Southern Polytechnic State University

Fall Convocation 2006

September 12, 2006

State of the University -- and Advice from Alumni

Welcome.  Southern Polytechnic State University’s fall semester kickoff events have traditionally included a “State of the University” presentation to faculty and staff – the week before students arrived back on campus.  Last year, we expanded our fall kickoff events to include students, too.  This year, our new fall convocation is a combination of a brief “state of the University” is great.  It’s obvious that our enrollment has grown dramatically this fall – as of this morning, we were 10.7% above last fall’s enrollment, and nearly 5% higher than the previous all-time record high enrollment, which was 17 years ago.  Multiple factors have contributed to this:  an increased focus on retention, new academic programs, growth of existing programs, more effective academic advising, and policies that emphasize supporting student success.  All faculty and staff played a role in this – thank you all.

Evidence of this enrollment growth includes full classes, full parking lots, full residence halls and apartments, and lots of people enjoying our new campus food service.  These are good things.

And if the increased enrollment creates some challenges – like having to walk a little farther from parking, departments needing to plan the sequence of course offerings in more detail,  the University needing to direct more resources to faculty positions to provide those classes – these are good challenges to have, as well.  In the long run, this growth will mean more state funding for Southern Polytechnic, more new buildings, more new equipment, more private funding, and more visibility for this university.

During the past year, a broadly representative group of almost 50 faculty, staff, students, and alumni engaged in developing a new strategic plan for SPSU.  The entire process has been documented on the University’s “HornetBoard” web site (http://forums.spsu.edu/ipb/), with every iteration of the plan posted and available for comment.  The complete plan can be viewed at http://www.spsu.edu/irpa/planning.htm. To bring this planning process to formal conclusion, we will have an open forum on Monday, September 25 – to give everyone who is interested an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback and input to the plan.   In addition, a meeting is scheduled with the new leadership of the Student Government Association on October 3;  we will be comparing the strategic plans for the University and SGA and discussing how we can work together to pursue our goals.

The University plan establishes three primary strategic goals:

1. Becoming more comprehensive in scope;

2. Increasing enrollment; and

3. Increasing the sense of ownership on campus to support the success of students – and the University overall.

Being more comprehensive has many dimensions, the most significant of which is the breadth of academic programs.  Vice President Szafran is leading the effort, in Academic Affairs, to develop an Academic Master Plan to strengthen our existing curriculum and to expand it in ways that make sense and reflect our special technological focus. 

As it turns out, Chancellor Davis has created a new structure for the institutions in the University System;  the regional and state universities are now, collectively, designated as comprehensive universities.  We retain our special purpose, but, as of last July, SPSU actually is, officially, comprehensive.

Enrollment growth has very measurable goals.  And the goals in the final draft of our strategic plan, completed last May, demonstrate what a dynamic environment we are working in.  This fall semester, the enrollment not only exceeds the projected level for Fall 2006, but we are within 12 students of reaching our goal for Fall 2007.

We will continue to focus on increasing our retention, progression, and graduation rates – and supporting student success.  We can expect more enrollment growth to follow.

One way to describe success for the goal of “sense of ownership” is that if a visitor were to stop any faculty member, staff, or administrator on campus and ask, “What do you do here at Southern Polytechnic?” – that visitor would hear a consistent answer:  “I help educate students.”  And this is true whether the specific contribution is through direct instruction in the classroom, laboratory, studio, or field – or in a support role that ensures we have the best environment for teaching and learning – one that is clean, safe, wired, unwired, or whatever else is needed to be sure we are doing the best possible job in educating students.

A number of other activities are in progress, too.

Some of these projects are connected to University System initiatives, like the ones on Retention, Progression, and Graduation and Customer Service.

The Six Sigma Training will engage up to 60 faculty and staff (and a few colleagues from the System Office) in learning how to apply specific business principles to higher education.  This effort is linked to our goal of continuously improving customer service across campus.

