The Path of Honors

Vol. 1 No. 21

The following is the speech given by Denise Button at the Honors Graduation and Awards Ceremony held on May 10, 2017.  Denise has graduated (with 21 credits of Honors) and will be attending the University of Buffalo in the fall to study Business Administration with a focus on International Business.  Her words, as you will see, are powerful.

To all our graduates, congratulations.

First, I would like to start off by congratulating each of the honors students for all of the hard work that we have done to get to this point. 

I think that especially at a community college, it is a struggle sometimes to get through the semester between work, school, and figuring out our new place in this world.  College is a place where you get to decide who you want to be and how you want to get there.  And we all made the choice to be here, not just in college, but in honors.  When you started school and the honors program, you made a promise to yourself to work hard and earn not just an associate’s degree, but either an honors diploma or certificate. 

Once that promise was made, that meant that we had to commit to that promise and everything that it entailed – which meant going into the unknown.

Trying something new, whether it be in college, honors, or life in general means taking a risk.  And it takes courage to take risks, to be brave enough to embrace who each one of us are, and to share that with the world.  I know that when I first started attending FLCC that I was scared.  I was scared of the normal things that most people are, such as: how to afford school, how to juggle all of my many responsibilities while making new friends, and figuring out how to fit in all the other thing that I’m passionate about.  But I was also scared that I wouldn’t do as well in college as I had in high school and that maybe, just maybe, I would discover that college just wasn’t for me.   

But when I applied to FLCC, one of the first people I talked to was Trista Merrill.  I had messaged her because I needed to take an ENG 101 class, but was confused because I had noticed that one of the classes was designated as “honors”.  I didn’t know what being in “honors” meant so, after emailing back and forth with Trista, she encouraged me to try honors.  So I did.  I didn’t just learn about English from Trista, but she got me excited to go to class, and to be in school.  We all think that school can be dull, boring, or monotonous, but this wasn’t my experience in the honors program.  The learning was involved and even fun.  Yes, I learned the material, but I also learned more about myself as a person.  Honestly, some of the best classes that I have taken here at FLCC, were honors.  Honors isn’t just about hard work, but connecting with others and investing in one’s self.

I’m sure that most of us are moving on from FLCC and either continuing our education or going out into the work force.  I think that each of us will soon be able to see just how much hard work pays off.  Because each of us has earned an honors distinction that will separate us from our peers in a way that says “Hey, I didn’t just go to college, but I was also willing and dedicated to take on extra work along the way.”  This experience in college and in the honors program is something that no one can take away from you.  You have made an investment in yourself and your future.

 

And I’m sure that if you’ve had any similar experiences as I have, sometimes you get stressed and overwhelmed.  I think that we have all gotten to a point in a semester when we realize that – “I’m not doing as well as I want to this semester”.  Once you get to this point and soon realize that if you want to continue on the path that you have set for yourself, the only choice you have is to push through this feeling.  And most importantly, that it’s okay to fail and to be disappointed.  Success is a terrific thing.  But how do you get there?  The moments that define you, your character, your strength, are the moments when all you want to do is cry and give up, but you don’t.  Those defining moments when you choose to not accept failure, but to move on and keep working at your success is why you are here today. 

Not only that, but your professors probably didn’t let you give up either.  I know that without my professors here at FLCC, I wouldn’t have been able to handle going to school and juggling all of my other responsibilities.  But I always went to my professors when I knew I needed help.  My professors were more than my teachers in academics, they were teachers in life.  When I needed help, I knew that I could always turn to my professors, especially to my honors professors because I knew that I would be met with understanding and a true concern for me as a student and an individual.  So I would like to congratulate each of you again for being here.  But I would also like to thank all of the honors professors and Trista for dedicating your time to teaching and helping each one of us and reach our true potential.  Without you, we wouldn’t be here today.