Valedictory Address

“Ceremony A Valedictory Address” (22 May 2002): 1-6. (UA Case 68, Box 1)

Your Honour, Mr. Chancellor, Madam President, Members of the Board, Honoured Guests, Fellow Graduates, Family and Friends:

It is a tremendous honor for me to have been selected as Valedictorian of this ceremony. My job is to somehow be the voice of all the graduates who sit before you. I’m not sure how I am supposed to condense all of our memories, feelings and emotions into a five-minute speech.

For some of us our time at UNB went by quickly. For others it seemed like an eternity. For me it is hard to believe that it has been almost 4 years since I arrived here. In the part 4 years I have had the privilege to meet and become friends with many people here at UNB.

I was planning on telling you some stories from the past few years about a graduate from each of the faculties who are represented here today. I was going to tell you a story about Jeff Blackmore, a Kinesiology graduate, and one about Sean Price, an Education graduate, who are both sitting before you today. Unfortunately I was asked to keep this G-rated.

I was also going to tell you stories about two Business graduates, Sheila Reinhart, who is more commonly known as the ring leader for bus relief stops in great outdoors and Misty Wade who has seen some extremely interesting dances. I then realized that we have become those people that our parents warned us about before we came to University, and so they are probably not ready to hear our stories just yet.

These are some of the memories that will keep with me for a long time, as I am sure that you have memories from your years at UNB that you will cherish. Of course, we have all experienced bad times as well, but I hope that all of you have experienced the time of your life here at UNB.

I would like to take a few minutes now to address the faculty members who are with us today. Teaching is not an easy task. I have had my hand at teaching in several public schools in Fredericton and realize that it is quite a challenge. It doesn’t matter how knowledgeable you are in your subject matter nor how many workshops you attend to improve your teaching techniques. You must have the want and desire within yourself to mold and shape minds of talented students daily.

I truly hope that you see teaching us not as a chore, but as a privilege. I have always believed that teaching is one of the most challenging but rewarding professions in the world. We are lucky to have had you as teachers. On behalf of the class of 2002 I would like to thank you. Please join me in a round of applause for our teachers.

Fellow graduates, when we look back to our days at UNB we will probably not remember the marks we got or the courses that we took. We will remember each other. We will remember Friday afternoon’s at the Social Club, playing intramural sports, playing on a Varsity Team, being a member of a club, running in a student union election, and most of all just having fun together. As we sit here with our $40,000 piece of paper, remember that this piece of paper is a minor part of our University experience. The experience that we have had has molded us into who we are today.

I know that today is a day of mixed emotions. We are happy to be graduating and yet we are sad because we know that we may not see each other for a very long time. Rather than being sad about leaving each other let’s be glad that the past several years have happened. We have had the opportunity to meet here at UNB and establish friendships and memories that will last a lifetime. We must not just reminisce about the past, but live in the present. As we leave UNB we must use the skills that we have learned to make life happen for us. My grandmother, who is here today, always used to say, “Life is not about always holding good cards, but you must be able to play a poor hand well.” We must remember this as we prepare to establish our futures.

As of today we are not alumni of the University of New Brunswick. We have received enormous support from our parents, families and our friends and we are now ready to write our verse in the play of life. Write your verse with confidence and commitment to excellence. Our time here at UNB has enabled us to develop skills and tenacity to begin an amazing future. So, on behalf of the class of 2002 I would like to leave you with just seven words.

THANK YOU AND UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN!