Kirk's Master's Commencement Speech
In May 2007, I was chosen to be the welcoming speaker at my Master's graduation. I was told that it was Concordia's version of essentially being the class valedictorian at that time. It was short and sweet, but I received a standing ovation for it!
MA Commencement Speech
By Kirk Wetzlich
First, I welcome all of you here to celebrate one of the biggest days in our lives! We have certainly accomplished and earned something huge in the academic and professional aspects of life that we can forever say that we have and other people will always be impressed by that fact! Congratulations to us all! However, we couldn't have accomplished it without receiving love and support from God, our extended family of faculty and staff and classmates at Concordia, also of course most importantly our individual families and friends! Therefore, I hope that you will take time to individually thank them today or relatively soon, because with the fragility of life such as accidents and terrorism, we truly don't know when our lives will end!
Secondly, I must convey my appreciation and happiness of getting the great honor of addressing you today! I am always humbled by the sincere fact that Concordia continues to view and treat me as an important and beneficial family member of the campus community throughout my undergraduate and graduate work and as a Concordia security employee and hopefully soon an adjunct professor! However, I know that Concordia views and treats all of you in the same way. Also I know that all of you are as equally qualified to be the welcoming speaker as I am if not more so! Therefore, I will do my best to cause you to reflect on your Concordia experience and inspire you for your next step in life without being long-winded and boring. L.O.L.!
As I was thinking what to say, I thought of course I couldn't do a traditional undergraduate speech about looking forward to the future, because many of us already have kids and are well in to our chosen careers. However, then I reflected on Concordia's overarching goal for us of providing academic tools and enthusiasm for us to be life-long-learners by fulfilling its true mission of preparing students for thoughtful and informed living, for dedicated service to God and humankind, and for the enlightened care of God’s creation, all within the context of the Christian Gospel. Also I reflected on some of Concordia's core leadership lessons such as how to effectively solve life's continuous 88 problems by always having high awareness of what's really happening and always being calm enough to stop, challenge, and choose how to respond. Concordia also taught us how to continually grow in life by encouraging us to always expect, accept, and seek change. Further yet, Concordia instilled in us how to always play to win versus not to lose by looking beyond the surface, not taking short cuts just to satisfy current needs and desires, but to always do things that coincide with our long-term goals and ethics with always having the big picture in mind and trying to do what's best for all by knowing how to seek and synthesize the most creditable factual past and current information available. Thus, I then remembered the obvious fact of life that we always have future goals and desires no matter what our current education and career levels are. Plus I reflected on something that my friend, Professor Harr, told me post to starting in the Master's program which was that I was becoming one of the elite, because a very low percentage of the U.S. population has the fortitude to earn a Master's degree. Therefore, I surmise that the microscope of adulthood is about to intensify for us by having a Master's degree. People will look up to us more and always expect the best from us! Thus, I am going to use the premise from the movie, Pay It Forward, and challenge you to use your new found knowledge of your Master's degree by continuing to think of ideas to change the world for the better and put them in to action. Please notice that I said to think of multiple ideas and not just one as the movie did.
I believe that God wanted the purpose of life to be always giving people knowledge and growing tools through family and formal education institutions such as Concordia to continually make the world better! Of course God knows that not all ideas will be successful. Nevertheless, I always remember a meaningful and true saying that a friend gave me when I graduated with my first college associate degree. The saying had a picture of a person on top of a mountain. The saying is the following, "Achievement"! "Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow". Also as the host of the show America's Most Wanted, John Walsh, says, "one person can make a difference". Thus, I am going to try to always grow and make a difference to improve the world by thinking of new ideas for the rest of my days on earth via always being a leader and life-long-learner as God, the professors at Concordia and my family and friends have taught me and expect me to be! Also I plan to make the rest of my days to be productive but balanced by working hard and having fun too! I hope and encourage you to have the same goals! Thank you!
MA Commencement Speech
By Kirk Wetzlich
First, I welcome all of you here to celebrate one of the biggest days in our lives! We have certainly accomplished and earned something huge in the academic and professional aspects of life that we can forever say that we have and other people will always be impressed by that fact! Congratulations to us all! However, we couldn't have accomplished it without receiving love and support from God, our extended family of faculty and staff and classmates at Concordia, also of course most importantly our individual families and friends! Therefore, I hope that you will take time to individually thank them today or relatively soon, because with the fragility of life such as accidents and terrorism, we truly don't know when our lives will end!
Secondly, I must convey my appreciation and happiness of getting the great honor of addressing you today! I am always humbled by the sincere fact that Concordia continues to view and treat me as an important and beneficial family member of the campus community throughout my undergraduate and graduate work and as a Concordia security employee and hopefully soon an adjunct professor! However, I know that Concordia views and treats all of you in the same way. Also I know that all of you are as equally qualified to be the welcoming speaker as I am if not more so! Therefore, I will do my best to cause you to reflect on your Concordia experience and inspire you for your next step in life without being long-winded and boring. L.O.L.!
As I was thinking what to say, I thought of course I couldn't do a traditional undergraduate speech about looking forward to the future, because many of us already have kids and are well in to our chosen careers. However, then I reflected on Concordia's overarching goal for us of providing academic tools and enthusiasm for us to be life-long-learners by fulfilling its true mission of preparing students for thoughtful and informed living, for dedicated service to God and humankind, and for the enlightened care of God’s creation, all within the context of the Christian Gospel. Also I reflected on some of Concordia's core leadership lessons such as how to effectively solve life's continuous 88 problems by always having high awareness of what's really happening and always being calm enough to stop, challenge, and choose how to respond. Concordia also taught us how to continually grow in life by encouraging us to always expect, accept, and seek change. Further yet, Concordia instilled in us how to always play to win versus not to lose by looking beyond the surface, not taking short cuts just to satisfy current needs and desires, but to always do things that coincide with our long-term goals and ethics with always having the big picture in mind and trying to do what's best for all by knowing how to seek and synthesize the most creditable factual past and current information available. Thus, I then remembered the obvious fact of life that we always have future goals and desires no matter what our current education and career levels are. Plus I reflected on something that my friend, Professor Harr, told me post to starting in the Master's program which was that I was becoming one of the elite, because a very low percentage of the U.S. population has the fortitude to earn a Master's degree. Therefore, I surmise that the microscope of adulthood is about to intensify for us by having a Master's degree. People will look up to us more and always expect the best from us! Thus, I am going to use the premise from the movie, Pay It Forward, and challenge you to use your new found knowledge of your Master's degree by continuing to think of ideas to change the world for the better and put them in to action. Please notice that I said to think of multiple ideas and not just one as the movie did.
I believe that God wanted the purpose of life to be always giving people knowledge and growing tools through family and formal education institutions such as Concordia to continually make the world better! Of course God knows that not all ideas will be successful. Nevertheless, I always remember a meaningful and true saying that a friend gave me when I graduated with my first college associate degree. The saying had a picture of a person on top of a mountain. The saying is the following, "Achievement"! "Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow". Also as the host of the show America's Most Wanted, John Walsh, says, "one person can make a difference". Thus, I am going to try to always grow and make a difference to improve the world by thinking of new ideas for the rest of my days on earth via always being a leader and life-long-learner as God, the professors at Concordia and my family and friends have taught me and expect me to be! Also I plan to make the rest of my days to be productive but balanced by working hard and having fun too! I hope and encourage you to have the same goals! Thank you!