Several of these efforts are implementation steps in our strategic plan, including the Academic Plan and a new Facilities Master Plan, to guide our program for new buildings and renovating older ones.  Nearly all of the assumptions that underlay our last facilities planning process, eight years ago, have changed – including the need to renovate Building I and the ability to acquire, through the SPSU Foundation’s support, the adjacent Elks property, with its building and five acres of valuable land.

The Portal Project will address safety, access, and visibility issues at the South Marietta Parkway entrance to campus.  A slowdown in bond sales by the state has delayed this project, but the extra time has also given us an opportunity to coordinate our plans with the City of Marietta.

We are also planning ahead to prepare for the accreditation reaffirmation process with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (a.k.a., SACS) in 2009.  Many, many opportunities for involvement will be available to the entire University community.  The process will include both the traditional self-study and a Quality Enhancement Project (or QEP).  Our SACS liaison, Dr. Becky Rutherfoord, will have materials available in the lobby right after this Convocation.  Please pick them up and start thinking about how you would like to be involved.

You can look for activity in all these areas over the coming months.

Alumni, current students, and SPSU’s mission

As we talk about all the initiatives and projects underway right now – we need to remember why we are here.  The mission – the reason why – is what drives everything else:  what we do, how we do it, who is responsible for doing it.  But why we do it is the most fundamental issue.

One of the changes of the past academic year was the approval, by the Board of Regents, of our revised mission statement. 

Our mission is to serve students – to educate them – to empower them with the ability and vision to transform the future.  And I want to focus on that topic for a few minutes today.

Because we have students – including new students – here at today’s convocation, I want to direct most of my remarks to you, with advice about how to be successful.  And who better to provide advice about how to be successful at SPSU than those who have already done so:  our alumni.

I know we have a number of alumni here today – some who came just for this convocation, but also faculty, staff, and students as well….would everyone who has a earned a degree from this University please stand up?

We’re proud of you.

Using both our alumni magazine and targeted e-mails, I asked all SPSU graduates about what advice they would give to students about how to be successful.  (I also invited faculty and staff to offer suggestions, too, and I’ll talk about some of the similarities and differences in a minute – but I received 8 times the number of responses from alumni, compared with faculty and staff, so I’m going to focus first on the alumni responses.) 

And I was overwhelmed with the responses.  Literally hundreds of alumni took the time to share their thoughts – some wrote 4-5 pages of suggestions.  One person commented, “I didn't know how much advice I had to give until I actually started typing!”

Many alumni expressed great appreciation at being asked to share their advice.  “Where were you when I was in school?”  wrote one.  Another response said, “Thank you for allowing me to present my 'advice' to new students.  Writing this really took me back - I really enjoyed my time at SPSU and my successes are due largely to this great school.”

And I very much appreciate -- and enjoyed -- the wide range of responses I received.

Comments came from graduates who are sales managers, engineers, teachers, and research scientists.  They came from alumni throughout Georgia, across the United States, and around the world.  One graduate apologized that he would not be able to join us for today’s convocation – because he works in Saudi Arabia.

The most common advice

Alumni advice to students on how to be successful at SPSU had a number of common themes:

Go to class.  Talk to your professors.  Keep up with your homework.  Don’t wait until the last minute to study for your tests.  Get involved in a study group.  Sign up for an internship or co-op work experience.  Start doing it all sooner.

This advice is what my husband would call,  “mother pie and applehood.” It’s true. You can’t argue with it. One graduate added, “I admit that much of the advice I gave is advice I failed to take myself -- but it's still important information I learned in my time in school or since my graduation.”  These are the basics for success -- for any student, at any school.

But Southern Polytechnic isn’t just any school.  We’re unique.  We have a special purpose, a distinctive mission.

Never give up

And other advice from alumni reflects this special character.  They offered some unique advice as well.

A lot of the advice echoed Winston Churchill:  never give up.  This advice came in many forms: 

“Stick with it, no matter how tough it gets.” 

“Keep your nose to the grindstone.”

“Never give up…remember why you came to college, not just any college, but SPSU.  This is the school to get the right kind of education for building a solid foundation for your professional career.”

