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After months of hard work, members of the Class of 2019 submitted the final versions of their theses on Saturday evening.

“The Senior Thesis is, in many ways, the capstone of our program,” explains Dean John J. Goyette. “Every year the Seniors write a thesis on a topic of their choosing, usually an important question drawn from a text or author in the program. They spend the better part of their Senior Year articulating and defending an answer to that question. The thesis is thus an opportunity to pursue the same sorts of questions they encounter in their classroom discussions with a greater focus and intensity than is possible in the tutorials and seminars.”

The 2019 Senior Thesis turn-in began at 6:00 p.m. in St. Cecilia Hall’s Ken and Joyce Skinner Coffee Shop. Dr. Goyette and College Registrar Phillip Wodzinski met students to collect the final drafts, which were due no later than 11 p.m. This strict deadline led to a high-energy evening, with Seniors feeling the stress of last-minute editing and proofreading. One by one, the Seniors arrived, flash drives in hand, to turn in their work.

After the last senior presented his work, Dr. Goyette offered the Seniors some words of congratulations in a speech peppered with quotes from William Shakespeare. “I hope you are proud of what you produced. I remember being somewhat surprised that my own Senior Thesis, in the end, turned out better than I was expecting. I imagine that most of you have that same experience. The deadline has helped you achieve something great you wouldn’t have otherwise.”

Then, channeling, Twelfth Night’s Malvolio,  he continued: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, some have greatness thrust upon them.”

With a sense of relief and exhaustion, the Class of 2019 celebrated its members’ latest achievement, delighting in hamburgers, foosball, and conversation well into the night.

Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019
  • Senior Thesis Turn-in 2019