Community College » Convocation

Inaugural Convocation

Dr. Jonathan Gueverra’s Convocation Speech
September 24, 2009

Printable Version

Good Morning Washington D.C.

First, I want to acknowledge the presence of the many who are here today who have toiled endlessly to make this day a reality. You’ve heard from our City Council Members, Members of the Board of Trustees and the President of the University System. I also want to thank the faculty and staff for their dedication and for the long hours that they put in as we try to make this the best community college in the nation.

I especially want to take a moment to thank someone who began carrying the torch for this
initiative last year. Without his good sense and stick-to-itiveness we would not be as far along as we are today. