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WILKES-BARRE TWP. — A former WNEP-TV news anchor told more than 800 graduates on Tuesday to follow their dreams, but it’s OK to stay local, while the college president reminded them of the importance of kindness.
With glittery mortarboards sporting phrases such as “I did it” and “I eaRNed it” atop the heads of graduates filling the floor of Mohegan Sun Arena for Luzerne County Community College’s 49th annual commencement, college President Thomas Leary added one more important achievement to the graduates’ list during his opening speech: showing kindness.
“In the beginning of this year our leaders in student government proposed a theme for our 50th anniversary,” he said. “The theme is to do 50 acts of kindness. A simple, but profound quality for all during the high points — and disappointments — in life.”
Leary told the group that being kind will have a lasting effect not only on themselves, but on the people that surround them.
Keynote speaker Marisa Burke began her speech by taking the audience back in time to her first television news gig in Virginia. The Danville native spoke of a time when she was one of four women living together.
Money was short and her parents weren’t overly fond of the idea, but the job was a starting point for what would become a thriving career. After spending more than a year in Virginia, Burke made the decision to return back to Northeast Pennsylvania to pursue her dream job.
She told the graduates how she and her roommates held a party with the theme being to dress as their final destination. Burke explained how one roommate wanted to be a news anchor on the beach, only to end up living in Alaska. Another, she said, wanted to live in a big city as a musician. Burke said she became a librarian and remained in Virginia.
“As for me, well, you know how I ended up,” she said. “So what was I dressed as at the destination party? I carried around a suitcase with a cheesy-looking WNEP ‘Proud to Serve’ bumper sticker on it.”
Drawing chuckles, Burke said she wanted to tell the story to remind graduates that no person can truly know where their lives will take them. She said that her case is generally the exception, adding that she was the only one out of her roommates that had actually reached their desired destination.
Another topic the broadcaster discussed was staying local.
While Burke admitted that often people of the region hear others complain about NEPA — particularly it’s job growth and lack of good salaries — she told the graduates that 80 percent of them will remain here, and it’s OK to do so.
“Our region will continue to need auto mechanics, dental hygienists, police officers. Our area will continue to need teachers, social workers and yes, even journalists,” she said. Remember, friends, being home grown is nothing to be ashamed of. Growing up here and making this your home should be your benefit.”
Burke concluded by telling the graduating class to be kind and seize the moment, and that it’s OK to self-doubt, make mistakes and test their weaknesses.
Her final advice to grads?
“Put down the smartphone every once in awhile and let your mind breathe,” she said to a roar of applause and cheers from the crowd. “You will be amazed at what is truly out there in the real world beyond text messages, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.”
In the graduate address, Jennifer Kolessar, a 35-year-old mother of three, spoke to her classmates about her life, trials and tribulations, and how she ended up back in the classroom nearly 10 years after entering school for the first time to make a better life for her family.
As she neared the completion of her speech, Kolessar got teary-eyed as she thanked her fiancee and children for their continued support, moving the audience to a standing ovation. The general studies graduate was one of 15 to graduate Summa Cum Laude. She plans to continue her education with a doctorate degree in psychology.
“Luzerne County Community College has given me more than knowledge,” she said. “It has given me hope, and the ability to dream again.”
