By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
ST. BONAVENTURE — The St. Bonaventure University commencement speaker, a distinguished student-athlete and alumni, provided tag-team advice with his daughter for graduating seniors at Reilly Center Arena Sunday.
Frederick “Freddie” R. Crawford Sr., St. Bonaventure Class of 64, a Hall of Famer who helped elevate the Bonnies to national prominence and its first NCAA Tournament appearance, was speaker at the university’s 166th commencement and an honorary degree recipient as a Doctor of Humane Letters.
His daughter, Crystal Crawford, a graduate of the New York University School of Law, is senior director of Strategic Partnerships at the Weingart Foundation in Los Angeles.
They sat together in chairs on the stage.
Freddie Crawford, 85, warned students of the rapidly changing job market, but urged graduates to see it as an opportunity rather than an uncertainty. His daughter said that while artificial intelligence will have a transformative impact, some roles will disappear and new ones will emerge.
After a career in the NBA with the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Buffalo Braves and Philadelphia 76ers, Freeddie Crawford became a Harlem civic leader.
He urged the graduates to adapt to change rather than avoid it and be ready for unexpected opportunities. Even detours can produce unexpected opportunities, he pointed out.
Crystal Crawford advised the graduates to stay grounded in values they have learned at St. Bonaventure including integrity, work ethic, kindness and respect. Reflecting on her personal history, she noted her parents’ involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and drew applause when she spoke about the importance of the Voting Rights Act, which is under attack. She urged the graduates to continue the fight for civil rights and social justice.
As evidence of overcoming adversity, Freddie Crawford told of contracting tuberculosis in his sophomore year. It was a setback, but he overcame it and after returning to the Bonnies, found himself on the court at Madison Square Garden.
“Believe in your ability to create change,” he told the graduates. “Today is not the finish line — it’s the starting line. Fight for justice and never stop learning. Your future is waiting for you.”
Other honorary degree recipients included James and Carol Stitt Sr., who were recognized for their civic leadership and philanthropy, and John R. Broderick, president emeritus of Old Dominion University and a former communications director at St. Bonaventure.
St. Bonaventure President Jeff Gingerich told the graduates their time at the university “has been shaped by rigorous learning, moments of success and disappointment and late nights filled with laughter and tears. You live the values of passion, wisdom and integrity as you step into the next chapter of your lives, you carry more than a degree. You carry a legacy.”
Graduates degrees are “a calling, not just a credential. It signifies a commitment to lifting others up and to living with moral clarity in a time that so often lacks it.”
The university graduates 803 students this weekend. There were 335 masters degrees conferred in the first of its kind Graduate Commencement Saturday and 468 undergraduate degrees.
Delivering the student address, Emma Spadoni of the Jandoli School of Communications, said most graduates are “still figuring it out” when it comes to what their next steps are. “Although the deadlines and grades have stressed us out, they drove us to do better.”
Spadoni said, “Freedom is one of the greatest ways of working, but it comes with responsibility. You cannot control everything that happens to you, but you can control how you respond.”
She noted that “The most successful people do not avoid failure, they learn more and faster than other ones.”
Six students received commissions as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army. They are: Adam L. Batey, Hunter C. Heck, Lily K. Janik, Yanna K. Mott, Chase J. Playfair and Zayne M. Sturdevant. Heck and Janik were Alfred University students enrolled in St. Bonaventure University’s ROTC program.
