Michael Holly Addresses the Graduating Class of Avoyelles Public Charter School

May 17, 2010

The leaders of Avoyelles Public Charter School invited Michael Holly AIA to deliver the commencement address for their 2010 graduating class. This is the third class to graduate from this charter school which was designed by Holly & Smith Architects. The firm considers it a tribute to be invited to be a part of the graduation occasion. This tribute extends to the entire design team that participated in this award winning complex. The text of this address is as follows:

Commencement Address
Avoyelles Public Charter Schools
May 10, 2010

What an honor it is to be here to deliver a message to you. After pondering this awesome responsibility, I realized that for the most part, this address should be to the graduates, and I do have a few things in mind that I would like to share.

First, I would like to recognize this very special place and the people that have made it what it is. I am always in awe of what is going on here. Education is alive and well at Avoyelles Public Charter School. You see the happenings here every day, and maybe you don’t think about how truly wonderful your school is, as it is probably difficult for you to see and compare.

Take it from someone on the outside, who has been engaged with educational facilities for over 30 years, I would just like to underscore the specialness of this institution. You should thank those responsible every day for what this school brings to this community and what it has delivered to you. It is a shining star statewide and as the future materializes, I suspect, if not already, nationally.

Congratulations to all of you. As Mr. Roy said, “Holly & Smith Architects were the designers of this building.” It is not the building however that makes an education, the building just follows and supports the program. You and your teachers are this school and exceptional recognition should be given to those who lead here.
Now…..graduates!!!!!
As an architect I am a firm believer in the notion that special places create wonderful memories, and memories create lasting support. That support repays the entity that gave you these special memories. I would like to say to you that “you owe” a lot to many people and things. But, more on that in a little while………..

In considering what I was going to say, I came to the realization that this address should be about self discovery.

One always has to reach inside to define who you are in order to deal with:
- The reality of the world in front of you,
- To define where you are going, and
- To determine how you are to contribute.
Without that self reflection and understanding, there is no foundation to be successful.
I think it is important that one defines their mission in life. Over time, I developed my own personal mission statement. After much consternation and who-ha, it resulted in a simple message to me. It all boiled down to this, a phrase you have heard before:

“Leave it better than you found it”.

- Living life is about service to others and
- In doing so, you will be served exponentially.

You know, I try to read something outside of my discipline every day, so the first thing I would tell you is that you are both blessed and challenged:

- Blessed, because you are in a great current of technology that seems to exponentially expand as time passes. You, within the next ten years will be using technology and knowledge that is not even invented today.

I call young folks who come to work for our office today “screen agers”, because they literally grew up with a computer screen in their face and knew no other reality. The opportunities that technology brings to you today and in the future are boundless.

- Challenged, because this very technology could, if not used or directed well, shortcut your understanding of the world. So use it wisely. Do not let technology through comfortable entertainment supplant the necessity to read and as a result expand your boundaries. Reading is the gateway to expanding your understanding of the world and discovering what is of interest to you.

My recent readings include a small book written by Daniel Pink. Mr. Pink is an internationally known author. He lectures to corporations, associations, and universities around the world on economic transformations and the changing world of work. I learned in this piece his 6 lessons or 6 career secrets no one ever told you. It is a focused group of thoughts about being successful. I then realized someone was looking out for me; as this was tailored for this event.
So with the assistance of Mr. Daniel Pink, here goes:

Lesson One: There is no plan
You can’t sit here at age 17 or 18 and tell me that you know exactly where you are going and what you are going to do. It’s nice to believe that you can map out every step of the rest of your life and know where you are going to land. But it just will not happen!
This world is changing so fast that in 10 years the job you think you want might be moved to India or the industry might not even exist. You need to make smart decisions for fundamental reasons. The smart decisions are to study areas that are of interest, not areas that will simply give you security.
You will only be mediocre and probably unhappy if you do not follow your passion. So, to find intrinsic interests creates natural motivation, natural motivation deepens interest and insures success.

