Graduation Speech for HPU

Here is a truncated version of a speech for the recent graduates of Howard Payne University in El Paso, Texas.

In 1889, two men with a dream of starting a college in Brownwood, Texas approached a family member who lived in Missouri about helping this new school with a sizable gift. The man who gave the gift was named Edward Howard Payne. The Board of Trustees named the new school after this man. In 1953, Daniel Baker College, another local private school in the area, was consolidated with Howard Payne College which eventually became Howard Payne University in 1974. In its 119 year history, Howard Payne University has had 14,386 graduates of which you are one.

You are now a graduate of Howard Payne University and part of 28% of the country's population with a college degree. You are also most likely between the ages of 40-49, dispelling the myth that most college graduates are in their 20s. You are also most likely married with 2.3 children and you have increased your earning power by almost double (don't forget to remind your employer of this!).

But I have some bad news for you. You are probably not any smarter today than yesterday or even 4 years ago or however long it took you to get a degree. Your brain power, your aptitude, perhaps your skills, and maybe even your interests are probably the same as they were before you got a degree. In addition, your personality and most likely value system has not changed significantly during your pursuit of a degree. Sadly, unless you paid particular attention to one thing, you probably cannot be considered an expert at anything.

Research says that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert in a particular field be it chess, mathematics, science, construction, or music. This comes to an average of 3 hours a day for 10 years or approximately 20 hours per week of dedicated effort to one thing. The greatest pianists violinists, and even bricklayers have spent 10,000 achieving that goal. Since getting a college degree involves a multitude of skills and knowledge in many areas, it is likely that you have not dedicated yourself to 10,000 hours in any one field. Yet research also says that even some dedicated effort to one thing is beneficial to lifelong achievement.

In fact, preparation and tenacious effort seem to pay long range dividends that extend beyond the immediate or obvious tangible gain. Often the years of preparation can result in a brief but immensely successful time of greatness. Probably the prime example of this is the life of Jesus Christ who spent 30 years in preparation for what would be a stunning 3 years of ministry that would ultimately change the world. His time spent in preparation certainly contributed in untold positive ways to his actions in shaping Christianity for the future. He paid the price for excellence and he majored in love, goodness, and sacrifice.

Your time in diligent effort preparing for your future, while it might not have led to the expert level yet, it does give you a degree of respect for your tenacity and yes, your knowledge. What has changed for you is how you are treated and what is expected from you. You might not double your salary tomorrow, but your employer may look at you with more respect. Your diploma might just be a piece of paper but it represents hard work and expectation of excellence. As a graduate of Howard Payne, we ask that you manifest and embody a Christian ethic, a Christian world-view, and mostly a Christ-like faith in the workplace. Best wishes to you as a new Howard Payne University graduate.