Commencement Address 2005
Raritan Valley Community College
Debbie Hart, CAE, APR
President of The New Jersey Biotechnology Council
May 18, 2005

Good evening.

President Ryan, Chairman Bateman, members of the Board of Trustees, distinguished faculty, proud parents, ladies and gentlemen and most importantly, elated graduates. I am deeply honored to be here with you today as you mark this joyous occasion. Commencement is one of the true milestones of your life. Savor this day…remember it often. These moments are rare.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge the leadership of Dr. Jerry Ryan. During his tenure here at RVCC, Dr. Ryan has been a visionary who has done so much to advance the mission of the college. From the excellent team of administrators and faculty he has assembled, to his efforts in workforce development, Dr. Ryan has placed RVCC at the forefront of community colleges across the country. From his support of outreach to high school students to let them know of the exciting career opportunities in biotech to his vision for the RVCC life sciences program, Dr. Ryan’s imprint is everywhere.

For that, we at the Biotechnology Council along with our friends at the Healthcare Institute and the American Electronics Association inducted Dr. Ryan into the NJ High-Tech Hall of Fame just last month. We honored him with our educator award which he so richly deserves. Please join me in a round of applause for Dr. Ryan. Congratulations, Dr. Ryan and thank you for your stewardship.

Graduates: you have fretted and sweated, you have struggled and juggled, you have cajoled and consoled, you have dreamed of this day, and along the way you have paid your dues. At times, it has been a journey that seemed never-ending, and yet it has gone by so quickly. Now you’re ready to face the future with a sense of true accomplishment.

I’ll never forget my own graduation day and that feeling of excitement and pride. It is today, as it was back then, a joyous occasion when we celebrate this special rite of passage-- the graduation of another class of future leaders.

Graduates, you didn’t do it completely alone. I ask you to join me in standing and applauding your spouses, parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, and other family members and friends who supported you through your college years. A special round of applause for them is well deserved.

Now graduates, it’s time to take the leap into the real world and to leave the warmth and comfort of Raritan Valley Community College. It’s time to take all you’ve learned here and show the world what you’ve got. Graduation is always a time of mixed emotions: It’s a time of relief from one of life’s most challenging financial and intellectual struggles. But, it is also a time of sadness – the realization that one phase of your life has come to a close.

As I thought of delivering this speech today, I was feeling a bit intimidated by what I perceived as the awesome responsibility of telling soon to be graduates “a thing or two about a thing or two.” I remember when I sat in your seats, I was feeling too smart to be told, probably a bit too arrogant to listen and too anxious for the parties to begin to hear what a commencement speaker had to say! So, as I thought of my own charge today, I turned to a few of my own mentors for advice. Here’s what they had to say: Irwin Lerner, former chairman of Hoffman-LaRoche and current chairman of Medarex, a leading NJ biotechnology company said, “Debbie, Make them laugh!” My parents told me “of course you will want to inspire them!” My husband said, don’t try to be funny, don’t try to be inspirational or clever…just be yourself!

Notwithstanding the sage advice of my husband, I decided that my goal would be to leave you with at least one memorable piece of advice that you can carry with you throughout your lifetime. In an effort to do that, I thought I would give you my own rendition of Dave Letterman’s Top Ten. So for what it’s worth…These are my top 10 life’s lessons--things I’ve learned over my career –sometimes the hard way--and wished I had known on graduation day. I only hope that they might help you in some way in the coming years.

So, without further adieu, let’s get started: I remember always thinking that my life would start once I graduated college…and then I graduated and found myself still waiting for my life to begin.

Life Lesson #10--Stop waiting for your life to start. It doesn’t start tomorrow, next week, next year. It is today…this minute, right here, right now.

#9 - Not everyone is going to like you. For me, this is one of the hardest life lessons. But over time, you resign yourself to the fact that you have no control over whether or not people like you. And you realize that whether or not they like you probably doesn’t really matter much anyway, but you should work your tail off to earn and keep their respect.

#8 – At the end of the day, all you have is your loved ones and your reputation. Guard them both judiciously!

#7– Be humble. Remember that no matter what “level” in life we may have attained professionally, we are all buried at the same level. As you climb the rungs of your future Ladder, pursue your goals and go through life, let that be your barometer as you decide how to treat people along the way.

#6 -- Your word is your bond. Honor your promises. Don’t renege on your commitments. Get to the point in your life (if you haven’t already), that going back on your word is physically reprehensible.

#5 -- In my office, we use the mantra: is it legal, ethical and moral? It is an excellent compass on which we base our day-to-day decisions. If it gets remotely close to violating any of these cardinal rules, we don’t do it. This compass has served us well over the years.

Life Lesson #4 -- When in doubt, don’t. If I can’t find two clear compelling reasons to do something, I probably shouldn’t. Even if this means canceling a wedding even though it’s just 60 days out, rejecting that seemingly perfect job offer because it just doesn’t feel right, or having that one last drink when you’ve only had two. Trust your instincts – they’re usually right.

#3 -- Each and every minute, each and every discussion and each and every decision…they are the base of your future…and the fabric of your past. Spend them wisely and invest them prudently.

#2 -- Have fun! Take time to exercise, to relax and to laugh. Life is too _____ short.

And finally, my number one life lesson… Give something back…find your favorite cause and give it your time, your money and your passion. We are truly blessed in this state, this country and there are so many others who are so much less fortunate. I believe we have an obligation to help them. In the spirit of Life Lesson Number 1, I have made a donation in the name of Raritan Valley Community College Class of 2005 in the amount of one dollar per graduate to my favorite charity: Angels Wings/Anchor House, a home for runaway, abused, troubled teens and children.

So that’s it for my Top Ten list. I hope it might serve you in some way as you move forward from here. You’ll develop your own list. The only thing that I knew for sure when I was sitting in your seats was that I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Take your time deciding…chances are you will have more than one change of heart along the way. And if your career path is still unfolding, you might consider biotechnology. It is a burgeoning new field with high paying jobs, tons of promise and the opportunity to impact human health -- you could be part of that.

In closing, I want to leave you with this one last thought about your future from talk show host Jon Stewart: “College is something you complete. Life is something you experience. So don’t worry about your grades, or the results or success. Success is defined in a myriad of ways and you will find it and people will no longer be grading you. Success will come from your own internal sense of decency…” I thank you so much for this opportunity to spend a few minutes of your time. I wish you Godspeed throughout your Life and never forget this wonderful day here at RVCC, the gateway to a promising, sparkling, exciting future.