Modi said the experience, although painful at the time, was one he would never trade.

"It's the first time in my life that I learned humility," he said.

Modi quoted from the famous line on the Dexter Gate near Wigglesworth Hall, which reads "Depart to serve better thy country and thy kind."

"This is our obligation and legacy to the world," he said. "You live on through the people you touch."

Molly Hennessy-Fiske '99, the Radcliffe orator, spoke of the historical plight of women over the last century--but cited the progress made by female members of her own class who have risen to the top of campus student organizations.

Fiske, who is also a former Crimson executive, warned that progress--especially in the workplace--still needs to be made.

"My hope is to break the mold," she said. "Our very presence is a revolutionary step to a new age. We will change the world, be rebellious, improper and just a little rude. The nature of this flower is to bloom. We are the revolutionary petunias."

The Ivy Oration, traditionally a humorous speech was titled, "Crimson is a pretty color."

Noam I. Weinstein '99 began by noting it is hard to believe so much time has past since his class began college.

"Was it all a dream?" he asked. "If so, why was storing boxes over the summer such a big hassle?"

One of the few things graduates will take with them is a memory of what their professors looked like--"small dots," Weinstein Joked. "There's no question we've learned as much from each other as from our driven personalities."

Weinstein congratulated his class, who he said "is ready to embark on careers in any field--from investment to banking."

Earlier in the ceremony, Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III presented two students with the Ames Award, a prize give to two seniors who have displayed leadership and self-reliance.

The award is given in honor of two brothers who drowned trying to save their father in a boating accident off of Newfoundland in 1935.

Scott C. Seider '99 was recognized for his work with the UniLu soup kitchen.