Advice for graduates

 

There is one nugget of advice that I still remember from my college graduation nearly 40 years ago.

I don’t remember the speaker’s name or most of what he said. I do remember him concluding with the advice that when someone asks you where you went to college to proudly proclaim Adams State College like it was the biggest, most prestigious college in the nation.

When people invariably ask where that is, respond with bold confidence and an air of surprise like they should know that.

For the record, Adams State is located in Alamosa, Colorado, high in the San Luis Valley in the south-central part of the state. And it is no longer Adams State College. In 2012 it became Adams State University. And the mascot is no longer the Indians. We are the Grizzlies. The student newspaper where I learned print journalism was The South Coloradan. Now it’s the Paw Print.

When I graduated, Adams State had an enrolment of about 2,000 students. There were about 200 in my graduating class. Today the enrollment is over 3,000.

Adams State is about the size of a large high school in Texas. The entire student body and most of their guests still wouldn’t fill Texas A&M’s Reed Arena, which is packed out numerous times each spring for graduation.

Between all the high school and college graduations taking place, there will be a lot of advice given to those moving on to their next stage of life. I think I’ve heard just about all of it in the many ceremonies I’ve attended. Between graduations of family members to the numerous ones I’ve covered as a reporter, I’ve sat through the droning of countless speeches.

Although the names and faces of the speakers have faded from my memory, some of the advice has stuck. That’s probably because the best advice has been given many times in many ways. What follows, in a nutshell, is the best of that advice.

First, you are in charge now. Mommy and daddy are no longer calling the shots (at least they shouldn’t be). No one is going to tell you what to do with your life. Where you go and what you do is up to you now. It’s time to pull up your big boy pants and enter the real world.

Second, make the most of what you have. Your formal education and life experiences have brought you this far and made you the person you are. It’s time to up your game. The more you give, the more you get. As the saying goes, there are three kinds of people in the world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened. Which one will you be?

Third, always be grateful. You didn’t get where you are by yourself and you won’t get to where you’re going alone. There are people who have helped you along the way and people you don’t know yet who will come alongside you when you need them most. Always express gratitude and never look down on anyone.

Fourth, don’t quit! There will be times when you don’t feel you can go on and that your dream is unachievable. There will be naysayers who will tell you it can’t be done and they will dog you each step of the way. Don’t quit! Keep focused on your dream, your goal, and when things get hard or the path is blocked, knuckle down and find another way. There is no direct path to success. Be persistent and always moving forward.

Fifth, learn from your mistakes. All of us have failures. As the late Zig Ziglar used to say, “Failure is an event, not a person.” We grow and learn from our failures and mistakes. I like the saying, “Success is built one failure at a time.”

To the graduates I would say, “You got this!” This is your time and the world is your stage. Step out, be bold, forge your path forward but never forget where you come from. Sorry Aggies, but I’m from Adams State and proud of it!