Valedictory Address

“Valedictory Address – Dannie Steeves” (23 May 1991): 1-5. (UA Case 68, Box 2)

It seems like only yesterday it was September 1986 and I was arriving at UNB to begin the journey towards today. My father and brother were away so my mother, my sister, and I loaded up the family car and left Saint John, headed for the bustling metropolis of Fredericton, New Brunswick.

I was nervous and my mother didn’t help matters by mentioning she had sewn my name into all my underwear. All too soon I arrived at what was to become my new home, Room #212, Neville House. That first day in residence is one I’ll never forget. The guy next door to me had a full Sabian drum set and the guy across the hall had an electric guitar with an amplified that looked like something out of “Spinal Tap.” I recall calling home because Motley Crue had decided to get university degrees and I was supposed to live with them.

I would guess that we all have our own individual “first day at UNB stories.” But the fact that we are all here today demonstrates that we all have one thing in common. We all arrived at UNB with certain goals in mind and a plan on how we are going to achieve them. I urge you to continue setting high but attainable goals because it is an effective way of organizing your life so that you can get all that you want out of it.

Bob Dylan once said that: “We’ve all got it within us, for whatever we want to grasp for.” I think what the Tambourine Man was getting at is that in all of us there lies an inherent ability that will enable us to achieve our full potential and be the best we can be –but this will only come if we are willing to work for it as hard as we’ll work for anything in our lives. You’re going to have to battle selfishness, procrastination, greed, vanity and a host of other barriers that will try to keep you from being the best you can be.

As many of us here today can attest, nothing we really desire ever comes easy, whether it be an individual concern like a university degree, a solid career or something on the broader scale, such as national unity or peace on earth. But we must remember, for the most part, something that comes easy usually isn’t worth having.

As we accept our degrees and move on in our lives I’m sure we all take with us many fond memories of time spent at UNB. Memories of late nights slugging coffee, cramming our heads full of information hoping it wouldn’t seep out until an exam booklet was laid in front of us. Memories of friends we’ve met and how, when we first arrived, we stuck close to anyone who looked familiar form our old high schools or communities. But soon new friendships began to grow from things like chance meetings in the cafeteria, being in the same classes, social events, or even something as simple as standing beside each other at registration. As Robert Zimmerman said, “take care of your memories because you can never relive them.”

As university graduates, I believe we have a responsibility, to take what we have learned and use it to help make the world a better place to live and bring up the next generation – our children.

Our so-called leaders have left us with many challenges for the future, not the least of which is national unity. I love Canada, I love being a Canadian and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I want my children to be born Canadian. But the way things are going this very minute the whole notion of Canada is in jeopardy. I don’t have an answer. I’ve never been that political. But I do know one thing: in order to keep this country together, it is going to take the effort of each and every person here today, as well as each and every person from Victoria to St. John’s. And maybe there is one person who will step forward and make the difference and maybe that person is graduating here today. God, I hope so, because like one of my all-time heroes Martin Luther King Jr. who had a dream, I too have a dream. My dream may be a little different then his was, but they are both rooted in the same philosophy that all people will be looked on as equals and will live in harmony no matter what color their skin, which god they believe in or what language they speak. That is my dream.

Like many of you here today I derive much of my strength and determination from my family. My father is an interesting guy. My Dad could build your house, wire its electricity and then overhaul your car but all the time I was here at UNB he never used the VCR once because he couldn’t get it turned on. Seriously, to keep things brief and my being an English major I have chosen two words that best describe each member of my family.

My father – strength/invincibility
My mother – devoted/nurturing
My brother – inspirational/gallant
My sister – clever/elegant

Mom, Dad, Dana, Darren I love you all very much and I thank you.

Class of ’91 I thank you. Good Luck to all of you. In closing, I’d like to pass on to you some words of wisdom I just recently learned at the Loch Lomand Villa Senior’s home in Saint John where I work. A 98-year-old woman told me that instead of feeling sorry for what you haven’t done and can’t do, be happy with what you have done and can do.