LSSU Commencement Speakers Urge Graduates to be Flawsome

Supplied by Lake Superior State University…
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – On a day when everyone in the audience was celebrating accomplishment, all three speakers at Lake Superior State University’s 54th annual commencement ceremony Saturday spoke about the importance of embracing failure.

Commencement speaker and Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack, honorary doctorate recipient and award-winning author Erik Qualman, and student respondent Trace Hill, of Roscommon, all told LSSU’s graduating class members that there is much to be learned by failing in some of things they do.

In fact, Qualman had a word for the practice of failing while doing your best: “flawsome.”

“Being flawsome is admitting that you aren’t perfect. I implore all of you to fail fast, fail forward and fail better,” Qualman said. “Owning up to your mistakes, then moving ahead and fixing them, that’s flawsome…Failure is part of the process…Go out there and be as flawsome as possible.”

Qualman was invited to campus by LSSU President Tom Pleger to receive an honorary doctorate for his accomplishments. The international best-selling author and motivational keynote speaker makes more than 50 appearances per year. He has spoken in 44 countries on a variety of topics, with special attention to digital leadership, digital reputation and ratings, and disruptive innovation. He has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for his book, “What Happens in Vegas Stays on YouTube.”

He spoke to LSSU students about the importance of protecting their reputations over social media and he brought up Mississippi State University football player Laremy Tunsil’s downfall in the National Football League draft on April 29 as a perfect example of what can happen. Tunsil, thought to be assured a no. 1 draft pick, slid to no. 13 after a photo of what appears to be him smoking marijuana surfaced on the Internet.

“He was a student just like you, and that photo cost him $8-15 million,” Qualman said. “You need to protect your reputation as much as possible. Privacy is dead, and we’re all adjusting to this new reality…Reputation has always mattered, but now it’s out there in a digital format.”

Qualman, of Rochester Hills, Mich., was Academic All-Big Ten in basketball at Michigan State University. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from the McCombs School of Business at University of Texas.

Pleger called Qualman “a strong advocate for higher education and its students in Michigan and the USA.” He also noted that LSSU will be using Qualman’s text next year on campus.

Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack, in praising students and their parents for bringing them to this point, also touched on failure.

“You’ve learned to work cooperatively with others; you’ve learned how to keep learning. Lake State has prepared you for life’s challenges, including how to fail confidently,” she said.

McCormack is a graduate of the New York University Law School and a faculty fellow at Yale Law School. She joined the Michigan Supreme Court in January 2013. Before her election to the court, she was a law professor and dean at University of Michigan Law School, where she continues to teach.

“She is passionate about civic engagement, the liberal arts, and the importance of education in providing opportunity and developing educated citizens,” LSSU President Pleger said when introducing her.

McCormack cautioned the graduates that “time is about to speed up…Life increases in velocity as it moves along…Time is scarce. Don’t waste it.”

McCormack also advised the LSSU graduates to “be kind and be grateful. Respond to kindness with sincere gratitude. Be kind and grateful even when you don’t feel like it. There are 1,440 minutes in every day. Sometimes you will feel that is not enough. So if someone spends part of their 1,440 minutes being kind to you, communicate your gratitude in return. It will produce more of the same.”

She concluded by telling the class of 2016, “If you work hard and persistently, there is no limit to what you can do in this wonderful country of ours…You have been lucky; you have been blessed with talent and privilege. Feed your relationships with kindness and gratitude. Use the skills that your family and faculty taught you for greater good.”

LSSU Vice President for Enrollment Services and Student Affairs Matt Jurvelin introduced student respondent Trace Hill as a student who is “not just strong academically, but involved outside of the classroom and is a wonderful individual who is rocketing to his future at a new job that he starts at Boeing this summer.”

Hill will be moving to Huntsville, Alabama, in June to work as a software engineer at the Boeing division where he was an intern last year. He will be working in a department contracted by NASA for the development of a rocket called Space Launch System while pursuing a master’s degree in physics.

Hill urged his fellow graduates to think of their diplomas “as more than a symbol of knowledge acquired…See your diploma as a piece of evidence that shows you had the dedication, the passion, and the discipline to devote yourself to a long-term goal and to see it to the very end, regardless of the challenges you faced along the way.

“Each of us faced some challenges…It was during those times when we were convinced we would never pass that course, never finish that paper, never graduate from college, that we learned just how strong and how capable we really are.”

He noted that while working as a tutor on campus that it was not a lack of passion, ambition, or perseverance that kept some students from doing better, but a lack of confidence in themselves.

“With confidence, you can succeed no matter how lofty the goal,” he said. “With passion, ambition, determination, and just a little bit of confidence in yourself, you can do whatever you set your mind to.”

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Pleger congratulated the graduates and wished them well.

“You make us proud, and you and your families should be proud of your Lake State heritage,” he said. “As you reflect upon this day and your achievements, please take a moment to think about how much you have changed during your time at Lake State. How has your Lake State experience transformed you as a learner, a citizen, and made you ready for the next phase of your life, whether it be work, graduate or professional school, or service?

“I challenge you to be leaders in your communities,” he added. “On the gate of our historic entrance, you will find a plaque with the words: ‘Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve.’ I challenge you to take this message to heart. We are a public university and as such, we believe strongly in the public benefit and public good that higher education brings to communities. We have high expectations of you and look forward to hearing about your future successes and leadership.”

Graduates were led into the Norris Center ice arena for the ceremony by the pipes and drums of the Duncan Family of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., who have been leading LSSU graduation ceremonies for 54 years. Native drumming group Aabizii of Brimley, Mich., ushered the graduates out with an honor song, and the LSSU chorus, led by Karen Hughes Beacom, performed the Canadian and US national anthems.