It was another proud moment for our family. Our son Jason graduated cum laude from Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus. This brought to an end his five year studies and his life as a colligiate athlete. His volleyball team won the National Championship just a few weeks ago, bringing a first time victory to the university. Even though his degree is in construction management, the diploma recognizes him as “Bachelor of Science in Agriculture.”On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we witnessed the commencement of 9,700 graduates, the largest class ever for OSU.
As the commencement speaker, we had the honor to listen to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, John Boehner. Since Mr. Boehner is also from Cincinnati, I was looking forward to hear what he had to say to this accomplished audience.
He gave a very short account of his own journey through life. Being the second oldest in his family of twelve, he started working at his family business and put himself through college at Xavier University in Cincinnati. Based on his own experience, he remarked, this too, could happen to you referring to his courier in politics. He encouraged the graduates to work hard, to stay humble, and to persevere. Mr. Boehner said: “Life isn’t always about you, being useful to others, being involved in your community … that’s what I call humility.”
In serving others you will discover Who you want to be not What you want to be.
He also advised the graduates: “If you do the right thing for the right reasons, good things will happen.” His final recommendation was to write a note of thanks to the parents, loved ones, friends or whoever was most influential on their journey of education. Being somewhat emotional, he said that the graduates should never be afraid to shed a tear of thanks for the gifts in their lives.
Mr. Boehner had the audience laughing when he mentioned the way people would pronounce his name, rhyming it with words like honor and leaner or even “boner.” Then he said: "Thank God it's not Weiner."
After Mr. Boehner’s address, he was awarded an honorary doctorate for public service.
There may have been protesters outside the stadium who disagree with Dr. John Boehner’s political views, for our family it was a happy moment. We had a wonderful day with a following party with friends and family.
1 comment:
thanks for sharing this speech and your experience at the graduation. i would have loved to attend as well. john's advice was very good, especially about having the right motivation in what we do and expressing gratitude for the ones we love. thanks for all that you do. :)
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