I will be frightfully honest, when I was approached about giving the faculty commencement speech; I was at a loss as to what I was going to say. I mean, what can you tell graduates that haven’t already been said? Each year, thousands hear commencement speeches and hear a recap of several things: What you learned in school, how to be successful and a plethora of other things that I promise that you won’t remember in a year. You think that I am joking? I am ashamed to admit that I can’t even tell you who the keynote speaker was at my undergrad and grad school graduations because I was just concerned with getting the diploma in hand! And I am betting that some of you were thinking that about two seconds ago… But I digress…
I decided to take a different approach. Instead of a big speech about how if you do this that and the other you will live happily ever after, I decided to keep it simple. However, as a disclaimer I want to add that there is NOTHING wrong with being successful professionally and financially, but without a solid foundation and hard work, that just isn’t possible.
So tonight I want to talk about the five things that I learned AFTER college. Basically what I could have never learned in a classroom through the textbooks and lectures, but rather through life experiences. As a professor now, I try to incorporate these items in all my classes:
1) Take each opportunity as it arises and take each experience as a learning opportunity
All too often we discount the experiences we have had as unimportant or we pass over opportunities that may not necessarily pay well, but provide the opportunity for better things in our future
Example: Aventis-Behring Pharma
As I look back at my work experiences, collectively every single one prepared me for other jobs and though at the time, I wondered what the heck I was doing, I realized that there was value in even the experiences that weren’t, should I say, particularly memorable.
2) Treat people the way that you want to be treated.
This is something that my mother used to tell me and as a kid when she started it out after I had a disagreement with my siblings, I used to just think that it was something that mother’s said to put a damper on the joy that could be had while terrorizing your younger brother or sister. However, there isn’t just an ounce of truth in this. There is perhaps a TON of truth in this. When you treat people with respect and consideration, they remember that and are more likely to return the favor. You see the funny thing about human nature is that sometimes it is easier to think only about ourselves with little disregard for our fellow human. Just take a look at rush hour traffic in the morning… Enough said. But how about when someone actually stops and lets you merge? Aha… Different story!
3) Never say never.
I stand before you today doing exactly what I said I would never do. One was that I would never give a speech at graduation because of what I mentioned previously and secondly, I said that there was no way on Earth that I would ever be a teacher. My parents were teachers and I, in my immaturity, did not ever want to be like my parents. Then I was forced to do a Jr. High observation my freshman year and as you can guess, that instantly changed my view of education- negatively. As I matured, I realized that you can’t say you’ll never do something unless you try it or turn your nose up at something that will perhaps become your career. Of course, I have found that I have had to eat my words quite often. For instance, I said I would never move up North; I would never go into science, and God Forbid that I ever have children… Yeah… Once again, you never know what the future holds, so make sure that you face it with a positive attitude. This is still a lesson that I am still learning.
4) Share your knowledge.
What is the point of learning something, if you can’t share it with others to increase their knowledge too? All too often we become selfish and forget that the way that we learned is through someone else sharing their knowledge with us and encouraging us to see different perspectives and grow. Often times we hear people say that when you die, you can’t take your wealth with you. However, I like to take a different spin on that and say that when you die, you can’t take your knowledge and experience with you. Why not pass it on and mentor someone else so that they have a solid foundation and maybe won’t make the same mistakes that you have. What if Fleming, Edison, and Ford decided to hide what they had discovered? We would be half dead with infection, sitting in the dark, and no way to get to the hospital. Of course that thought is a bit “dark” but it Kind of puts it into perspective.
5) Find something that you are passionate about.
If you aren’t passionate about one thing, then what is the purpose of doing anything? I know that sounds cliquish, but what is YOUR passion? What do you like to do? What drives you? What offers comfort when everything else seems to be going haywire? Reading, writing, playing music, running… Those are all examples, but when we take it to the next level, we find ways to benefit one another. In my bio, a few of my passions were mentioned, but what if I told you that without those things in my life and the ability to share those with others, I’d be pretty boring??? A wise person once said, “All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy” and not in the creepy Jack Nicholson, “The Shining” sort of way. However, I guess we COULD draw an analogy from that and say that MIGHT be what happens when you don’t give yourself time to enjoy life. Kind of scary if you think about it.
To conclude: The five things I mentioned are what I learned after college, but I challenge you, as you go through life, to recognize and remember the things that you learn after college. As an educator, I am absolutely positive that what you learn in school can and will be enhanced by what you learn outside of school. Learning is life long and though we never know what our future holds, the tools we have developed will serve us well. You, as well as all of us will experience ups and downs but that is the beauty of experience and life lessons. As Randy Pausch of the Last Lecture said, when he found out that he was dying of pancreatic cancer, ““Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
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