Graduation Dinner and Valedictorian Address

Saturday the class had our graduation dinner at Ban Righ Hall. Everyone showed up dressed to the nines. Quite a few of our professors came out and the entire administration was there. A nice meal served and some nice words said were said by Dr.Bill Blake, Director of MBA programs at Queen's, and Dr.Scott Carson, Director of the full-time MBA program at Queen's.

After dinner the class president and valedictorian addressed the class. The Elizebeth Hand and Team awards were also given out. Finally, there were the "fun" awards with a slide show (i.e. who was voted most likely to get arrested, kicked-out of cricket match, lick their own belly button, etc.). Once all that was done, the class headed out to the Joy Supper Club for a night of fun and dancing. All and all it was great, but at the same time bittersweet as we realized the end is very near and soon we will be saying good bye to many of our friends.

Our Valedictorian, Adam Grahn, really hit a note with his address to the class. I am posting it here, with his permission, so that our class can have access to it in the future.

First, I’d like to say a couple thanks you’s. I’d like to thank all of you, first for nominating and then for selecting me to represent you as valedictorian out of 75 people who could just as easily be standing up here.

I want you all to know how much I appreciate this, so I thought I’d give you a 30 second snippet to help you understand how much this means to me. I grew up in a very small town in BC as the third eldest in a family of 12. If asked what they wanted to be when they grew up, kids from that town dreamed about 3 things: heli-logging, driving a truck, or winning the Stanley Cup. I can tell you I only shared one of those dreams with the other kids, but I never could have dreamed that I might one day graduate as valedictorian from one of the most prestigious programs at one of the most prestigious institutions in Canada.

I can tell you that this moment, being able to stand up here, is the thing I am most proud of in my life… with one exception. That being getting married to my friend,
partner, supporter, and champion, Deedra. She is just as much a reason for me being up here as anything I’ve done, so thank you Deedra!

Almost exactly one year ago, 75 people gathered in the atrium of Goodes Hall. If you’re like me, it feels more like 5 years ago but what I recall of that gathering is how awkward I felt and how I kept repeating a mantra in my head… “What the BLEEP am I doing here?” I then recall Drs. Carson and Blake speaking about Queen’s and teamwork and what a transformational experience we were going to have… I have to admit, I was still a little unsure…

Then, over the next few weeks we were teamed up, bombarded, psycho-analysed and introduced to that wonderful team-building exercise known as 0.4. Over the course of the next 8 months, we worked our asses off and our teams became more than just a part of a marketing brochure… They became a part of who we are. Through the course of the year, through our efforts, our struggles and our triumphs, we HAVE been transformed. Of course we have learned the technical knowledge required to be considered an MBA… I think we’ve all seen enough 2x2 matrices and Discounted Cash Flows to validate that…

but what we’ve learned is how to lead and be led, how to take a group of people from different nationalities and with different personalities and turn it into a well-oiled machine that can tackle near any challenge. These are not skills that can be learned on-line or through a text book, but only through trial and experience. We, each of us, now has the ability to step out from here, this safe place, and walk confidently into the “real world”, comfortable in ourselves and our abilities. Comfortable working with, for and leading others, and, perhaps most importantly, with the knowledge that should the time come that we need help, there are 74 others standing behind us, ready with a shoulder to cry on, an arm to lean on, a joke to pick up our spirits or a smile to share. We have 74 friends.

And in my estimation, it is friendship that has been the ultimate benefit of our time here. If you do the math, we’ve essentially spent $60,000 and come away with 74 friends. That’s just a little under a $1000 a friend. Friends that have shared experiences and shared understanding. A very good investment, I assure you, especially given the economic uncertainty we are facing. I am sure that a year and a bit ago, when we all signed up for this program, none of us thought that we would be graduating into a market where jobs are scarce and the value of MBAs had been called into question. Yet, that is the situation, and at times like these, the value that friends provide may be the difference between success and failure.

So I’ve never performed a valedictory address before and hadn’t had the opportunity to hear one either, so I did what anyone would do in that situation, I looked it up on Wikipedia. While I was doing that, I discovered an interesting thing about the roots of the word. It turns out, that Valedictorian comes from the Latin “vale dicere,” which means – To Say Farewell… So I thought to myself, that’s pretty depressing… It sounds like I’m saying I’ll never see you all again. That would make this valedictorian address more bittersweet than sweet… a bit like the difference between marmalade and jam… So I’ve chosen to break with tradition a little bit and to say “See you soon” instead of Farewell, since I’m sure it is more accurate and since it’ll just make me sad to think otherwise.

So in a little over a week, as we venture out and each of us makes our mark on the business world and the world in general. As we work to better the lives of ourselves and our families. Think back now and then to the times we have shared here at Queen’s and conduct yourself with the grace, dignity and ethical standard expected of a Queen’s MBA grad. And above all, if ever any one of you should need a friend, you know where to look…

Thank you and See You Soon!

Links to youtube videos in parts (1), (2), and (3 w/ speech).