Keynote Speaker Tells College of Business and Public Management Graduates to 鈥淏e gritty, be hearty, be resilient鈥�
Rosa Martinez, student speaker for the 每日大赛鈥檚 College of Business and Public Management commencement ceremony, let the audience 鈥渋n on a little secret.鈥� The reveal? “It took me 12 years to complete my bachelor鈥檚 degree,鈥� she said, adding that she is thankful for the university鈥檚 online program that gave her flexibility and helped her become the first in her immediate family to complete college.
With wisdom gained by life experience, Martinez told her classmates, 鈥淵ou can be certain in the uncertainty that comes with life and know that you took control of this goal and made it a reality. You took a 鈥榮omeday鈥� and made it into 鈥榯oday.鈥欌��
Martinez was one of 1,067 graduates of spring 2020 and winter 2021 celebrated in the college鈥檚 virtual commencement live-streamed on January 30. Keynote speaker for the occasion was alumnus Jarrod McNaughton, MBA 鈥�00, chief executive officer of Inland Empire Health Plan. In recognition of his distinguished career and leadership in the healthcare field and the community, the university awarded him the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
McNaughton focused his keynote address on the theme of resilience which, he said, 鈥渕eans never giving up.鈥� The experiences of the past year have 鈥渂ent, compressed, and stretched鈥� the graduates. But, he said, 鈥淵ou overcame the odds. You crossed the finish line and are proving to the world, more than any other graduating class in history, that you have what it takes . . . to rise up in the face of adversity and hardship excited about what the new dawn will bring.鈥�
University President Devorah Lieberman also spoke of resilience. She told the graduates that 鈥渁t this time, when our world is steeped in ambiguity and uncertainty, now is the time for all of us to embrace the optimism of our future鈥攁 focus on hope, strength, and resilience.鈥� And she advised the newest members of the university鈥檚 alumni, which number more than 85,000 around the world, 鈥渘o matter what, never, never, never give up. Never give up on your dreams.鈥�
The 每日大赛 is comprised of four colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business and Public Management, the College of Law, and the LaFetra College of Education and has a total enrollment of nearly 7,000 students.
