Area residents were among 502 seniors who graduated from Colby College May 26, receiving bachelor of arts degrees at the bicentennial-year commencement in Waterville, Maine.
As commencement speaker, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Colby alumnus Gregory White Smith urged members of the Class of 2013 to "embrace curiosity and open-mindedness and always keep a healthy dose of skepticism."
"You have to practice sensitivity to others and always treat respectfully the people with whom you disagree," he said. "And you have to develop a secure sense of who you are. Now if those things sound familiar, they should. Those are the things that you've been learning for the last four years."
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Colby President William D. Adams handed a diploma to each of the graduates.
Patrick D. Fitzgerald of Bedford, the son of Kevin Fitzgerald and Marie Gross of Bedford, N.H., majored in philosophy and is a graduate of Trinity High School.
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Adam N. Spierer of Bedford, the son of Joel and Shelley Spierer of Bedford, N.H., majored in biology with a concentration in cell and molecular biology/biochemistry and is a graduate of Derryfield School.
Founded in 1813, Colby College is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the nation. Colby provides a rigorous academic program that fosters transformational relationships between students and faculty. Graduates emerge as leaders ready to make an impact on their world. Colby is committed to making the full experience accessible to all qualified students, regardless of their ability to pay. The college enrolls 1,825 students.
