audience in a more intimate way.

"When I’m writing I don’t see the people that I’m writing to. It’s different to see and adapt to the reactions of the audience when I’m telling a story compared to when I’m writing one."

Bogira believes stories are very powerful and interesting for the audience. Stories about people have been the driving aspect of his journalistic interests. During his speech at graduation, Bogira plans to tap into stories from his own experiences as a journalist to capture and inspire the audience.

Bogira was not the only speaker considered for the 2006 commencement.

Due to a student’s friendship with Hillary Clinton, in August Mitchell asked the senator to speak at the ceremony. But because Clinton had a scheduling conflict, Mitchell considered Bogira shortly after reading his book.

"It seems that I’m always second to the Clintons," Bogira said. "I had to wait four months for my editor to finish reading my manuscript (for ‘Courtroom 302: A Year behind the Scenes in an American Criminal Courthouse’), because she was working on another project before mine—it was Bill Clinton’s memoirs, ‘My Life.’

"After taking the backseat to Bill and Hillary, I’m on the lookout for Chelsea."