And, one alum attempted to quote Churchill directly with the paraphrase, “Never, never, never, never give up.”

But a few alumni also advised about the importance of being able or willing to walk away.

“Learn how to understand when you have hit your head against the wall and need to back up and rethink everything you’re working on.”

Remember why you’re doing this

A variation on this theme was a focus on the final product – on getting the degree.  One graduate emphasized, “…the importance that a degree can make. Once I received my degree from Southern Tech (as it was at the time of my graduation), the world really opened up for me.”

Another said, “[I wish I had understood]…The amazing opportunities available to someone with a good undergraduate degree. I didn't have an appreciation for how valuable a degree would be.” 

Another offered these words:  “Know that it's all worth it.  The studying, getting up to go to class, doing and studying things that you think you will never need for anything.  Once you graduate, you will have a degree that is respected by employers.  You can take what you learned at Southern Polytechnic and apply it on the job immediately.  By completing your degree, you are saying, "I can do what it takes.  I finish what I start."  That means a great deal today.”

The faculty

The faculty figured prominently in alumni comments about their success.      

One wrote:  “[My] keys to success as an SPSU student?  Determination, hard work, and excellent faculty.”

Another response:  “[One of my keys to success was]…Having cheerful guidance and praise …  from [faculty like] Jim Fausett…”

This graduate was even more specific: “When I was a student, I always disturbed Dr. Bob Harbort for everything, and he was always very helpful…not only [to] me but also [to] other students.  [We] adopted him as our guardian, a counselor, and a great guide….”

Other alumni offered advice to current students:

“While at SPSU, do not view your professors as [people] who [are] there to trick you and embarrass you but more as a fantastic resource for you to obtain as much knowledge as you possibly can gather.”

And there seemed to be some broad agreement on this piece of advice:  “Do not avoid … teacher[s] just because they are hard.  You will often learn more from them than the easy teacher[s].”

Another writer echoed that observation:  “Often the professors that have a reputation as being "hard" are the ones you want.”

The staff

The responses from graduates also emphasized the important role that staff had in their success.

Some alumni took the broad view of this: “Everyone…the administrative assistant[s], professors, librarians, campus security… always seemed to go out of their way to help with whatever I needed at the time.”

Another advised:  “If you have problems, get help immediately.  The staff is very helpful.  They want you to be successful.”

Someone else put it this way: “ Don’t forget the people who make the place run. i.e.; maintenance, support, and the local community.”

Another observed that students should “…build relationships with … staff in key departments…it is so much easier to solve problems when you have a relationship with the person who can fix it.”

This comment is similar: “The rule of getting to know the [people] around you extends to the staff on campus as well. That includes the staff in the post-office, the plant-ops personnel, the financial aid office [staff], the IT department technicians, the academic department heads, and of course the administrative directors who run SPSU… They do a lot around the campus that you take for granted, and you may just depend on one of these people some day for a favor or to get critical information about the state of your academic career.”

And one graduate took the opportunity to add:  “…let me also say "thanks" for the assistance provided to me … by … Bennie Sue Houck.”

In general, this advice is excellent – you never know when you’re going to need some help from staff…or, for that matter, what kind of help you might need.

Other students

Alumni also emphasized the value of learning from other students.

One graduate wrote:  “I wish I had started my program of study appreciating my fellow classmates talents and diversity.  As I progressed through my courses, I realized the knowledge that I was gaining was not only from the classes but also from my classmates.”

The diversity of our students was a common theme:  “[Knowing you’re at school to learn] seemed to be the general m.o. of a lot of the adult students (and thank God SPSU has lots of ‘em), and their general dedication to getting work done helped foster the atmosphere of learning.”

“Take some night classes,” another alumnus advised,  “that will allow you to meet and partner with other students who are already in the work[force].”

And this graduate offered specific advice about working with your fellow students:  “[When] doing a group project,” he wrote, “ it's best to pick people for your group [who] know what to do rather than picking your friends who are clueless on what to do.”

