University of Denver (DU) Graduates Received Surprise $500 Gift at their Commencement Ceremony. They received the surprise as the graduation speaker shares message of paying it forward and help others.
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| DU graduates celebrate during commencement on Saturday, June 10, 2023. Image: DU |
Denver, Colorado, USA: The University of Denver celebrated the graduation of over 1,150 undergraduate students on Saturday, June 10, 2023. For the Class of 2023, this celebration may have seemed unimaginable three years earlier as the then-freshmen were confronted with the challenges of the global pandemic, COVID-19.
Delivering this year's commencement address Pat Hamill, chairman and CEO of Oakwood Homes, a Berkshire Hathaway company, shared with the graduates and their families the importance of philanthropy, the joy of giving and the impact of paying it forward. He surprisingly gifted to each graduate in attendance $500 and delivered this message:
"Keep it if you really need it. Give it to someone who really needs it if you don't. Or combine it with your friends and do something together. Keep it real and do something that matters for someone who needs it," Hamill said.
The speaker has been a longtime supporter and philanthropist in the Denver city by donating his resources to the boys and girls. In 1997 he launched BuildStrong Education, an Oakwood Homes Foundation, with a focus on educational programs and initiatives.
University of Denver's Chancellor Jeremy Haefner thanked Hamill for his presents and reinforced the message to the students.
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"I hope your minds are spinning on what good each of you can do to "pay it forward"—in ways big and small—that improve communities," Haefner said. "Each act toward serving the public good compounding on itself, gaining momentum and developing lives. And it can all start today."
Surprise gift announcement video is on the University of Denver YouTube page.