An Extension Degree as a
Patchwork Quilt

by Linda Hime Newberry, ALM '02
Student Address to Degree Recipients

Linda Hime Newberry, ALM '02

Good afternoon and congratulations fellow graduates! To our families and friends, we thank you for being here with us today.

During the past few weeks, as I've contemplated the conclusion of my master's degree program at the Harvard Extension School, I've been thinking how much like a patchwork quilt the process has been. Patchwork consists of many small pieces stitched together, and is the most commonly recognized form of American quilt. Indeed, the image of patchwork is often invoked when people describe an agrarian landscape or speak of the diversity of the American people. Having examined the sociopolitical content of nineteenth-century quilts for my master's thesis, and as a quiltmaker myself, I both appreciate and have used such comparisons. I find the similarities between the creation of a quilt and the process of earning my degree striking. You may see some similarities in your own educational journey.

Every August when the Extension School catalogue is published, eager students quickly peruse its pages or use the website. We search for those courses that will fulfill a necessary requirement or provide the spark that is the key to keeping us trudging along our educational path. Like a quiltmaker choosing the pattern and fabric that will compose his or her next project, the planning of an academic program may be easy and straightforward or it can be complicated and difficult.

Most people think that patchwork quilts are bits of scraps frugally saved and thrown together in a haphazard or random manner. Actually, scrap quilts are not the most popular form of American patchwork. More often creating a quilt is a painstaking process requiring careful consideration and deliberation. Like finding the right class, sometimes a fabric must be auditioned before a final commitment is made. Fabric texture, print style and size, and color content all must be considered. Any of you who have traditionally used the first week of classes each Extension School term to sample courses know that sometimes it takes more than a catalogue description or the online syllabus to give you the proper feel for what will happen in the classroom and if the class is going to be the best choice. Like finding the right combination of fabrics for the quilt, the selection of the appropriate courses is a key element to success.

Sometimes the outcome is exactly what you expect, but often the result comes as a surprise and can lead you down a new path of exploration. I'll wager that for many of you the vision you had of your academic program when you began and how it looks at completion has changed and shifted over time. Your concept has been shaped by the assistance you received from Extension School faculty and staff, the support of your family and friends, and the events of our constantly changing society. The same thing happens with the quilt: sometimes it emerges from the creative process as an elaborate work of art rather than the modest and utilitarian bedcovering it was intended to be.

Like the academic program that is comprised of requirements and electives, putting together a quilt includes some basic but necessary stages that guide the process. I'm certain that some of you may think that a few of the courses you took during your program were merely necessary steps to bring you to this time and place. But I hope there were more interesting, inspiring, and thought-provoking courses that stand out in your memories as highlights in your academic career. Making a quilt can be a similar experience: some of it is routine and mundane but must be undertaken with care and concentration so the finished product comes out right. Happily, the creative process is more often exciting, fulfilling, surprising, and highly satisfying. This is what keeps the quiltmaker sewing.

All quiltmakers I know harbor within them the glimmer of an idea of a project that is going to be their signature work, and everything else we do along the way is a step toward developing our skills for that undertaking. For some of you, earning your degree today has been merely the next step in an ongoing educational process, while for others it is the culmination of a lifelong ambition. If today marks the end of your planned academic career, I hope you will consider this: when the last stitch of a quilt is tied off and the binding complete, a quilt is just beginning its life. It may be used every day on a bed to provide warmth and comfort or hung as a work of art to be evaluated and appreciated. But the quilt always requires a certain amount of care and attention to make certain it is not becoming worn out or faded. Sections of the quilt may need to be replaced and updated over time to give it longer life and versatility.

I think our education should be handled in the same way. There is no better place than the Extension School to pick up a course now and then. Our formal education may be completed, but keeping the mind engaged is an ongoing process. If a quilt is folded one way for too long, the fibers become brittle and break. Like a treasured quilt, you must periodically shake out the mental wrinkles. I hope you will think of your academic career as you would an heirloom quilt. It is something to be maintained and cherished.

Like making a quilt, your accomplishment has taken careful planning, tested your resources, and required diligence. For many quiltmakers, the satisfaction is often not in the finished piece, but in having experienced the process of creation. Quilts may be given away, but the memory of the process remains. I hope that years from now the memories of your own educational process that led to the conferral of your degree today will warm your thoughts like a quilt on a cold winter night.