Become involved in campus activities

Becoming involved in campus organizations and activities outside of the classroom also figured prominently in comments from graduates. 

Alumni mentioned lots of specific opportunities for involvement that were useful to them such as student competition teams and local chapters of professional societies, like IEEE, fraternities, and sororities.

A number of alumni mentioned that “…the rec center is a great place for activity that promotes healthy thinking and general well-being….”

A graduate who is now a project manager with a major construction company also emphasized the advice to [quote] “…Take advantage of opportunities to learn outside of the classroom setting [like field trips]… I knew there were things that I needed more exposure to so, I got to know the professor [who] specialized in that area. I asked him to e-mail me his field trip schedule each semester, so I went on several field trips that I was not required to attend. The industry contacts have actually helped me in my current job. (FYI, other students did laugh at me at the time, but now my salary is higher than theirs and I still have some classmates [who] call me for assistance.)”

Another alum added, “One bonus of getting involved with a club or organization is that you will begin to take an interest in how politics and money work within the university—which will help you understand how such things work when you get into the real world.”

Work experience

An important theme among successful alumni is the job experience they got while they were students.  Here is a sample of the testimonials:

“Southern Tech’s Co-op Program was my salvation.”

“In retrospect, I wish I would have gotten an opportunity to do more co-ops, paying internships, or work with professors or professionals at the university who had more real world experience.”

And

“[My advice is] very simple...do NOT graduate without having worked in your field of study first…. Working as a waiter for 4 years and then trying to get a job as an engineer is not going to help [your career].” 

Curricular factors

A number of alumni observed that they wished they had gotten more interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary exposure as students.  Architecture majors now wish they had learned more about building construction, business majors wish they had learned more about industrial engineering, and construction management majors wish they had studied more business.

One graduate offered some good advice about this…  “I was fortunate to have a group of friends that helped one another study.  We were all in different majors, some electrical engineering, some civil engineering, myself in computer science, but the core classes overlapped and sometimes so did the major classes.  Things that one of my friends had learned in electrical engineering applied to my physics classes.  Things that I had … in computer science helped them in their computer class in the EE department.  Seek out study friends and use each other's knowledge.”

Alumni also recommended a broader appreciation for courses outside of the major:

One wrote:  “Take time to value and appreciate your humanities courses (history, literature, psychology, sociology), not just the technical, engineering curricula. These will help to make you a good communicator and an empathic leader of people and therefore a prized commodity in a field where too many see soft skills as unnecessary "fluff."”

Another expressed regret:  “I blew off courses I considered "soft" or non-technical.  As a senior manager at a large firm today, the content of those courses (behavioral science, public speaking, etc.) are even more relevant than technical ones.”

Yet another advised, “Take every class seriously, even the ones that you are not particularly interested in. You never know where you may end up after SPSU. It's actually funny; classes that I had no interest in are the ones that got me my job.”

Specific learning skills

Some alumni focused on the importance of specific learning skills.

Asking questions figures prominently.

For example, [quote] “For new students…coming from high school, you may not want to stand out by asking a lot of questions – so instead you’ll pretend not to care, act nonchalant, or whatever else maintains the cool factor – but in the long run it hurts your learning process.”

Graduates also think it is important where students sit.

One wrote, “…get to class early so that you can get a front row seat (these are expensive at concerts and other events)”

Similarly, from a graduate who has become an adjunct professor himself: “Sitting in the rear of the class is suicide.  It becomes much easier to tune out what the professor is saying in the back of the classroom, than it is when you are near the front and can be almost eye to eye with the professor…there is a strong correlation between those [who] sit in the rear and [lower] grades.”

A number of people emphasized the importance of life-long learning:  “Learning how to learn is more important then knowledge itself. Ability to adapt is the key to success, because technology is changing every day.”

Others focused on the importance of taking responsibility for your own education:  “…be prepared to learn on your own and to consult the proper resources for your answers. Mommy and Daddy should NOT be a crutch to your learning, so don’t expect them to call up the college about your professor because you failed a test.”

