These last few weeks in May public attention is focused upon graduations. Every weekend newscast, newspaper front pages and a good percentage of Facebook posts feature happy people of all ages dressed in caps and gowns. It’s impossible to see these images and not think back on my own personal milestones; my high school and college graduation ceremonies. Truthfully, I don’t remember much about either one of them, I remember sitting on risers for high school and in the hot sun on the lawn when I graduated from Rutgers.
Instead, I tend to remember the details of the after parties more. On the drive home from my high school party I drowsily called my date by the wrong first name (oops!). En route to our college graduation party, the driver of the car I was riding in momentarily lost control and we went into a spin. I remember how the huge aluminum panels of the semi truck we managed to miss flashed by my window. It felt like a brush with death. Anyway, all this graduation reminiscing has made me again begin to ponder the rightness of my current course in life.
Yesterday I attended a workshop on Social Media presented by the Virginia Small Business Development Center and hosted by our local Chamber of Commerce. The workshop was held at a satellite campus of the community college so in a way, I was back on campus again. During my registration, I spoke to a middle-aged woman who had a mylar balloon floating above her desk. I asked if it was her birthday. She said no, she had just graduated with the Associate’s Degree the previous weekend. I congratulated her and went on to get some coffee.
As I walked away, I considered the tremendous effort and sacrifice this woman had made to achieve this goal. Even though she worked on campus, certainly the time necessary to attend classes and study weighed heavily on her already full schedule of work and family life. More importantly, I wondered what would prompt me to make the same choice.
Part of me has always felt like a bit of a slacker because I’ve never pursued an advanced degree. Even with my Bachelor’s degree, I am now the most under educated person in my little family; Dave has two Masters, Maggie and an advanced certificate and Andy has his PhD. It’s not that I’m opposed to learning, I just never felt the fire to go back to school.
Then yesterday’s workshop happened. I attended on a whim. In my position at Habitat for Humanity here in Greene County, I attend the Chamber meetings. When the offer of this workshop in Social Media came up as a part of a Small Business Development Day, I thought, what the heck, why not? So I went.
I learned so much about ways I can improve Habitat’s visibility in the community. When I got home, I ran up to my office and with my newly attained knowledge, revamped our webpage a bit, made it mobile enabled and even created a QR code for our flyers and mailers! What a rush, as we used to say in college!
So, in the end I guess I unlocked the motivation to go back to school, not only to gain the knowledge, but to take it on and use it and share it. And for me, I guess I don’t need the extra certificates and paper with my name on it. Little hits of information work just as well.