Mike Keables shared his tips for success with graduating students at the summer Commencement ceremony. Photo: Wayne Armstrong
Michael Keables, interim dean of the University of Denver’s Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science, shared his top 10 tips for success as the featured speaker at the Summer 2014 Commencement ceremony Aug. 15 on Graduation Green in front of Margery Reed Hall.
“My two favorite times of the year at the University are student orientation during the fall and Commencement,” Keables told the audience. “During orientation there is a sense of excitement, anticipation and perhaps a little trepidation about what lies ahead. I’m sure that many of you are experiencing these same feelings this morning. You’re excited about the next stage of your lives; there is tremendous anticipation for a bright and successful future; and perhaps there might be just a touch of trepidation about what lies ahead. However, there is one additional sentiment that resounds at Commencement, and that is the overwhelming sense of accomplishment that each and every one of you is experiencing today.”
Quoting such luminaries as Thomas Edison, Maya Angelou and Margaret Thatcher, Keables shared 10 steps to success, including perseverance, patience and a positive attitude. His No. 1 piece of advice to the new graduates was to make a difference, whether large or small.
“We often believe that our actions must impact large numbers of people in order to truly make a difference,” he said. “However, making a difference is a matter of scale. Providing a positive impact on a single individual not only changes that person’s life, but as their circumstances evolve in response to your actions, they too will have a positive effect on others, who in turn will influence others, and so on. Who knows how far your impact will reach?
“Your future holds many challenges,” Keables said in closing, “but challenges often produce opportunities.”
Six-hundred graduate students and 219 undergraduates received degrees at Summer Commencement; 336 attended the ceremony.
Watch video of the ceremony on the Commencement website.