Lesson Two: Think strengths not weaknesses
This is simple; do not spend your time dwelling on your weaknesses. No one ever found success by worrying about their shortcomings. Take full advantage of your strengths. What do you do consistently well? What gives you energy rather than drains it? What sort of activities create “flow for you?
The answer to these questions will point you to deep accomplishment and development of passions that will serve you well in your life.

Lesson Three: It’s not about you
You cannot be totally egocentric and expect to succeed in society. As you use your strengths, it’s not about how they make you a better person; it is rather how they make you a better person to serve others within our social village.
You see, you are on this Earth to serve others, not to self actualize. It’s about how you serve others in teamwork or directly for clients or customers. It’s about accomplishing things for a common purpose.
The most valuable people in any job bring out the best in others. The most successful people improve their own lives by improving other’s lives.

Lesson Four: Persistence trumps talent
In our office, every day we will select or reward an employee that is persistent more than talented. The home run is to have one who is talented and persistent. But if we have to choose, persistence wins every time.
The people who achieve the most are often the ones who stick with it when others don’t. They show up and they do three things very well, they practice, they practice and they practice some more. They make a commitment to their work which is their passion. They spend the time to get the work done well, whatever the cost.
That is why they do so well in whatever path they choose. The world is littered with talented people who did not persist.
So it’s all exponential:
- Intrinsic motivation promotes success (Lesson 1),
- Concentrating on strengths creates flow, flow develops passion (Lesson 2),
- The more you do for others, the more you get in return (Lesson 3), and
- The more intrinsic motivation there is, the more likely one is to persist. The more you persist, the more likely you are to succeed (Lesson 4).

Lesson Five: Make excellent mistakes
Too many people spend their time trying to avoid mistakes. Don’t be concerned about being wrong. Avoiding failure is a crummy way to achieve success; rather it is successful people who make spectacular mistakes. Why? Because they are trying to do something big. Each time they make a mistake they get a little better and move closer to excellence. I’m not talking about making random and regular mistakes; I am referring to calculated thought-filled mistakes that take your thinking to the next level.
You will not be successful without testing your ideas. So, avoiding failure will never allow you to do those tests.

Lesson Six: Leave an imprint.
You are all very young now. But when you are older, and look back on your life, you may ask yourself questions:
- Did I make a difference?
- Did I contribute?
- Did my being here matter?
- Did I do something that left an imprint?
The other five lessons are crucial to your own success. But, truly successful people deploy them in service of something larger than themselves.

That leads me back to “You Owe”: You are about to embark on a fabulous journey. It will be an exciting time. It will be full of wonder. It will be charged with energy. It will be as big, as deep, and as far reaching as you want to make it.
All of these are your choices for making your own personal imprint.
Regardless, as you move forward, remember where you got that start, remember who gave it to you and remember where you came from. Remember to give back, because you owe.

I’m going to say that again YOU OWE!
- You owe your parents for giving you the opportunity to get this extraordinary education.
- You owe your school for giving you the unique preparation that you now have.
- You owe your community just because that is where you came from.

You pay your debt to your parents, simply by being successful, making them proud of you and taking care of them when they need you.
You pay your debt to your school by supporting them when you are gone and making sure that they are successful in the future, so that they can give others what they gave to you.
You pay your debt to your community by offering service back to that society that brought you to this place in time. This will allow you to leave your imprint.
And you do it all by leaving it better than you found it.
I would like to thank Mr. Pink for the inspiration. I find his thoughts to be powerfully appropriate for this occasion.
Congratulations to all of you and to your parents, to this wonderful school for being here for you and to this society of people for knowing the importance of education.
I wish you luck and Godspeed.

Thank you
Michael Holly AIA NCARB
President
Holly & Smith Architects APAC

Pink, Daniel H. (2008) The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The last career guide you’ll ever need. New York, New York: The Penguin Group.