Graduation Address

"Encaenia Address by Terence V. Kelly, Q.C., Ceremony B." (26 May 1994). (UA Case 67, Box 3)

Your Honour Lieutenant Governor Finn, Mr. Chancellor, My Lord Chief Justice, Friends of the University, Members of the Graduating Class of 1994.

As I left Vancouver Monday, Hockey Hall of Famer Darryl Sittler told me to tell this story and I will.

In a play-off game in the late 70’s, at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Kurt, the Hurt Walker of the Leafs and Dave Hammer Shultz of the Flyers were fighting at centre ice. Referee Bruce Hood was about to break it up when he felt a tug at his sweater. It was Dave Tiger Williams of the Leafs who said "Let them fight Bruce; the combined IQ of those two would add up to no more than eleven." Hood looked at Tiger and said "Would you like to join them and make it an even dozen?"

The last time I attended an Encaenia was six years ago when my daughter Jane graduated in Law. Our positions are somewhat reversed today. The Encaenia speaker in 1988 was Premier Frank McKenna who reminisced about his thoughts while sitting where you are 15 years before you graduate. When Premier McKenna graduated in 1974, he was not thinking about being a future Premier of New Brunswick; he was thinking that if he was ever at this podium to speak to the graduates he would make it short. And he did. And I will follow his example.

I came to UNB in 1948, when the furthest building up the hill was the Forestry Building. As I sat in the Gym in 1953 to get my degree from Lord Beaverbrook himself, like Premier McKenna I too had thoughts—not that some day I would be a Director of the Toronto Maple Leafs; my thoughts were centred on getting on the River Road to take advantage of a now booming economy. I picked the city and the job. The scenario for you may not be as straightforward. Our economy fluctuates and is cyclical. Graduating in the 50’s, I was fortunate as opposed to those who graduated in the 30’s and 40’s during a depression or world war. Or how about those testing the labour market in 1826 in New Brunswick when the timber trade with Britain collapsed and London banks failed.

Indicators suggest things are getting better. The past provides no threat for you. You should look to the future. And while you may not be able to pick your shot as I did in the 50’s, a brightening future awaits you.

As you become involved in the basic job of earning a living I can tell you that you can derive great personal satisfaction out of volunteering in the community where you settle. Volunteer groups, because of decreased funding, are crying out for additional help. Satisfaction will come to you by seeing the smile and appreciation of someone helped. In this regard what you do in your spare time will be important in any curriculum vitae as you progress upward in the job market.

Keep in touch with the institution and people who have helped you get where you are today, especially this your Alma Mater UNB. Join the alumni, keep up your membership.

I will leave you with a couple of thoughts. I found a saying in a mystery novel and the phrase struck me: Cultivate the pride that gets things done. Not the pride that looks down noses, but the pride that gets things done and if you develop that pride, I am sure you will be successful in proceeding through the ups and downs of life.

And how about the elimination of the Leafs. Sure I was disappointed, but there are more important things to do tomorrow. Yes, there are always more important things to do tomorrow. Good luck.