Dr. James Keane, president of Nashua Community College, delivers his address during the school's 55th Commencement ceremony on May 18. Courtesy photo/Nashua ETV

NASHUA – Prior to this year’s Commencement ceremony at Nashua Community College, President Dr. James Keane placed a stone on every chair where the graduates would be sitting — each stone was engraved with the word “courage.”

During the May 18 ceremony, Keane spoke about a movie documenting the friendship of a homeless man sleeping on a bench outside Harvard University and a student who was about to graduate.

“The student, in his senior year, was very stressed about completing his senior thesis, which would allow him to graduate,” said Keane. “He tries to explain the importance of the paper to his friend.”

The student told the man that the grade on his thesis would determine his future, things like a six-figure salary, a house and a sports car.

Keane said the homeless man responded by reaching into his pocket and pulling out a bag with several stones in it.

The first stone was from a beach in Bali that he got when he was in the Merchant Marines. Holding the stone always reminded the man of his days in the service.

The man pulled out a second stone that he found in the park where he met his wife on their first date. Although his wife was deceased, holding the stone brought back the scent of her perfume and the sound of her voice.

The third stone was from the parking lot of the hospital where his daughter was born. Although the man no longer saw his daughter, the stone always brought him back to the day she came into the world.

“He went on and had a rock for each milestone in his life,” said Keane. “He explained that this was his life, his journey and each rock made each memory and person come alive again. Today is a milestone moment in your life journey, a day to add a rock to your metaphorical bag. The rock that represents the journey you started here.”

In closing, Keane returned to the inscription on each stone.

“Going forward in your journey, I wish you courage,” he said. “Courage to fall in love, have your heart broken and fall in love again. Courage to use this gift of education you received to serve the underserved, the abandoned in our community, the poor, the elderly and the sick.”