This was the basis of my speech - it had to do with Service to others - something each and every one of us should do. Hello my name is Colleen Doherty and I am NOW a Certified Medical Assistant and a member of this graduating class. I want to thank you all for coming here tonight to celebrate with us, The graduates of Salter College graduating class of June 2013. I would like to start by saying on behalf of myself and my classmates - THANK YOU Thank you to all of our friends and our families for understanding our late night studying, being gone to classes days and nights, and weekends, and thank you for understanding when we couldn’t attend your party or event because we had to study. It’s been a long and arduous journey but with all of your help and understanding we have all made it here today. Thank you to the staff for teaching us all we needed to know and helping each of us learn and grow and be able to say I’m a Salter College Graduate. Most of all I want to say congratulations to each and every one of you graduating today. You have shown great sacrifice, determination and perseverance to get here today and you all deserve a big round of applause! Now that you have all made it this far, you can go out into the world with a new career and a new outlook on life. I ask of you only one thing…. to use some of that same dogged determination, perseverance and dedication you focused inward for school, and shift your focus outward. Focus it out towards the greater good, towards community service. I know, you’re thinking to yourself Community service it sounds so, UGH, it sounds like something the Judge just handed down as a sentence and now you’re being punished by performing so many hours of “COMMUNITY SERVICE”. OK, so let’s call it something else – let’s call it SERVICE TO OTHERS So, what do you do? Where do you start? You can start by being a volunteer and give some of your time to others. I know you’re going to say you don’t have time. Yes you do! You’ve made time to make it here and trust me I know that took a tremendous amount of time, energy and commitment. Use some of that time to dedicate to the service of others. You don’t have to start big – start small. Do something you enjoy doing, if you like to read, read to the elderly, read to those who are bound to a nursing home or hospital. Read to children at the library or at your local school. Look around is there someone in your neighborhood that is incapable of doing their yard work because they are physically unable – then help them out, rake their leaves, cut their lawn, plant some flowers. Volunteer at your local blood drive, food drives or local soup kitchen. If you love animals volunteer at your local animal shelter they would love the help and the animals would love the attention. Walk, run, or ride in charity events to help raise money for something you feel passionate about. It’s all about finding where your passion lies and helping to make someone else’s life a little easier and a little better. The benefits you receive from the giving of oneself in volunteering builds leadership, and develops communication, and decision-making skills. Service to others helps you to step outside of your comfort zone and expand your horizons. It strengthens your sense of civic engagement and nationalism as well as broadens your educational, developmental and social goals. Service to others enables you to become a more responsible and active citizen. You will learn a lot about who you are as a person. By volunteering it helps you to develop academically, especially if you choose to go further in your college career, by being able to integrate your learning experiences with practical experiences. At the same time, it benefits others who are in need. Service to others strives to instill in you an awareness of the multiple needs of the community, a sense of moral obligation to help those less fortunate and the desire to make your community a better place in which to live. By giving of yourself the rewards that come back to you are more than any amount of effort you will ever put in. There is a feeling you get that is absolute pure joy when you have done something good for someone else, just because. I, myself work closely with the Barton Center for Diabetes Education in Oxford MA. There are two camps a boys camp and a girls camp in which insulin dependent children get to attend summer camp and get to be just like any other kid. They are for a short while, no different from each other like they are at school. The children are taught how to eat properly, exercise and manage their insulin needs on a daily basis while doing all the things that summer campers do. I had the privilege of spending a day at the boy’s camp and experiencing what it was they did and I came away from there with a whole new attitude and respect for what diabetics have to go through and all the challenges they face living with their diabetes. Never mind when you are just an eight year old kid. As the President of The Steel Horse Sisters , a woman’s motorcycle riding club, we raise money for the Barton Center by helping to put on motorcycle rides, we organized and hosted a summer bash party in which over 300 people attended and other various money raising activities to help ease the cost for these kids to attend – it costs $1200 for one child to attend one week of summer camp. Last year we were able to donate $6400.00 to the campership fund for the Barton Center. Again this year I am working with my club and the Barton Center to raise more money so that we can help get each and every child who wants or needs to go to camp get there. Their motto: – Until there is a cure – there is camp! The feeling I had when one of the younger campers said to me “thank you for helping us” is something I will never forget and it still fills me with such joy that it just makes me want to help more. Don’t miss out on that feeling – get involved, find your passion and use it to make a difference. Be the change you wish to see in the world. As the famous Muhammad Ali once said: "Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth." --Muhammad Ali Thank you very much for listening – and CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GRADUATING CLASS OF JUNE 2013!
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 15:37:14 +0000