A Choice to be Great in Spring 2015

What’s in the beginning of a new semester? President Richard Moran addressed the question at the Menlo College Spring 2015 Convocation. He instructed the audience to take photos of each other to commemorate the semester’s beginning as an important occasion.

He added that the result of his poll of friends and associates confirmed that people think college was the best time of their lives. Based on his survey, Moran’s advice to students is to take advantage of all the opportunities that college life presents–while they are in college. “This is a special place and time,” he emphasized. “Choose to be here. Don’t settle. Make the choice to put yourself out there. Choose to be great. Help me make Menlo great.”

Guest speakers Matt Childs ’05 and Kelly Crowley added to the inspirational ambiance of the event. Matt talked about his success after college in sales and strategy as the founder of his company, DreamSimplicity. He offered five tips for success for college students:

1. Make goals for yourself.
2. Find a mentor.
3. Organize an internship as early as possible.
4. Figure out your strategy to complete college, because if you can’t see the end, it’s hard to get there.
5. When you leave college, just get started; your beginning doesn’t have to be perfect.

Kelly Crowley, two-sport Paralympic medalist and retired professional cyclist told the audience her story of perseverance and goal-setting in overcoming her challenges as a professional athlete. She based her success on a three-part formula: ability, opportunity, and resources.

She said that success is “yours for the taking if you can align the formula.” She described how her best resources weren’t necessarily the funding, but the people in her circle of friends and acquaintances. Kelly concluded, “Use your time in college to figure out how to solve your problems. Do it because you can!”