Several alumni commented on the importance of risk-taking.      

“Be willing to take risks and don’t be afraid of falling,”  one wrote.

And another – presumably older - graduate put it this way,  “Taking [risks] is not as risky as it appears to the young mind at first;  therefore, if  [I had] to do it over again, I’d have taken more risk sooner.”

A senior engineer at an international construction company offered this observation:  “I made use of the library.  I was not bashful about asking Mr. John Patillo, the librarian during my tenure as a student, for books related to my subject matter.  Mr. Patillo once advised me that the first edition of a textbook was written for students and that succeeding editions were written for the publisher.  I found his advice to be true.  One of my first acts in many courses was to check out the first edition of the textbook.  It was not unusual that I kept renewing the first edition for the entire quarter, using it for my studies as opposed to the assigned edition.”

Time management

The alumni offered lots of comments about the challenges of finding a balance between work and school – and family. 

One graduate said simply, “I wish I had known how to use my time more wisely.”

From another:  “It took my first two years to realize that a part-time job was the means for me to pay for college and not an excuse for me to shirk my homework and studying.”

And, “What was difficult…was learning to juggle my job (which was full time) and my school work load (which was nearly [always] full time …).  …an introductory course in time management…would benefit all students.”

And from another graduate:  “The absolute best advice I would give students, both undergraduate and graduate level, is to MASTER TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS!  This cannot be emphasized enough as our society places pressure on us to do everything, achieve everything, and be everywhere.”

Some offered specific advice to students:  “Do a little studying, a little project work, and a little socializing.  Doing too much studying or work will drive you nuts;  too much socializing will drive your GPA down.”

And:  “Set aside a quiet time for study every day (minimum 2 hours).”

And another:  “…schedule time to enjoy your college years (and support the Hornets!).”

And from a recent graduate, the advice to current students is very simple:  “Take SPSU Hitchhikers Guide.”

Interpersonal and social skills

A number of graduates commented on interpersonal and social skills.

One expressed a wish that he had “…listened more to the people around me.  Getting along with, listening to, and motivating people is a far better predictor of your future than getting an A.”

Another wrote, “Relationship building, especially working in teams, can be far more important to the success of your career than the knowledge you learn in a class room setting.”

Another wrote:  “…. a big [piece of advice] for engineer types:  the person with the best people skills wins.“

On the other hand, it’s possible to have too much of a good thing.  From the vice president of a financial management company: “If you treat this as [a party school], you will fail to graduate.”

Another graduate observed:  “Being well-rounded is a great asset, but you don't graduate based on how many friends you make.”

And then there is this comment:  “… I have seen many a student become consumed with the social side, thus neglecting the work side, which often begins a chain of events that ends with the words ‘do you want fries with that?’”

Communication skills

For many alumni, if they could give current students just one piece of advice, it would be the importance of communication skills.

Here are just a few examples:

“… learn to express your thoughts clearly.  You will need this skill more than any other in all of your future endeavors.”

“Public Speaking class isn't just a graduation requirement, take it seriously. It will end up being one of the most important classes you take.”

“[Learn how] to communicate effectively.  …the most important skills to have other than your major [are] reading, writing, and speaking. People with solid technical knowledge along with good communication skills are the folks that move up in an organization.”

“… work on your verbal communication skills.  I think that's one area that … engineering students are sometimes deficient in, but it is extremely important in today's workforce.  We are no longer just engineers who sit and crunch numbers, we need to have great social and verbal skills as well.”

“English Class is as important, if not more important, than core classes in your major. Business today is looking for people [who] can communicate in an effective, concise and timely manner. My introduction to this was at SPSU where I made an A on my first EET Lab on content and an F on presentation.”

“Communication skills are very important both during interviews and throughout your career.  Start early and learn how to speak in public and during one-on-one interviews.  I would suggest getting involved in toastmasters or something similar.  I can't stress enough how important it is to be able to present yourself well in the workplace.  If you master this skill, you can even overcome some shortfalls in grades.” 

