Start achieving your goals now, USU graduates told

LOGAN — Nearly 2,000 Utah State University graduates turned their tassels Saturday after being told to make sure they give back some of the gifts they received while in college.

USU President Stan Albrecht said there was much to celebrate this year at USU — a successful legislative session that yielded new funding for the school, support for a new engineering partnership with Weber State University at Hill Air Force Base and reduced residency requirements that will allow the school to increase the number of out-of-state students.

But where much is given, much is expected. That was the message from Saturday's keynote speaker, the Very Rev. Frederick Quinney Lawson, dean of St. Mark's Cathedral in Salt Lake City.

The Rev. Lawson — a community, religious and philanthropic leader who has worked with cultural institutions including Ballet West, the Utah Symphony, the Utah Opera and the Utah Arts Festival — said it is time for students to stop planning for success in the future and begin achieving those goals now.

"I hope that each of you is excited about the future and that you are eagerly looking to get on with the next stage of your life," the Rev. Lawson said. "The work you have done here, and now completed, needs to have a practical application, and it is how you accomplish that which will make all the difference."

He told the graduates that while attending school each has had the opportunity to gather the finest tools into their possession that can be used for the future.

"During your time here you have been more on the collection side of the road," the Rev. Lawson said. "Now as you move from here, I would like you to consider what will make your future life have even a greater importance."

And that means sharing their time, talent and treasure with others.

"Each of us has some special talent which we ought to put to use for the benefit of others and so help them grow and mature. ... If we do not, we risk becoming narrow, selfish people," the Rev. Lawson said.

Valedictorian Jared Bench said the USU graduates learned time management, self-discipline and perseverance, and "most of us have found out who we are and what we stand for, and have gained a sense of accomplishment and purpose."

But what was not taught was the "law of potential" — the height students are capable of reaching depends on the confidence they have to reach their goals, Bench said.

"We must believe that we have the talent, strength and ability to fulfill our dreams ... and believe in ourselves," he said.

Albrecht encouraged the graduates to go out and live "lives of consequence, lives of service and lives of value."

"I feel complete now — something that was missing has finally come to pass and I can't wait to see what's next," said Ryan Reeder, a graduate in journalism and communications.

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