On Dec. 18, 2015 the University of Georgia sent out its latest batch of students to the real world. I was fortunate enough to attend the event to watch my middle brother graduate with a forestry degree from the Daniel B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. The ceremony lasted about two hours and was full of history, testimonies and encouragement for the honorees.
The president of the University, Jere W. Morehead, began the commencement with sharing the university’s mission statement, which is simple but hits home: "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.” He went on to elaborate on each aspect of the statement, telling the young men and women how they could bring change to their respective fields by applying everything they learned at UGA. He would go on to talk about all the men and women that have come from this storied university and how this group of students would do the same and be a part of a greater community of the bulldog nation outside of Athens.
President Morehead would then pass the microphone to the representative of the students, Ms. Madeline Hill. Her message was simple and sweet: that you will be okay. She referenced stories of her early years at the university and how tried times led her to the very stage she was standing on that day. With a few laughs and shared thoughts she aimed to put her fellow peers’ minds at ease about the future that they were all unsure of.
The third speaker of the event was the keynote speaker, Mrs. Donna W. Hyland, who is the current president and chief executive officer of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She had three main points, the first of which is to be kind to people. She emphasized the importance of people skills and building relationships. She wanted the students to focus more on the who rather than the what. She gave examples from her field: a nurse shaving her head so a cancer patient would feel more comfortable; and throwing a prom so that a dying teen could have an experience everyone else gets to have.
She would then go on to tell the students they’re going to make mistakes. This seemed to go along with what Ms. Hill was saying; both women wanted their fellow peers to understand the value in failure. They both would speak on getting through mistakes with a focus on resilience and determination through perseverance. Mrs. Hyland’s last point was one she easily related too, to take care of yourself. She asked the students to keep their minds and bodies running at the highest level, by taking care of them. She asked for them to continue to exercise and eat right so that they could live long and fulfilling lives. She would continue to offer words of encouragement and wisdom and would finish her time by simply saying: “Good luck, God bless, and go Dawgs”.
This is news that is applicable mainly to those who were in attendance of the event. I share it with you not because I want to brag about a brother that is graduating from our favorite school, but to remind you of a time. Remember a time when you graduated from high school, college, or life? Think of what weighed on your mind as you sat in those uncomfortable chairs looking for your family, think of where you thought you would go from there. While you may not be where you imagined yourself, ask if you have lived the life that those speakers at your ceremony said you could.
Are you living a life still pursuing knowledge? Are you living a life that the kids sitting in those seats would be proud of? If not, that’s okay. We must realize the importance of staying true to whom we are and continuing to gain knowledge. Because once we stop learning we start dying. So to all the graduates of today, yesterday, and tomorrow I hope you have never stopped learning. Oh yeah, and go Dawgs!
