Ben Niles:
My name is Ben Niles. I work in the alumni relations here at Brandeis. So we're looking forward to welcoming you all into the alumni association. You're very close to it already and just so you all know we'll be doing events and when we can, obviously in person, we'll be doing virtual stuff until then, but there's a lot of stuff for you, both regionally and nationally. There's a lot of shared interest groups that you can join. There's a lot of stuff for networking and job, career stuff, all that, all that sort of stuff is ahead of you for, for the alumni association. So without further ado, I want to introduce our first toaster. I get that seems like the wrong word, but I'm going to say it. I'll introduce our first toaster who is Lewis Brooks. He is the president of the alumni association and take it away Lewis.
Lewis Brooks:
Thank you, Ben. Hi, I'm Lewis Brooks, Class of 80, parent of a member from the Class of 16, spouse of a member of the Class of 84, brother-in-law to an 82 and an 84, and the proud uncle of a member of the Class of 22. Also president of the alumni association. So the graduating Class of 2021 has a lot to be proud of besides earning a Brandeis education, your senior year and a good chunk of your junior year had you masked, distanced, going to class in a rectangle, eating from a box and sitting in a circle. So not only did you get a degree, but you also did it in the most challenging time in a century. But you all went to Brandeis, you can do both. So to reference a very applicable lyric, it's something unpredictable, but in the end, it's right. I hope you had the time of your life. To the Class of 2021, I congratulate you on your upcoming graduation and we welcome you to the alumni association. Rebecca and Daniel, over to you.
Rebecca Bachman:
Hi everyone. I'm Rebecca Bachman. I'm Class of 2013. And one of the BOLD national co-chairs, you all have worked so hard to get to this moment. As they say, you're a student at Brandeis for several years and an alum for the rest of your life. For the first 10 years, post-Brandeis, you're a member of BOLD, Brandeisians of the Last Decade. It's a network of young alums across the world who are there to support each other. I'm delighted to welcome you to the bold community. Congratulations to the Brandeis Class of 2021 and over to you, Daniel.
Daniel Acheampong:
Thank you so much, Rebecca. Hello everyone. I'm Daniel Acheampong, Class of 2011. It feels like a long time ago because it is, I just hit a decade and I am so, so excited. Lewis is like, yeah. I'm so excited to be here today because it makes me reflect on the journey that I had at Brandeis, and I loved it. And you know, there are two things that I wanted to call out for today. The first thing is that you should be really proud of yourself. In the four years that you've gone through I'm sure there were many challenges. They were exciting, they were tough, you learned, you cried, you hugged, there are so many things and especially the past 12 months were really difficult, but you stuck it out. You persevered and you made it all the way here.
Daniel Acheampong:
The second thing that I'll also like to point out is, as you are thinking about the next journey, some of you may know what you're going to do, some of you may still be trying to figure it out and that's okay. But what I would like to encourage you is to do what terrifies you, something that scares you and in doing that, that's where growth lies that you will figure it out, but make sure that you are taking the challenges that are pushing you to grow and stretch you. So that is to do something that terrifies you and know that everything will be okay. So to the Class of 2021, it is an honor and cheers to you all. Pass it over to Ben.
Ben Niles:
Daniel, Rebecca, Lewis, thank you all so much. You are a fantastic representation of our alumni. And I'm excited for you the Class of 2021 to join them in this sort of big Brandeis family that we got. So now I'd like to introduce our, our first speaker, if you will, not just a toaster. It's Jesse Appell, who was the Class of 2012. He's a bilingual comedian. He splits time between Beijing and Newton, Mass, where I think you're currently stuck if I'm not mistaken, Jesse, but
Jesse Appell:
Yeah, where I am Newton. So very close to the Brandeis people right now.
Ben Niles:
Right, He's local, he's local. So he's a great alum, great comedian. He was one of our first honorees in the BOLD 9, which is a, hopefully a yearly thing that we're going to do. And so I'm going to let Jesse take it away. Now, here you go, Jesse. Awesome.
Jesse Appell:
Well, thank you all so much. Congratulations to everybody. I'm so happy to be here and I'm so glad to see another crop of Braneisians going out into the world. And I'm very glad to be able to give everybody a toast today. Although when they, when they asked me to do the toast, I wasn't really sure what I was going to say. And so I figured the whole point of inviting a comedian is to have something think very deeply about something that does not really mean all that much. And for that, I'm going to need to be able to share my screen. Right now, I'm getting a message saying, host disabled participant screen sharing. So I have to be put onto some sort of a mod in order to get this done, but I have prepared something for everybody, which I hopefully will be able to share in just a moment, but while they're being sorted out, I just like to say a couple words.
Jesse Appell:
Being able to see everybody graduating brings me back to that time, which was nine years ago. So I'm almost like Dan, where I'm almost coming out of the BOLD crowd. And I had a lot of people toasting me and I had a lot of people giving me advice and that sort of stuff. And so that along with today inspired me to create what I've put together for you, which is this, a presentation. What is a toast? And breaking down the nature of what exactly a toast is. What is it? So what is a toast? I would define a toast as unasked for advice given before alcohol, which is actually distinct from most advice, especially unasked for advice, which is usually given after alcohol. So usually what happens is people get drunk and then they come up and hopefully everybody's going to have some socially distanced barbecue in the future where your family members are all going to have too much to drink.
Jesse Appell:
And there's going to be some aunt who comes up to you and is like congratulations on graduating. And here's what you should do with your life. So that's what I'm sure everybody is going to be running into, but I wanted to break this down because I really feel there are multiple types of toasts. There's the champagne toast, which is what kind of, what we're doing today, where everything is very nice and proper. And then there's the beer toast, which is what happens at those barbecues or whatever, where we've got three drinks in and then people just start saying stuff. And what I would like to give as my piece of advice for my toast is this, that when it comes to wishing people well, there is always more than one right way to do it. Let me give you an example.
