The Saint Rose Chronicle

Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: News

The College of Saint Rose has always brought in some of the top luminaries in politics and academics to give keynote speeches at its commencement ceremonies. This year, things will be a little different, as comedian Jimmy Fallon, formerly of "Saturday Night Live" and current host of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" on NBC, will speak and receive an honorary degree at the ceremony, to be held May 9th at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Along with the honorary degree, Fallon will also join the more than 1,800 graduates in receiving his bachelor's degree in Communications, which he left uncompleted after dropping out of the College in 1995.

Needless to say, Fallon is excited to finally obtain his degree. "It's amazing. It's like you go back to the first day you're there, putting up posters in your dorm," said Fallon. "It's a weird thing, I was always bummed to not get my degree, and now that I am it's great." Fallon's wife and parents will also be attending the event.

Fallon has many memories during his tenure in Albany, where he attended the College from 1992 to 1995. Fallon did his very first stand-up performance at St. Joseph's Hall, which he wrote with his friend Jay in the laundry room at Lima Hall.
Midnight bowling at the Playdium, got dared to run in and knock down all the pins.. First real standup gig at St. Joe, which lasted a half-hour. Wrote act with friend Jay, wrote the act in the laundry room in Lima. Also, Fallon began his famed impressions while at Saint Rose, purchasing music from Last Vestige on Quail Street. "It's cool because it's the first time you're away from your parents," said Fallon. "If you want to eat cereal all day, you can eat cereal all day. I worked at a Wendy's, so I'd wear a Wendy's shirt to class. My friend got me some Doctor's scrubs, so I'd wear those sometimes."

Fallon's first major while at Saint Rose was in Computer Science, but he quickly found it difficult. "I was good at COBOL, but I couldn't do C++," said Fallon. "It was just too much math." Eventually, he gravitated towards a major in Communications while still keeping Computer Science as a minor. "It really helped me when I did a local sketch show in Albany, because you know how to work the camera. It really gave me the confidence to go to the next level. Once you try little things, it's the spark that starts the fire. I took editing classes with Fred Antico, and when we first started "Late Night", we were doing web shows that I helped edit."

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