Many of Phish‘s first beloved songs were birthed and came to life from Trey Anastasio‘s The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday senior thesis, which was composed in 1987 as a student at Vermont’s Goddard College.

Recently, Goddard College dug up Trey Anastasio’s 1988 senior graduation speech, in which Trey is first introduced and given high praise for his creative and musical talent by his advisor Lois Harris. Trey emerges and begins his speech by explaining that his first year at Goddard was “the best educational experience of his life.” Trey goes on to thank his family and gives a special shoutout to his sister, Kristy, explaining that she was there for him when he didn’t feel comfortable talking to his parents about certain things and had no one else to talk to.

Take a walk back in time and watch the newly surfaced Trey Anastasio graduation speech video below:

Trey Anastasio Graduation Speech – Goddard College, 1988

[Video: Goddard College]

Trey’s college education and Phish’s formation began in 1983 at the University of Vermont where he met drummer Jon Fishman in the dorms. The newly formed band posted a flyer searching for a bassist and Mike Gordon ended up being the respondent and perfect fit. In 1985, Goddard student Page McConnell recruited Phish for the 1985 Annual Goddard Springfest, and following the show, Page asked the band if he could join in on keys and was made a member of the band shortly thereafter. Due to dwindling enrollment at Goddard, Page was able to recruit Trey and Fishman and received $50 for getting the UVM students to transfer to Goddard. The rest is history, and the Phish we now all know and love quickly began to pick up steam as their musical creatively grew with their rising popularity.

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Debuted by Phish in 1985 prior to any member receiving their diploma, “Alumni Blues” seems like an appropriate tune to go with Trey’s newly surfaced college graduation speech. Enjoy a roaring “Alumni” from Phish’s 2011 Chicago run at UIC Pavilion below:

Phish – “Alumni Blues” – 8/15/2011

[Video: LazyLightning55a]

Needless to say, Trey is alright now…’cus he’s got a degree. Head here to find out where you can see Trey Anastasio perform in the near future.