UW-SP alumnus James Duquette did not found this community despite what he may tell you!
Commencement speaker James Duquette
The Pointer
ekrsz157@uwsp.edu
“It would have been helpful to know that I would one day be delivering a commencement address,” said James Duquette when asked if there was something he wishes he would have known before he graduated which he knows now. “I would have taken better notes at my own graduation.”
This candor and humor from the winter commencement ceremony’s guest speaker is not out of place. During his time as a political science major at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, Duquette made a name for himself as one of the more affable and easy-going – and public – members of the campus scene.
A recipient of the Chancellor’s Leadership Award, Duquette was involved with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Portage County right away in his freshman year. He then went on to be involved with 90FM as a newsreader and the Pointer Pals program, until finally becoming involved with the Student Government Association, where he served as a senator before being elected president of the student body for the 2004-2005 term.
Duquette had no comment when asked if his greatest accomplishment as president of SGA was hiring Eric Krszjzaniek as communication and public relations director, though he did share some memories of a missing toenail that could not be printed.
Most of Duquette’s time, however, was dedicated to the campus Newman Center where he “helped organize liturgies and assisted with various ministries to the parish and community.” In retrospect, Duquette adds, “I suppose I could have devoted a little bit more time to academics…”
When asked if there was a course he would come back and take all over again if he could, Duquette responded with an affirmative.
“I would take Constitutional law again,” Duquette said. “That class, taught by Professor David Williams, forces you to think hard about the Constitution, make up your mind about individual cases and personal rights, and defend your positions when challenged by classmates. It is a great chance to learn about the foundations of our country. Also, that class holds special meaning for me – that’s where I met my wife.”
The wife that Duquette speaks of is college sweetheart, Lyndsay, to whom Duquette states marrying as his greatest experience since graduating UW-SP in 2005. Though he does admit that “passing the Wisconsin Bar Exam on the first try” wasn’t bad either. When pressed further about his wedding, and why the executive staff from his SGA administration was not invited, Duquette added, “I saw the way they behaved on dollar bottle night in the Brewhaus and feared the possibilities of what might occur if they came upon an open bar.”
As far as his greatest experiences while in college, Duquette has fond memories of UW-SP Men’s Hockey games: “Any time spent with the ‘rowdy crowd’ at UW-SP hockey games sticks out as memorable.” However, the one thing that Duquette misses most from Stevens Point is not a person or a place, but rather a menu item.
“I miss the Guu Burger from Guu’s,” Duquette said. “You’ve got to order it blackened and with pepper jack cheese.”
When Saturday rolls around, people can expect a stirring speech from Duquette, but he denies there will be too much sentimentality.
“My jokes have been known to cause laughter to the point of tears,” Duquette wrongly claimed. “But I believe I will spare the graduates and their guests from such crippling humor during my speech. I do not expect any crying to go on.”
Duquette now lives in south-central Wisconsin with his wife Lyndsay and an unnamed cat where he works as a lawyer for Walworth County.
