Good evening Class of 2015, Class of 1965, family members,
faculty & staff, and members of the Board of Trustees.
I want to thank Sr. Cathy for “pushing” me to be tonight’s
Commencement Address speaker. I was, and still am, reluctant.
Yet striking out with my two ideas for speakers, here I am. You
believe in me Sister, I hope I don’t disappoint.
One reason why I am reluctant is that having listened to
several commencement addresses over the years, I find so many of
them sound the same. Thus, I have struggled mightily to craft
something which may be different. Nevertheless, you’ll get my
best effort tonight, and years from now you’ll be the judge of
whether or not this speech is different.
Class of 2015 you are my first as a Principal and for that
privilege, I’ll never forget you. You have been so welcoming to
me. You are a key component to my, more often than not,
comfortable transition into the Marian community. That fact
speaks to your maturity, your values, and your general good
nature. For all that, I say thank you.
So what can I share with you tonight which might help you
along your life journey? I don’t need to tell you about the value of
your Marian education, the relationships you have fostered here or
the fact that you will forever be Marian Mustangs. You know and
have heard all this many times, especially throughout the last few
weeks.
I guess I want to share with you that at this point in your life
you really do have many, many opportunities. Not much of
anything right now is set in stone. Moving on from Marian High
School affords you the opportunity to reboot, to hit the reset
button. Now I don’t want to get into paraphrasing Dr. Seuss’ OH
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO. It’s a great book and you should
read it, but I certainly cannot and will not attempt to advance that
theme. Regarding the opportunities ahead, you have many roads
from which to choose. And as Robert Frost taught us in “The
Road Not Taken” …”knowing how way leads onto way, I doubted
if I should ever come back” when you are confronted with choices,
and I mean MEANINGFUL ONES, not a lunch decision, it is rare
and difficult to go back to the other choice. Regardless, your
choice will “make all the difference.” And sometimes it is about
the road you didn’t take.
So, when you do make your choice, when you find your
passion from which you will attach your identity, commit to it,
make it your own. But be patient in your quest. Finding your
passion is not easy. Yet, it is important so you don’t want to rush
it. Many of you will battle through fits and starts in your pursuit.
For some, this pursuit will take years, but when you get there,
when you reach that road where you are comfortable with who you
are, who you have become and that passion which forms your
identity, that’s when you put your heart and soul into it. As Martin
Luther King, Jr. said:
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets
even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or
Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all
the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great
street sweeper who did his job well.”
A tall order, for sure. But it will be so worth it to you, your family,
your friends, and your community when you commit to your
passion.
Tyler’s speech a few moments ago touched upon the effort
this commitment requires. You will earn new stains on your
uniforms and she is correct, “the world is no utopia.” Finding and
committing to your passion is not easy. You’ll spend many hours,
many years perhaps, of discovery.
But know this, you have a foundation, a support system, which
includes family, friends, and your Marian community. Oops, I’m
drifting even closer to clichés of commencement addresses past,
aren’t I?
I guess I’ll quit while I might be ahead. Class of 2015, get
your new uniform dirty. Don’t be afraid to travel many roads. Be
patient. And when you’ve found your passion, commit to it.
Sweep like Michelangelo.
Thank you and God bless you.