A Commencement Thank You

I was very surprised and honored when I recieved a message asking me to submit an outline for a graduation speech on behalf of the Apple Valley 16 chapter of education graduate students from Saint Mary's University.  I didn't know if I really had anything profound to share and it turns out that I didn't since my submission didn't get chosen.  I thought that I would share it with all of you anyway just to say thank you for all that you have taught me over the past 20 months.  You have all truly made me a better teacher!

Good afternoon.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement,

achievement, and success have no meaning.” We are all here today because we had a desire for

improvement, achievement and success. Over the past 20 months, we have experienced growth and

progress in many ways. For some, we have seen our families grow with new family members entering the world. For some, we have grown spiritually as we have had to say good bye to loved ones. For all of us, we have grown professionally.

We have had to be open to new ideas and methods in order to accept the notion that we can improve our practice. Those of us in the M.Ed. program have learned many ways to improve our ability to teach by becoming learners ourselves. We have learned how to reflect on our practice in order to make it better. I am sure that this is not much different than those of you in other programs.  Achievement and success have meaning for all of us. We are here today because of all that we have achieved. When this program began, I wondered if I would make through the 19 or 20 months that it would take.

We have all likely heard at some time or another that anything truly worth doing isn’t easy.  When I began this program, this realization really hit home. I knew that I would be spending my weekends, and many evenings, working on research, reflections, and communications. Like all of you, I would be making many sacrifices in order to further my education.

But anything worth doing is never easy. Each of us deliberately and intentionally engaged in a process of re‐formation, made possible by a university committed to academic excellence and the support of our family and friends. These people helped us to make today possible. I wish to take this opportunity on the behalf of the graduating class of 2011 to say thank you to all of you here today who supported us, cheered us on, and tolerated the time, sweat and tears that we have experienced.

We all have classmates who made today possible for us. Personally speaking, I owe a debt of gratitude to classmates who were patient and generous with their wisdom and experience. Any one of you could be standing at this podium today giving this speech. Through you I learned how much I did not know, and you challenged me to perform to the best of my ability. You have become good friends and I thank you.

Our growth and success was made possible by dedicated facilitators and administrators who have

guided us along this journey. We all thank you for your guidance, patience, and expertise. We are all better professionals today because of you.

May the master’s degree experience that we complete today give us inspiration to continue learning tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. As Newton D. Baker once stated, “The man who graduates today and stops learning tomorrow is uneducated the day after.” I hope that we all will leave here today so satisfied with the achievements of the past months that we continue to  grow and learn inorder to become leaders in our professions and communities.

Class of 2011, let today be the beginning of a new era of learning in your lives. Thank you all for helping me through this program. Good luck to all of you as you begin the next phase of your educational journey.