Grad Speech

In 1997 I ran out of student loans and was forced to stop, 9 credits short of my bachelor's degree. It was an open wound for over twenty-five years as I hobbled through life and career without that elusive parchment. Finally, in August of 2022 I set out to finish what I started... sort of. 10 months later I had a BA in general studies. I know I was supposed to feel proud, but the truth is it felt a little hollow. It wasn't the technology management degree I had originally set out after, and it wasn't really going to help me in my career as a vocational teacher. So, I carried the momentum forward and enrolled in a master's program. I hunkered down and had no life for the next six months. Yes, you read that correctly - six months! It was grueling, but I packed a two-year program into a six-month period and finished my Master of Education degree in December of 2024. The university liked my story and asked me to tell it at my commencement ceremony. This is a video of that speech.