Student Speaker Thomas Lyons ’26 on Impact of Community
When Thomas Lyons ’26 first arrived at Wesleyan he imagined that at the end of his journey, he would have a culminating moment after four years of inquiry, discussion, and learning. The moment never came. He instead discovered that there are answers to life’s big questions in community, in conversations, experiences with others, and in reading; he learned that education doesn’t end by walking across a stage.
Lyons, a College of Social Studies major, will deliver the student address at Wesleyan’s 194th Commencement Ceremony on May 24. In his speech, he will reflect on the idea of continuous learning, as well as the community he experienced at Wesleyan. He said he wanted to focus on what students have gained in their time here, rather than focus on the idea of leaving or an ending.
“What I think now is that learning isn’t site-specific—it’s not actually astrophysics or ethnomusicology,” Lyons wrote in his speech. “Those are just the ways we translate our excitement for the world. Wesleyan is an education in earnestness. How wonderful, to recognize that we can be unsure together?”
Lyons said he feels inspired by the people at Wesleyan. He thought his college experience would be solitary with days tucked away at the library, studying and reading. He said it has been much more collaborative than he expected. Alongside his studies, he has filled his time learning about his peers through the activities they are passionate about.
“It's such a gift that there is such a variety of passionate people at the school,” Lyons said. “When my friend puts up his studio art thesis, I get to understand his relationship to the natural world and the process of creation this way. Or when I'm editing people's work at The Wesleyan Argus, I get to understand what excites them about this campus. When I hear a friend's poetry reading, I get to understand the way that she thinks about attention and observation.”
While at Wesleyan, Lyons has been involved in many student organizations. He served as a co-editor in chief and executive editor of The Argus, house manager of the Outhouse housing unit on High Street, a tour guide for the Office of Admission, and drummer for some student bands. Before engaging with the broader community through those activities, he nearly transferred after his first year, he said. But he decided to stay and found his place at Wesleyan.
“I think I've become much more comfortable in community and have a much better sense of how to make and retain friendship and bring people into friendship and celebrate community together,” Lyons said.
Following his graduation, Lyons will drive up to Idaho for the summer. He is spending his first phase of post-grad as a whitewater rafting guide on the Salmon River. Then, he wants to return to the Bay Area in California to become a local reporter after he wrote for a newspaper in the area last summer, he said.
Before he leaves for Idaho, he will walk on stage and deliver a message to his fellow students that there is more to come. “What I really just want to say to people is ‘thank you, let's continue this journey, and I'm excited for the future,’” Lyons said.
