Valedictory address
Delivered at Mount Saint Vincent University
Fall convocation 2008
Madame Chancellor, Madam Chair, Madam President, Minister of Education, Distinguished Guests, Faculty Members, Graduates, Family, Friends, and Leslie who forced me up here in the first place.
It’s a bit ironic that I’m up here speaking to all of you right now - just when my professors and classmates were getting over having to listen to me every day in class. Oh yes, I was the keener that made your eyes roll and your thoughts drift to dishing out wedgies. But yet here I am demanding your attention one last time.
Consider yourself lucky, folks; my family and friends will never hear the end of this. I’ll be playing the valedictorian card for years to come!
Why am I up here right now? Well…despite the fact that I’m male, I’m your typical Mount student. Like you, I’ve fallen flat on my back on the way down the hill from Evaristus. Like you, I’ve been giddy just because of Pasta Day.
Like you, I’ve spent weeks arriving to class out of breath and even longer wondering why all the classes are on the fifth floor of Seton instead of say, the first or the second. [Something to think about, Madam President!]
Like you, I’ve come to know my professors personally and they have come to know me, ending a course with a hug and an exchange of phone numbers is NOT something you experience anywhere but here.
Like you, I know all of my classmates by name, personality, interests and values making them far more than just classmates to me. They are men and women that I have learned from, look up to, and - most importantly - will stay with for free when I travel across Canada. Moving to Vancouver, you say? Fantastic! See you in July!
Like you, I’ve had many successes and just as many struggles. But, looking back, those successes and struggles are making this moment, this one right here, so much more important to me.
Now, we’re onto a whole new set of challenges and opportunities. Instead of juggling papers, and exams, we’ll be trying to juggle work, family, health, friends and integrity. In doing so, we join many of the graduate and returning students here today who know that’s an awful lot to keep up in the air!
But here’s where I’d like to share a secret - one that I learned from a modest but powerful paperback. The work ball is made of rubber and will bounce back if it hits the ground. The truly important ones, family, health, friends and integrity – are irreplaceable. If dropped, they can scuff…crack…or even shatter. Keep this in mind when you’re in the boardroom, classroom, lab or kitchen. It’s okay if the boss accuses you of dropping the ball. Take a deep breath and remind yourself: it’ll bounce back.
And now, for the absolute last time, after four years of holding up classes with keener anecdotes and questions, I’m going to close my mouth, sit down and let everyone get on with it.
Go do good things, find happiness and, most of all, be good to each other out there. Congratulations, my friends! You’ve earned it. Now let’s get across that stage!