I want to say how honoured I am to have been chosen as the School of Education, Health and Wellness valedictorian. I would like to say a few thank-yous. Thank-you everyone for coming today. I would like to thank all of the faculty who have helped us the students over the last two years. You are one of the main reasons that Fleming is such a special college. I would also like to thank Paula Weisflock for being an inspiration and motivator in her role as teacher and program co-ordinator.

History dictates that a valedictorian speech is supposed to be a farewell to graduates….it is supposed to be thought provoking and inspiring.  They usually have quotes from JFK and Sir Winston Churchill… but when I try and quote Churchhill I always end up sounding like Sean Connery… so I’ll skip this part.

 The speech is also a reflection of our time in school.  I have chosen to reflect about my own few years at Fleming College and expect many of the points will mimic your own experiences.  So here is my reflection and I hope my message will turn out to be thought provoking and inspirational. 

I went to college, I witnessed bravery,... I saw courage.

I take you back to the first day of class.  The first thing our professor asked is that we each stand up, introduce ourselves and tell the class a little bit about ourselves.  As if we all weren’t already nervous enough!  So one by one we each stood up to the scrutiny of the class and told our stories.  I’m so and so and I graduated high school in 2007 or 2008 and so on…When my turn came, I introduced myself.  Hi, I’m Cameron Berry, I graduated from high school in 1993 (many of you were just learning to walk).  I am married and I also have two little girls, Jenny and Cassie. Both my daughters have made me a special promise, to stay little girls forever…. Strange… I always get a chuckle or two when I say that… it’s as if someone knows something I don’t...

   Anyways… I saw brave new students introduce themselves that first time to the group they were going to spend the next two years with.

Women who had been stay at home moms for years had decided it was time for them to go back to school and start a new career. ….that showed courage!  Young students at college right out of high school or living outside of their parent’s houses for the first time….that showed courage!

We had some international students as classmates.  Some of them spoke English as their second language….they were away from their homelands in a new environment….that showed courage!  

On top of that, part of our curriculum is learning the “Language of Medicine”  so let’s throw that new language on them as well “hyperhidrosis… excessive sweating leading to xerostomia… dry mouth”…..I barely understood what the teachers were saying and I have spoken English all my life!   As I got to know these International students better I learned more about the financial commitment for an International student and was amazed!  They face huge debt and it takes a lot of courage to face that kind of situation.

My wife, Joanne inspires another type of courage that many of you can relate to…many students are  married or have a life partner…when you decide to return to school, you put all of the income earning financial responsibility squarely on their shoulders.  This takes a concerted effort of courage by all!

As the first year went on and we all got to know our classmates better we became able to recognize when they felt that they were way out of their comfort zone.  And the most common situation when this happened was during PRESENTATIONS ! Yikes! Who actually WANTS to get up in front of people and speak? It takes a lot of courage!…..we all got through it though…

In our second term we had the opportunity to go out and take part in a two week job placement. Suddenly we started to see … OH THAT is why we learned that….now I understand!  My placement was tough … with the person in charge of me challenging and testing everything I had learned… she kept me hopping EVERY day. I thank her for every second that she put me to the test.  It made me a better student.

So we finished year one and everyone was feeling comfortable by this time that we had made the right program choices and had been successful in completing a major component of our programs. We came, we survived, we thought we were ready for year two!

Boy were we wrong.

As the summer came to an end, ominous news reports were circulating regarding a potential college support staff strike which did in fact occur.  Frustration, even anger was being felt by all, staff and students alike. But here I witnessed another form of courage; people sticking to their beliefs even in the face of anger and confrontation and taking a stand on what they believed in.  It made the long waits to enter the college property a little easier.

Then as well last fall, a bomb dropped on an already shaken up class. One of our teachers had been away all of the first week of school, but now our coordinator stood before us and  told us that Linda had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and only had a few months or even weeks to live. Wow! Why her? She was one of the nicest teachers we had! She cared about us. Her passion for her career in health care was an inspiration for us. We felt like we wanted to be just like her when we grew up.  It just wasn’t fair. . . as more details came out about the severity and extent of her illness we learned that she had decided to forgo treatment and was going home from the hospital to be treated palliatively. She decided to meet death on her own terms. Courage?....you bet.

In her honour and with her blessing, we produced a cookbook we entitled “cookbook for cancer” and the 5000.00 proceeds were donated to the Oshawa Hospital Foundation-palliative care cancer unit, the charity she chose.  She died 8 short weeks after her diagnosis was made and before the cookbook was actually published, but she had seen it taking shape and I think she was pleased with our efforts and goals.

I am certain that many of you had your own unique trials and tribulations over the last few years.  Many of you either had your own or watched  your classmates meet major challenges in their own personal lives during your time together at school…family issues, health issues and personal struggles…you watched them struggle through these challenges, helped when you could and they managed to successfully finish their schooling…now that takes courage.

Yes, some valuable life lessons were learned during the last few years!  

Lessons of growth and personal development, lessons in fighting for what you believe in, lessons in moving forward through all of the curve balls life throws your way, lessons in looking after and valuing your health, mental and physical, lessons in dying gracefully, and life lessons in being a compassionate and supportive human being.

My goal here today is not to tell you to be courageous like Winston Churchill in his resolve to defend the island… or to be like JFK in risking the safety of the free world in standing up to communism… no…

When you find yourself out there in this new world, and you are alone, and you are in a job interview… or it’s the first day of work… or maybe you have gone back to school and it’s the first day of class all over again…don’t try and summon up this thing..this state of being called courage.…

You got here today by proving that you are already brave...

                                                                              ...just be yourself.