Jason's Blog

With Excited Anticipation

Blog entry for March 12, 2010 
Dear Friends,

Graduation is such an exciting time of our lives! First of all, we are celebrating completion. We are completing a University education, which is no small feat! We have finished a massive number of classes, met some great friends and Professors, and expanded our personal networks into areas that will guide us in the future.

But graduation is also about new beginnings. In the coming months, we will be turning the first few pages of the next chapter in our lives. It can be a challenging time as we wait for opportunities to surface and for doors to open that we may walk through. But mixed with the uncertainty of the future is an excitement for the great things it will bring! 

I am writing today from the lobby of a beautiful hotel in Roanoke, Virginia, USA. My purpose in Roanoke is to visit a new private Medical School and Research Facility that will be opening in August 2010 (Virginia Tech Carilion Clinic). For a city of less than a quarter million people, the excitement of this new program is overwhelming!

The faculty has a contagious energy about their new program. The curriculum is unique to the school; its clinical education has new tweaks; the admissions process is novel; the facility shines in every detail; I was always greeted with a smile. As I took everything in, I realized that the faculty and staff of this new school are a living example of what it means to be excited in the face of uncertainty.

In reality, the school has reason to be concerned about the future. There are no current students; the curriculum has never been taught; the national accreditation process is not yet complete; the facility is still under construction; the community has not yet grown to accommodate an influx of students. If allowed, these challenges could overwhelm anyone at the school and stifle its outstanding potential!

But in spite of these challenges and potential setbacks, this school is moving towards its dream of opening doors to its charter class in August 2010. The faculty are preparing curriculum. The clinical staff is expecting a new cohort of students. The research facilities are expanding. Each of these steps is taken with faith, and in anticipation of great things to come!

In some ways, our graduation is like the opening of this school.

Each of us is wondering what our future will hold. Perhaps you are awaiting acceptance into a new educational program. Or maybe you are waiting for a new job. Others may be looking forward to a relaxing vacation and time off. Still others may be travelling out-of-town or out-of-country to visit family and friends. Perhaps you are waiting for confirmation on a place to live, on the plans of a significant other, or on financing from a bank. Whatever it is you are waiting on, remember we are all waiting together.

As we wait, I challenge you to remember the power of one. It only takes one interview to get a new job. It only takes one phone call to re-connect with a loved one. It only takes one bid to get that new home. It only takes one moment to change the direction of your future and confirm the path you will be walking down. Ironically, there is power in one.

My challenge for this year's class is to do more than wait: I want you to wait in excited anticipation of the future. Move ahead in your careers with confidence that things will work out. Continue to grow in your relationships, trusting in the path you are on. And above all else, be proud of the person you have become: a graduate of the University of Calgary.

As we wait together, we will attract to ourselves the very future we long for.

All the best,

Jason Motkoski