former presidents Bush and Clinton speak at UNH commencement

Donning black caps and gowns with gold tassels, 2,650 University of New Hampshire students waited to receive their degrees on a cloudy Saturday morning. As they lined up along the running track at Mooradian Field on May 19, preparing for the ceremonial march to their seats, the students expressed a mix of excitement and apprehension.

The excitement stemmed from their impending graduation, which would be commemorated with keynote addresses from former presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush. The apprehension stemmed from the prospects of venturing into the working world, where many of them will spend up to a decade, if not more, paying off tens of thousands of dollars in student loans.

For James McMahon III, a civil engineering major from Littleton, paying off debt while attempting to save money requires a delicate balance. McMahon has already secured a good job in his hometown with an up-and-coming company called Horizon Engineering. He owes about $20,000 in loans, and his payment plan calls for monthly installments of about $50. At that rate, it would take him more than 30 years to pay off his debt.

“If I carry it out too long, then the interest accumulates on it,” McMahon said. If he attempts to pay it off too quickly, however, it will be difficult to put savings in the bank. “That’s the balance,” he said. “The plan is to pay double on every required payment.”

At least he has a plan. Others were less certain about how they would manage to pay off their loans. Meggan Lawson, an occupational therapy major, is not sure what she is going to do after graduation. She will spend another year getting her master’s degree and then hopes to get a job related to her major. But the thought of paying off college loans is a bit overwhelming. “It’s kind of stressful when you get the loan payment schedule,” Lawson said. Like McMahon, she will be making monthly payments. But she is not certain how long it will take to overcome her debts. “I have no idea. A long time,” she said.

Accounting major Sara Wilcox also worries about paying off her hefty loans. “Oh yeah, I’m pretty nervous,” she said. Her post-graduation plan is to travel around Europe for the summer and search for a job when she gets back. But Wilcox was not about to let financial concerns ruin her moment of celebration at the 137th UNH Commencement. She looked forward to seeing the two former presidents up close. “It should be interesting, as long as it doesn’t rain,” Wilcox said.

A brief shower fell shortly after 9 a.m., turning the crowd of 17,500 people at Cowell Stadium into a sea of yellow ponchos and multi-colored umbrellas. But the weather remained dry throughout most of the commencement, despite cloudy skies that threatened to dampen the event.

Students, friends and family members waited anxiously for Bush and Clinton to arrive, many of them eyeing a convoy of Chevrolet Suburbans behind the stage. But the presidents surprised everyone by emerging with the UNH faculty around 10:15 a.m., taking a winding route to the stage with myriad handshakes along the way.

Following opening comments from UNH Interim President J. Bonnie Newman, Gov. John Lynch and others, Bush and Clinton took turns addressing the graduates. The 41st and 42nd presidents said little about the state of the economy the graduates would be entering or the astronomical costs of acquiring a college education. (Bush did make a crack about the graduates’ parents being “broke but happy.”) Instead, they discussed their recent fundraising efforts to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami that devastated Indonesia. Although the two ex-presidents are on opposite sides of the political aisle, they jointly raised more than $1 billion for disaster relief.

Clinton defeated Bush in the 1992 presidential election, and his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, is hoping to replace Bush’s son, President George W. Bush, as the next U.S. president. But they hope their work together demonstrates what can be accomplished when people set aside partisan differences and work toward a common goal. This concept was at the center of their speeches.

“Our differences are important, they matter,” Clinton said. “But our common humanity matters more … For us to ignore one another’s problems is a travesty.”

Some students seemed indifferent to the proceedings on Saturday. “I’m only here for my parents,” said English literature major Kieran Haseler. “I would have gladly slept in this morning.” Asked what he planned to do after graduating, the nonchalant student had a simple answer: “Take a nap.” Any idea what you’ll do in the long-term, Kieran? “No.”

But mechanical engineering major Tim Pickett said he was “pumped” about graduating. He was excited to see the two former presidents speak, and he is one of the few lucky graduates not facing enormous debt. “I got scholarships to come here, so I’m doing alright,” Pickett said.

Kinesiology major Ed Girzone, of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., intends to return to school to get a master’s degree in education and ultimately become a teacher. By the time he is done with graduate school, Girzone expects to have amassed more than $35,000 in debt. Although he admitted to being somewhat nervous about graduating, he accepts the debt as an inevitable part of the educational process. “A lot of people have to do it,” he said.

A group of four equine science majors chatted excitedly about their upcoming graduation as they lined up on the track before 9 a.m. Asked if they had accrued much debt at the school, all four of them emphatically nodded their heads. But Megan Kosky, a native of New York City, said she would not let debt get her down.

“I’m not letting it bother me yet. Ask me in six months,” she laughed.