MUWinter2014

Winter
Commencement
2014
President Paul R. Brown, leading
his first commencement
as Monmouth University
president, echoed Sculthorpe’s
positive sentiment, saying, “To the
graduates, this is a farewell ceremony
celebrating your accomplishments.
To the audience, this graduating class
deserves your respect…because, ladies and
gentlemen, we celebrate their success.”
Santelli told the graduates to be
poised and ready to take advantage of
every opportunity, dream big and work
hard as they face the new challenges and
obstacles ahead of them.
“My advice to you is dream big,”
Santelli said. “Get to know that dream,
whatever it may be. Fine tune it. Polish
it. Push it along. Wrestle with it. Think
about it often. Redefine it if you have
to. But don’t let it go unless you have
another one to take its place. Always have
a dream. Always aspire to something.
But a word of caution: Imagine the
future. But don’t live in it. Don’t forget
that life is short and the most precious
day is today.”
And armed with the right tools,
Santelli added, success was possible for
every graduate. In an effort to guide
the graduates on their journey ahead,
he offered five lessons that have worked
bOaRd chaIR RObERT b. sculThORPE '63, TRusTEE aNd 2013 dIsTINguIshEd busINEss lEadER jaMEs s.
vaccaRO, III, RObERT saNTEllI '73 hN '14, PREsIdENT bROWN
for him over the years. They were to
find a mentor, always be reading, don’t
be afraid to make mistakes or take risks,
find someone to love, “and finally, when
necessary, listen to a lot of loud music.”
“Wake the neighbors, rattle the
windows and your bones, stir your soul
and your passion, find your inner beats,
and later in life strive for these kind of
words from your kids: ‘Dad, please turn
down that music!’”
He also recalled the days before his
foray into the music industry when he
was a doctoral student halfway through
his dissertation at New York University.
Instead of finishing up his degree and
following his original aspiration of
working in academia, he took a position
as one of five original curators tasked
with creating the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.
ERIC MEZZO >
Eric Mezzo, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business
Administration-Economics, has a patent pending on “a y-axis internal
drum tone control” device. The device works to muffle drum heads more
efficiently on a drum set.
“I hope to have it out to market by the end of this year,” Mezzo said.
After graduation, he plans to work on the startup of a drum company
and to market his flagship product along with a complete product line
of acoustic drum sound manipulation and general drum products. He
has also applied for career positions at sound technology companies
in New York City. He was a part of the Monmouth University Pep Band
for four years.
10 MONMOuTh uNIvERsITy MagazINE WINTER