“… I want to emphasize the importance of effective communication.  It is not enough to be able to perform an analysis or field work; one must be able to explain it in a coherent manner and draw conclusions and recommendations based on that work. … .  I would encourage students to take technical writing and presentation courses and consider them to be an integral part of their education.  To get ahead in business, as in life, one must be able to communicate effectively.  I have seen many very intelligent individuals (some PhDs) overlooked for promotions..., because they could not effectively communicate their brilliant ideas, conclusions, solutions.” 

And this advice is not limited to communication in English.  Another graduate wrote:  “Learn how to speak another language fluently, besides English or your own.  The world and career marketplace are global.”

A mixed message from alumni about grades

Interestingly, one of the most significant differences of opinion, among alumni, was about the importance of grades.

Among those who emphasized the importance of grades, alumni wrote:

“…students should know that GPA DOES matter.  Even now (I graduated 17 years ago), the fact that I graduated with honors is a boost on my resume and puts me ahead of many others in the hiring process.”

And

“Potential employers do look at GPA as an indicator of both work ethic and intelligence.”

And

“Believe it or not, your salary is based on grade point average.  Some companies only hire a certain level GPA.”

Other alumni, however, feel equally strongly that [quote] “It’s not about the grade, but what you learn that counts.”

Another alum wrote: “Learning first, grades second.  After your first job, grades don’t matter.”

One graduate – now completing a PhD – wrote, “If I could, I’d go back in time and tell [my younger self] to quit worrying about grades so much….Don’t gripe to your teachers about grades and certainly don’t let it keep you up at night.  Convince yourself you came to school to learn, not make straight A’s.”

Or:

“Given a choice between a graduate with no experience and a 3.8 GPA and a graduate with a 2.5 GPA and a year of co-op experience, the experience will trump the GPA any day.”

Another graduate noted, “…I graduated with only a 2.8 GPA.   Not the best in the world, but in reality I was never asked for my GPA or a copy of my transcript.” 

And another alum wrote, “In retrospect, I would have worried less about my grades (i.e. making A's), than about understanding the big picture no matter what the topic… understanding a subject is more important than remembering all of the details.”

What may be most helpful here is not the advice itself – which clearly conflicts – but the encouragement for each student to think about the question of how to find the balance between learning and grading that will work for you.

Job preparation

Job and career preparation also dominated the advice from many alumni – understandably, given SPSU’s outstanding preparation for graduating people ready to enter the workforce. 

One common theme from alumni was that, if you are interested in taking the EIT or other licensing exams, do so at your earliest opportunity.  Don’t wait!

Another major theme is that graduates who participated in a co-op or internship program were glad – and those who didn’t, wished they had.

This is just one example, which comes from an engineer at Lockheed-Martin – the largest employer of our graduates.  “The best thing I ever did was to participate in the co-op program.  There's nothing like real world work experience to help one decide what is (or isn't) right for them.  This work experience not only helped me in this regard, but really boosted my usefulness to my new employer and resulted in a higher starting salary than many of my peers.”

A graduate who works for an international company echoes this:  “Take the opportunity to become well rounded!  Several specific areas lacking with engineers are speaking, finance, and languages.  There are a million really good engineers practicing today, but only a handful are confident enough to stand in front of an audience and explain their position.  Also, the financial aspects of a project are every bit as important as the technical.  Learn this.  Understand that if it doesn’t make financial sense, it will never be built.  Learn a foreign language – the world is a much smaller place than it used to be.”

Many alumni recommend using the resources available through the Career and Counseling Center:

“I wish I had made the best out of Career Services….”

“Get to know the placement counselors and make sure they know you on a first name basis.  Check with them often throughout your college career.”

“…go see ...Ms. McDonald in the career center ASAP.”

One other piece of advice is relevant here:  Be careful what you put on the Web.  An alumnus who is a Senior Program manager for Yahoo!  offered this comment:  “I won’t hesitate in looking you up on the Internet and find out more about your background if you want to work for me.  Beware of what you blog!!  If you blog about partying and drinking excessively, or if you have any other kind of ‘questionable’ activities you like to share in public, chances are I won’t hire you.”

