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For Doug Phelan, Being a Part of La Salle University’s Commencement Exercises is a Dream Fulfilled

Doug Phelan volunteered to help out with
La Salle’s 2006 commencement exercises after he completed his freshman year, and by the time the ceremony was over, he knew that he wanted to be a part of it when he graduated in 2009. And he will.

La Salle University has a tradition of having a graduating senior deliver the commencement address, and Phelan was chosen by a committee to give the speech. It’s something he wanted to do since that day in May three years ago. He was very impressed by the talk given by graduating senior Ben Rosehart, and the remarks made by La Salle alumnus Timothy O’Toole, Managing Director of the London Underground System, who was honored by Queen Elizabeth II for his rescue efforts during a terrorist attack in 2005.

Rosehart’s speech concentrated on asking his fellow graduates to remember their time at La Salle and to give back to the University. O’Toole’s talk told the graduates they had an obligation to use their education for the greater good.

“They were both incredible,” said Phelan, a graduate of La Salle College High School. “They made me proud to be a Lasallian, and I thought that if I ever got the chance to represent my class, I would try to make La Salle’s graduation special.”

Phelan, a biology major who will attend medical school this fall, said his talk will discuss “where we were when we came into La Salle, what we did here, and where we will be going: the Lasallian journey.”

Prior to the selection process, Phelan wrote a draft of a speech early in the semester but didn’t like it. He wrote a second draft and did three revisions on it (some while travelling to and from Denmark on a study/travel visit during spring break). He showed it to a friend, a junior majoring in English.

“I trusted her style to be different enough from mine to add some much needed perspective,” said Phelan. “It turned out for the best. I feel like I reach more people with what I'm saying now.”

Outside the classroom, Phelan was involved with the University’s theatre troupe, The Masque, where he starred in and produced plays. He was also in the jazz and pep bands, and sang for with a choir that performed at the University’s chapel.