I sat down in the hard wooden chair, squeezing my knees into the tiny space allotted to me in the middle seat of section 220, Row 13 of the Sky Dome in Flagstaff, surrounded by thousands of other proud family members waiting to see someone they love walk across the stage to get their college diploma.
Spring graduation at NAU is big enough that they hold it over two days and split it into four separate ceremonies. I am grateful for that. As I looked at all the students filing in wearing their caps and gowns, I began a mental calculation in my head trying to estimate how many hours this event might take and whether my knees and bladder were up to the task.
Despite the tight quarters, you could feel the excitement in the room as everyone strained to see if they could find their special person in the sea of caps and gowns. My niece made it easier on us by coloring her hair a bright pinkish-red and decorating her cap. I zoomed my phone camera to maximum and located her towards the back on the right side, snapped a blurry photo and passed it to other family members for confirmation.
Three large video screens with captioning made it easy to follow along and an overhead camera would zoom over a section of graduates for a crowd shot, which would cause all of us in the audience to stop listening to the speaker at the podium and squint at the screen, searching for our student’s face.
During the ceremony, one of the speakers had first-generation college students stand up and be recognized. A significant chunk of the graduates stood up and were applauded. Then parents in the student section were asked to stand up and be recognized. Another big group stood for applause. Then veterans in the student section and in the audience were asked to stand and be recognized with more applause.
The speakers shared plenty of wisdom and advice about navigating the world ahead, but one message hit home to me, especially after seeing all the different groups stand up and be recognized. Adapting to the challenges life throws at us can be just as important as a specific degree or set of initials after our name. We may think we are pursuing a certain career only to learn that this isn’t what truly interests us or we aren’t cut out for what we thought we’d do. It’s okay to change your mind, start over, and try something new.
In this Internet-driven world where changes happen quickly, it’s hard to imagine what jobs might be out there that we can’t even imagine today. Think of all the jobs that no longer exist. I’m old enough to remember attendants washing our windshield and filling the tank when we pulled into the gas station. And if I think back almost forty years ago to my high school graduation, I would never have envisioned doing the jobs I’ve done over the years.
I’ve worked in power plant stockrooms and ordered turbine parts that cost more than the car I drove. I did payroll and budgets for a small power plant before running away with my future husband to manage a dial-up Internet and web hosting company in Canada. I spent hours walking people through the steps to configure their dial-up 33.6 modems and Windows 95 email settings. I sold satellite Internet to farmers and ranchers. These are just a few of my past jobs that had nothing to do with a Bachelor of Arts in English from a small Iowa college. I’m pretty sure my current job might not seem like an obvious fit either. And if I could go back in time and tell my younger self I’d be writing a regular column in a newspaper someday, I’m not sure I would have predicted that either.
My hope for all the recent and soon-to-be graduates is that you continue to learn, explore, and step outside your comfort zone. Sometimes the things you never imagined doing become the most rewarding things you’ve ever done.