Miscellaneous advice

Given the diverse experience and perspectives that our alumni bring to the task of offering advice to current students, you know there will be some comments that defy classification. 

Here are a few additional pieces of advice:

“Live on campus…”

“…don’t forget to call home at least once every two weeks”

“…always try to eat breakfast.”

“Do not apply for credit cards. Not even one!”

“Don't forget retirement planning very early. Learn to save and invest early and for the long haul. Get good advice (if you can find it). The 401k is the best deal around; use it to the max.”

And then, one alumnus, reflecting on his own academic career, wrote:  “[In retrospect, I would]…Probably spend[ing] less time being the all-time bathtub racing champion and more time studying.”

Comparing faculty/staff and alumni comments

As I noted earlier, faculty and staff also offered advice to students.  Most of their comments were reflected in that early summary of what helps any student be successful.  However, I found a couple of particularly interesting comparisons between what the faculty and staff sent me – and what the alumni sent.

One example is the syllabus.  Studying and knowing the syllabus figured prominently in the advice from the 23 faculty and staff who responded.   In fact, those 23 faculty and staff mentioned “syllabus” more often than the word was mentioned in advice from 200 alumni.  There might be a message there for current students – or the faculty.

Among the 200 alumni who offered advice, the idea of finding what you are passionate about, of loving what you do, of figuring out where your passion lies, was mentioned nearly 30 times.   Do you know how often this was mentioned by the faculty and staff?

Once.  Just one time.

I think there is a message here, too.  Our alumni really care about being engaged in work they really care about.  I believe that all of us here at Southern Polytechnic have a profound responsibility to help you students find out what your passions may be.  This means advising is much more than selecting a course schedule for next semester – and the impact lasts longer.   Much longer.  A lifetime.

We all need to take that responsibility seriously.  Most of us work here at SPSU because we have a passion for education, for our academic disciplines, and for being part of the way in which educating students contributes to making the world a better place.

Part of our job is clearly to help you students find your passion, too.

Testimonials from alumni

As alumni shared advice for current students, they also offered some comments about their education, their lives, and Southern Polytechnic.  As I conclude my remarks, I’d like to share a few of these with you.

For example:  “… SPSU is a great school that will give you the basic skills and training to create the best value for your future employers or for you, if you want to run your own company.”   (signed by a graduate who identified himself as “semi retired at age 63 and thankful that I attended Southern Tech”).

Another graduate signed her e-mail with “TCOM Class of 1995 (best move I ever made--professionally and personally)”

Another alumnus had this to say:

“One thing … that speaks higher than anything else about my education is the fact that [the person] who hired me out of SPSU, rehired me 13 years later and his son … is now a freshman at SPSU. SPSU must have done a decent job with me if [he] thought so highly of me to hire me twice in my career and then suggest my Alma Mater to his son.”

A graduate who has stayed connected with the University had this to say:  “I am just now realizing what SPSU has done for me in my career.  I started realizing it a little in the mid-90s when I went back for a second degree.  If I could I’d go back for a third [degree] – of course, my family might have something to say about it…. Don’t think of SPSU as another 4 years that’s just in the way of beginning your professional and personal life, but a slingshot that will propel you into a highly respected community of professionals, all with a strong educational platform to help you be successful if you take the opportunity.”

And:  “I have been blessed to attend some of the best universities in our country and Europe at all levels. None were better my experience at SPSU.”

Several alumni are clearly helping us recruit new students.

One wrote:  “This is truly a great institution and I’m in the process of sending application forms to my home country…to encourage more students to join SPSU.”

Another asks this of current students:  “Tell all of your friends [who are] still in high school about SPSU.”

One of our recent graduates directed his final comments, as I direct mine, to current students:

“As you build your future, there will not always be a path. Many of you may need to build your own solution. "Imagination, Innovation, Application," as declared on our university's seal.  SPSU is a formula for success in your future.”

We’re going to have a great academic year.  Thanks for being here today.