Cynthia Sucich – Commencement Address Empire State College
It’s an honor to have this opportunity to be the student speaker this evening. The truth is that I almost allowed myself to be robbed of this wonderful experience. My thoughts were, “well, it’s been about 10 months since you’ve completed your course work and you’ve already received your diploma, what do you really need to go for”?
Maybe some of you have had the same thoughts. Well, we need to be present to be an example for our children and those who are coming behind us; we need to be present because we deserve to be honored for accomplishing a goal that we all set for ourselves at some point in our lives, and we need to be present so there will be no regrets of not being present.
I’m very grateful for Divine intervention which has brought me here today.
As I look into the audience at my fellow students, I realize that I don’t know any of you, but I know all of you because you are me and I am you. Even though our experiences may have been different, I’m sure many of our feelings have been the same.
Most of our lives had been interrupted by life…marriage, children, work, finances, unplanned detours, insecurity, lack of time, and plain old fear.
For many years I thought about going back to school to complete my Bachelor’s Degree and maybe finally study something which would allow me to follow my passion…my passion of helping others, giving them hope, and encouraging them that it is possible to make a difference in their lives despite the circumstances they may have been faced with.
But the more I thought about it, the more I thought…you’re too old, you don’t have the time, you don’t have the money and the biggest one for me – you can’t do this!
And then, someone told me about SUNY Empire State College, the college without walls (as Newsday put it), a place where I wasn’t too old, a place where classes could be worked around my schedule, I could work at my own pace and I didn’t have to stop to go to class; a place where I could be creative, design my own curriculum, where I had options, a place where I could earn credit for life experiences (of which there have been many).
But the most important was that Empire was a place where I was constantly told “you can do it”, look how far you’ve come, just continue to put one foot in front of the other, you’re almost there. Empire is not for everyone though. You have to be able to remain focused, be comfortable working on your own, be responsible, and be very determined.
My experience at Empire has been challenging, enlightening, fearful, overwhelming but very precious to me. I’ve taken nothing for granted. There were times in my journey where I could only take one class at a time and then there were times when I could take two or three classes at a time.
There were times when I thought being in a classroom would be easier and then there were times I was grateful not to have to be in a classroom. I was able to stop in the middle of my studies, plan a wedding, get married, and easily pick up where I left off. At times it felt as if I would never reach that magic number – 128 credits. The closer I got, the longer it seemed to take. I’ve been given the opportunity to finally finish something which was started many, many years ago. What a wonderful sense of accomplishment.
Where am I today? Well, today I am, for once in my whole entire life, doing something that brings me more joy than I’ve ever had in my working career. I work for an organization, called The Interfaith Nutrition Network, where we address the issues of hunger and homelessness on Long Island. I have the privilege of going into the community and speaking about who we are, the services we provide, and how others can help their Long Island neighbors in need.
Every day I wake up I wonder, “who can I speak to today to share information with about The INN. Who is going to be willing to make a difference in their community”? Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Junior once said, “Everyone can be great because anyone can serve.
You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.” And that’s what I have today…a heart full of grace and a career that feeds my soul on a daily basis, and PLUS I have a college degree.
On behalf of my fellow students, I’d like to thank our families, friends, faculty, and staff for being our greatest cheerleaders and for being there for us, when we needed you the most and the way we needed you the most. To my fellow students, my prayer for all of you is to finally be doing something that feeds your soul and touches your heart, every day, in a meaningful way; because every day brings a new opportunity to be of some use. Thank you!
