'Make some noise!' Notre Dame's Class of 2022 encouraged to amplify voices of the unheard

SOUTH BEND — With two hands in the air, Borys Gudziak grinned.

After a couple of pivots and a couple of pumps, the archbishop let a football fly into the sea of dark gowns and mortar boards seated on the field at Notre Dame Stadium.

"Touchdown Jesus!" the archbishop cheered.

Gudziak, the speaker for the University's Notre Dame's 177th commencement ceremony, implored graduates Sunday to draw from the example of Ukrainians: to love generously, serve others and uphold duty and honor.

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Sharing the story of Valeria and Andriy — a Ukrainian couple married just days before Andriy was killed defending his country — Gudziak told graduates to live a life without fear.

"Those warriors — including students, recent graduates and university professors — teach us the most important lesson," Gudziak said, "how to live fully, remain human children of God, even in impossible circumstances."

It was a ceremony full of surprises. As the archbishop took the stage, Notre Dame's Class of 2022 waved Ukrainian flags in a show of solidarity for Ukrainians still fighting for their country's independence after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion in February.

"Millions of Ukrainians will see you waving these flags today," Gudziak told the university. "They will be heartened by your prayer, your love and your commitment to truth. My hat is off to you."

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Gudziak was born in the United States to Ukrainian parents who fled their homeland to escape communist rule during World War II. He told the Irish crowd Sunday that it was always a childhood dream to appear in a Notre Dame arena, though basketball was his passion.

In 1992, Gudziak moved to his family's home country to found the Institute of Church History in Lviv, Ukraine.

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The archbishop is now president and organizer of the Ukrainian Catholic University, with which Notre Dame recently expanded its relationship. The two universities for years have facilitated visiting scholar programs at each of their campuses.

A new partnership expansion beginning next school year will invest $2 million in undergraduate and post-doctoral studies to sponsor new research opportunities and allow Ukrainian students access to Notre Dame's Global Gateways programs and, as Gudziak put it, "to prepare for the post-war mission in Ukraine."

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Gudziak, a 2019 Notre Dame Award recipient, was presented with an honorary degree during Sunday's commencement ceremony. Other honorary degree recipients included former U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and former FBI Executive Assistant Director Kathleen McChesney, an expert in addressing sexual abuse within the ranks of the Catholic church.

Environmental activist Sharon Lavigne was given the 2022 Laetare Medal and Trustee John W. Jordan was presented the university's second Hesburgh-Stephan Medal.

University officials said they planned to confer 3,344 degrees, including 2,066 among undergraduate students, throughout the weekend's commencement events.

Among the graduates were valedictorian Devin Diggs and salutatorian Morgan La Sala, who offered a prayer giving thanks to the families, friends, roommates, classmates, professors, rectors and hall staff who helped make the students studies' possible.

Diggs, a neuroscience and behavior major from Olathe, Kansas, asked his classmates to think back to a time just several months ago when Notre Dame Stadium lit up with new energy.

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In the stadium, screens lit up with a simple command: "Make some noise!"

"Loud behavior like this is typically only welcomed in stadiums or arenas, but today, I push you to continue to make noise as we leave Notre Dame," Diggs said. "We have a responsibility to use the power of our education to stand up for what we believe, to amplify the voices of those who go unheard and to support one another as we pursue our hearts' passions."

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Jerome Bettis, no stranger to Notre Dame Stadium, spoke briefly before students lifted their caps. The Pro Football Hall of Famer, returning to finish studies he first started in 1990, spoke of legacy and making a difference in the lives of others.

He also offered a spontaneous review of the Gudziak's opening remarks.

"That was an impressive pass," Bettis said. "But, this class, we would go for two, as the Class of 2022."

Email South Bend Tribune education reporter Carley Lanich at clanich@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @carleylanich.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: ND graduation: Ukrainian archbishop imparts advice as flags wave