Mays encourages graduates to find careers they love

The opening moment of reflection was offered by DeAndre Barthwell of Westland, Michigan, and the closing moment of reflection was given by Caleb Haskell of Madison, Nebraska. During the ceremony, ROTC cadet Chase Thurness of Rapid City, South Dakota, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He will be stationed at Ft. Sill Oklahoma as an active field artillery officer.

Speaker for the event, CSC Grounds Supervisor Lucinda Mays, advised graduates that figuring out their future careers may take time, patience, and trial and error.

“The first job I had out of college was selling high school soccer tickets for six dollars an hour just to pay rent. Ten years later, I was standing in front of a television camera doing a national gardening show for PBS. You can’t plan this stuff, but you can be willing and you can be ready to try,” Mays said.

“Keep trying things. Some you’ll love, some you won’t, and when you do find your love, that’s the way in. That’s when things start falling into place. That’s when you begin to figure out how to make a career doing what you love,” Mays said.

Additionally, Mays encouraged graduates to follow their own dreams and not the direction of others.

“Spend enough time alone so the voice you hear giving you advice is your own voice. Quality time alone, screen time doesn’t count. Time to go off by yourself, take a walk. Not with other people; you want it quiet so any conversation you have is just you with yourself. Or maybe take a dog. Any walk is better with a good dog,” Mays said. “Walk until your head gets clear, then begin to think about what you’re good at.”

She also urged the graduates to be willing to repeatedly practice skills they want to acquire and improve.

“When you’ve decided what work you want to try, work hard at it. Bring your whole self. Show up, be curious. Watch a colleague do something, learn from them, then practice until you can do it, too,” she said.

Mays concluded her remarks asking graduates celebrate moments like commencement and purposefully bring the good qualities they seek, such as laughter, to their workplaces.

—Tena L. Cook, Marketing Coordinator