Speaking to what he hopes will become ?the next ?Greatest Generation?,? U.S. Sen. Jim Talent told graduates at North Central Missouri College to continue the thinking that has brought them this far and to remember to concentrate on more than professional success.
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Speaking to what he hopes will become ?the next ?Greatest Generation?,? U.S. Sen. Jim Talent told graduates at North Central Missouri College to continue the thinking that has brought them this far and to remember to concentrate on more than professional success.
?Let the thinking that led you this far become a pattern in your life,? said Sen. Talent, speaking to the Class of 2004 during Saturday?s event in the Ketcham Community Center. Talent said that change is all around us, from education to economics to health care.
?Many people view change as their enemy,? he said. ?By attending this school you realize that change is opportunity.?
Sen. Talent also encouraged students to be sure they are focusing on more than career success.
?Don?t concentrate just on being successful. Concentrate on being the kind of person who stands up for what is right and watch out for the small things in life,? he said, reminding students that ?nobody achieves greatness or infamy in one leap. It is a step by step process.?
Sen Talent went on to quote J.C. Watts? definition of character: ?Doing what is right when no one is looking? and told the story of Steven L. Bennett, who served in Vietnam. Bennett, an aircraft pilot in Vietnam, had to decide on June 29, 1972 whether to ditch his aircraft in the water and possibly save his passenger (whose parachute had been shredded by a surface-to-air missile) or to eject himself from the plane and allow the passenger no chance for survival. Bennett selflessly ditched the aircraft, losing his life but in the process allowing the passenger to be rescued.
Sen. Talent noted that Bennett did not have time to react, he had to know what was right in the time of crisis. He had been faithful in small things and because much had been given to him, much was required. The graduates, too, he said, will face great tests and will need to act with loyalty and selflessness.
Sen. Talent went on to say that his son?s football coach exhorts him about doing his best because how you practice will determine how you play in the game.
?What?s true in football is true in life,? he said. ?When testing comes, we will play the way we practice.?
Sen. Talent paid tribute to his father?s generation, which has been called the ?Greatest Generation? and said the graduates should take the education they have received and use it to be successful in all areas of their lives.
?I wish you success, but more than that, I wish you victory in the great moments of true testing,? he said. ?We need a new ?Greatest Generation? to lead us,? he said.
In addition to Sen. Talent, NCMC President Dr. Walter Nolte addressed the graduates and their families. As has become his custom, Dr. Nolte pointed out the diversity of the class as well as its common connections. The class included 98 men and 191 women, with an average age of 27. The ?most mature? student was Bonnie McAtee of Milan, age 60, with the youngest student being 17-year-old John Rockhold of Mooresvillle. Dr. Nolte listed several family connections among the graduates. He also recognized Jackquline Wyant of Trenton, an NCMC employee, who began her coursework at Trenton Junior College in 1981 and after returning to classes in recent years, received her degree on Saturday.
Katherine Estes, president of the NCMC Student Senate, gave the evocation and presented the class and Chris Hoffman, a member of the board of trustees and a graduate of the college, gave the alumni welcome, assuring students that the education they have received at NCMC will serve them well.
AD Pinning Ceremony
Twenty students received pins during ceremonies for the NCMC Associate Degree Nursing Program, held Saturday afternoon at the Ketcham Community Center.
Recognized for having the highest grade point average in the class was Lisa Prindle. High GPA honors went to Flor Brown and Randall Kieffer.
Highest honors in clinical went to Stefanie Wright. High honors were awarded to Ashley Rinehart and Jamie Estes.
Presentation of awards was made by instructors LeNell Dalrymple and Georgia Schilling, who also participating in the pinning along with instructor Teresa Doss. Ms. Brown presented the class composite to Associate Dean of Nursing Janet Vanderpool and Becky Munroe presented special entertainment, singing ?One Moment in Time? A slide show highlighting activities of the past year was also shown.