Achieve your dreams by setting goals

Remarks by Spencer LeDoux
Student Commencement Speaker Spring 2009

Read more about Spencer LeDoux

Good evening graduating class of 2009 and your friends and family.

Before I get started, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the professors in the department of Anthropology. I specifically want to thank Dr. Conlee who introduced me to archaeology and Dr. Bousman who taught me practical archaeology skills and provided balance as I explored different archaeological theories. My deepest thanks go to Dr. Reilly who revealed to me a realm of concepts and ideas in archaeology that I never dreamed existed. Thank you for showing me the path, Dr. Reilly.

Graduates: congratulations on this accomplishment. Now that we are graduating, we are completing something that has become a rite of passage in our culture. We are following in the footsteps of millions before us who have already earned their degrees. We are moving from the realm of education to the “real world.” We have been shaped and molded by our education here at Texas State.

However, we are not all the same. Some are liberal, others are conservative; some are athletic, some are not; some are outgoing, others are shy. We are products of our past. As an archaeologist, I perceive the importance of the past and its influence on the present is an unavoidable truth. Our past experiences, for better or worse, have made us into who we are today. The past is not a dead series of events but a living and active process. As new events become part of us, older events can be reexamined. Therefore, the past can explain who we are, but it can never be used to excuse who we are!

Most of this rite of passage (this graduation ceremony), however, is not looking at who we are, but who we will become. Up to this point (and to mention a few trite platitudes), your relatives and teachers have often spoken of “following your heart” or “pursuing your dreams.” Graduation marks the end of that kind of thinking. As a former employee of several large companies, I can guarantee you that most employers could care less about your dreams. From now on, most of you will hear talk about goals or action plans that need to be implemented. Employers recognize that dreams are vague notions that contain little inherent motivation. Goals and plans are conscious activities that involve hard work and persistence. Note that both dreams and goals focus on an idealized future; however, one is wishful thinking and the other is worked for. So, whatever you choose to do in your future, do NOT be a dreamer; be a do-er. Before coming to Texas State, I worked in Japan for three and a half years. Now, I am about to enter graduate school, even though I have a wife and two children to support. I did not accomplish these “dreams” through any inherent ability in myself but by setting goals and working to accomplish them. Everyone in this auditorium has the same potential to transform their so-called dreams into concrete plans that can be realized.

As you move off into an uncertain future, do not try to lose your past because it will never disappear. Instead, acknowledge your past and how it has shaped you; then use it to motivate you to be who you want to be. Be self-defined, be motivated, and strive to accomplish whatever you set your mind to. Congratulations again, graduating class of 2009.