“What You Need Because You’re Human”: Dr. Kristen Cistulli’s Convocation Speech
The transition to college can bring excitement, uncertainty and questions about what comes next. During this year’s Convocation, Dr. Kristen Cistulli welcomed USJ’s newest students by reflecting on a lesson she learned from author Kurt Vonnegut: “What you need because you’re human is an extended family.”
Cistulli connected Vonnegut’s words to the sense of community at USJ, emphasizing the support students can find among faculty, staff and their peers. She encouraged students to pursue their interests, seek support when needed and build connections with others by celebrating successes and supporting one another through challenges.
Read Cistulli’s full Convocation speech below:
What You Need Because You’re Human
When I was a sophomore in college, I wrote a letter to the author Kurt Vonnegut. I hope that some of you have heard of him, even if you haven’t read his work yet. I had discovered him in high school and by the time I got to sophomore year, I had read most of his books.
Vonnegut lived through some pretty horrific events. When he was a child, his family lost their financial security during the Great Depression. As a young adult, he found his mother who had died by suicide. Shortly after that, he was captured as a prisoner of war in Germany in World War 2, where he survived the firebombing of Dresden by hiding in a meat locker. He said that when he emerged from the meat locker, “the city was gone.” As a prisoner of war, his job became to excavate bodies from the rubble. Later, he lost his sister to cancer and needed to adopt her children.
Given how much he lived through, it would have made sense for his books to be full of despair, and even though there is plenty of darkness in his opinion of humanity, there is also humor and hope. When I was reading, I was searching for meaning and wisdom. I noticed that some of his books seemed to take a positive view of organized religion and some seemed to take a more negative view. In my letter to him, I asked a lot of questions, including whether or not he thought religion is a good thing. I sent the letter, never expecting anything to come of it.
A few months later, I was over the moon when I found a postcard in my mailbox. Vonnegut’s response to me was simply: “Dear Kristin – I was honored and entertained by your good letter. To answer one of your many questions: What you need because you’re human is an extended family. It can be but needn’t be a church.” This postcard now lives in my office.
I tell you that story because it speaks to what I love about Saint Joe’s and what I hope you’ll love about it too. The best of Saint Joe’s is a culture of extended family. Here at Saint Joe’s, we take care of each other. We were founded by the Sisters of Mercy, an order of nuns whose mission is to take care of the most vulnerable. They are defined by their service, including feeding, clothing, educating, and healing people. I deeply admire them and their commitment to action in pursuit of justice. We are so very lucky to have Sister Beth here – you’ll find that she is absolutely beloved in our community – and she sets a wonderful example of care for all of us. The Sisters’ approach to the world lives on in the culture of community that we have here at USJ.
I imagine that many of you have classmates and friends who are starting college at a number of different places. One thing I can confidently say about being here is that you will not find another school with faculty and staff who are more committed to students than we are here at USJ. With that in mind, I implore you to lean into your interests and curiosities knowing that you have our full and enthusiastic support. We are here for you as much as you’ll allow us to be.
We have had the privilege of celebrating all kinds of student successes and hearing about all kinds of challenges. We’ve been in the trenches with students as they’ve worked hard to get through difficult classes and cheered alone in our offices as we’ve graded the final papers students worked all semester to pass. We’ve lost our voices rooting on teams as they win conference championships and listened to students describe crises of identity as they fought to earn playing time. We have counseled students who are considering changing their major and written glowing letters of recommendation for the same students applying to graduate school. We will be in your corner, just as we have for the students who came before you.
It’s important to me and others to be part of your support system, but at Saint Joe’s, our students also have each other to both lean on and support. Every one of my students has come through stronger and better as a result of overcoming challenges, and more prepared as a result of helping others. I encourage you to build your family here from day one. Learn and appreciate each other through the everyday experiences you share so that when the time comes, you can rejoice in each other’s successes and lift each other up through challenges. As Vonnegut said, “what you need because you’re human is an extended family.” Start building that family here today.
Whenever I’m asked if I like my job, I say that I *love* my job *because* our students are wonderful. The students who choose Saint Joe’s are overwhelmingly considerate, respectful, grateful, intelligent, kind, and hard working. I can’t tell you how much we’re looking forward to getting to know you as you join our USJ family!