Jesse Appell:
So in my comedy life, I do two different types of comedy over in China, both in Chinese, I do stand up comedy started this Western style. And then I also do this style of comedy called [foreign language] which is like a traditional Chinese style. And my goal there is to make people happy and to bring laughter and try to bring people together, but it can be challenging, especially now in the U S and China are kind of fighting each. And so I have this problem where I'm coming on and I'm toasting people and I'm wishing them well. And sometimes people are not interested in being wished well. And so what do you do? And the key is knowing what type of toast you have to give. So sometimes you got to go on and do the Western style standup thing, and that's your beer toast. And then sometimes you need to be refined and you need to raise your champagne flute high, and that's your champagne toast.
Jesse Appell:
So the ability to be able to do the multiple types of toasts is very important. And so the reason I bring this up for you guys is that you are all Brandeis graduates now, you are all graduating into the upper levels of society, you are educated. People will take you more seriously now that you are a Brandeis alum than they would have before, or if you had gone to really any other school in the world. And so the result is that we're going to be having a lot more champaign toasts in our future, but I would also urge people to remember your beer toast, because you don't want to be the educated person at a barbecue where everybody else is toasting each other with beer. And also remember that the champagne toast and the beer toast are equally valid and both really good ways of getting in touch with people and connecting to people.
Jesse Appell:
So I think the key in the end of the day to define the toast is that it's a way to wish other well, which is the key to reaching people. And one comes first, also known as the arrow of Miller time. So thank you all so much. I'm very glad that I have had a chance to come and visit you today. I'm going to be ending my screen sharing, and I want to toast you all again. This beer is not just for you. Because of you in order to get into the role, I started drinking at five today, and it was just for you. So I appreciate it, everybody. Congratulations hit me up if you're in Newton, hit me up if you're in Beijing. Everybody, thank you.
Ben Niles:
Dennis we'll go over to you.
Dennis Hicks:
Hi everybody. So, we thank you all for submitting photos today or in the last week or two, because those photos came in handy for us to create a little montage of photos of all the graduating class that submitted. And we also have a few other special surprises in that slide. So Katie, if you can get us started
Leah Berkenwald:
Good evening Class of 2021. My name is Stephanie Grimes. I work in the Dean of students office, and I'm here to wish you good luck and congratulations as you move on from Brandeis. Here's to you
Kevin Plawecki:
Brandeis university, Kevin Plawecki here, catcher with the Boston Red Sox. Just want to wish you guys all the best and congratulations. I know 2021 has been a tough year with the pandemic and all that's going on, but just want to say congratulations to you all, raising a glass to you guys. Cheers. Enjoy your day, congrats again.
Monique Pillow-Gnanaratnam:
Congratulations Class of 2021. My name is Monique Pillow-Gnanaratnam and I work in the Dean of students' office. Congratulations to you on the journey that has led you to this moment. Way to go and best wishes. I salute you.
Lucas Malo:
Hey there, seniors, just popping in to wish you a congratulations. Remember be the change you want to see in the world. And that Brandeis and Waltham will always be your second home. Come back and visit us often, you've got this
Leah Berkenwald:
Congrats to you Class of 2021. You made it, enjoy this moment.
Colby Sim:
Congratulations, Class of 2021. Let your heart and your love for your community guide you on your next path. You were destined to be the change you wish to see in the world.
Leah Berkenwald:
It's Leah Berkenwald from the office of health and wellness promotion. I just want to wish all of you a hearty congratulations and remind you to take care of yourself and each other.
Elba Valerio:
Class of 2021. Cheers to you. Congratulations. You made it!
Dennis Hicks:
Hey, Class of 2021. This is Dennis from the department of student activities, sending you a big congratulations on all your achievements and cheers to your future.
Jenny Abdou:
Congratulations. Class of 2021
Jamele Adams:
Congratulations, Class of 2021. Love, life, success, genius, energy, protect your energy. And, let me see, let me think about what else I could add on to that. Hold on
Dennis Hicks:
Such a great video. I hope you all enjoyed that.
Jamele Adams:
Boom. Class of 2021. What's up everybody. If you don't right now, get your glasses. I got a special glass for the occasion. Get your glasses, get your glasses, get your glasses and get your water. I'm doing to Ramadan so it's water in here. Get your water up in there, get you whatever you got. Let's celebrate. We see you. That's all we said in the day. We see you. We raise a glass to you because you raised the bar. You raised the bar for love, for light, authenticity, being unapologetic and shiny. So keep rocking. Class of 2021, 2021, congratulations. Drink up y'all.
Dennis Hicks:
Wow. I'm glad we surprised you. I'm glad we surprise you all.
Ben Niles:
Absolutely. Y'all I can't thank you enough for coming tonight. I hope you enjoyed what was going on, Dennis. Anyone else, do you have any other closing words, you'd like to jump in here? Feel free. If not, I would like to say one last time. Congratulations. You've got a lot of people saying congrats over in the chat. I wish you all the best. It's been a, an absolutely challenging, incredible time in the world. And you have all made your way through it with unbelievable grace and power and strength and endurance and humor and everything else. Y'all don't really know me very well, but I've been, I've been sort of around campus, working a lot with student activities, student affairs, and just seeing how y'all have been handling this. And it's really been impressive. So I raise my own glass to you as we all do, well done. And congratulations and here's to you for sure. Have a good night, y'all.