I attended Carleton University’s graduation ceremony this last Saturday. My son Daniel was graduating with a degree in commerce and I was the proud father.
Well, they first awarded Dr. Don Wile’s an honorary degree for his contributions to the college over the years. And then Dr. Wiles made the commencement address to the graduating class.
Well I thought, here we go, just tough it out and get through this speech. I was thinking how hard the seats were and how long this would go on for.
And then Dr. Wiles began to talk. Suddenly, I forgot how hard those seats were. Instead I was saying “yes, yes, everybody listen up!” inside my head, of course.
And this is the gist of what he had to say. That when you graduate, you have expectations that your life will now follow a certain path. That everything you have done is to steer you to predictable jobs and careers.
Dr. Wiles then told his story, of graduating with a degree in chemistry and how the expected didn’t happen. Instead he was presented with opportunities that he had never imagined. And, he said to himself, “Why Not?” and took up the unexpected opportunities that became his life path.
What a great message to not just those students, but to all in attendance. When life present’s opportunities, why not? You never know what will come out of an opportunity, you never know where it will take you, how it can change your life.
Embrace opportunity, even the unexpected! Way to go Dr. Wiles!
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Congratulations to Daniel on his graduation. Now he is almost on his way to leaving the parental nest and becoming independent. Good luck on his job search, may his opportunities be exciting and rewarding.
Opportunities are what you perceive and how you mould them. I would have never imagined that my volunteer work at the “Success Workshop of Ottawa” would have given me the skills and connections to my current job which I love.
I remember the days of the Success Workshop and the web site development. You are right, you never know. Let’s see what happens with Daniel.
[...] high school diploma was a guarantee of a good job. And then the baby boomers grew up and suddenly you needed a college degree to get those good jobs. And now the children of the baby boomers are growing up and the goal [...]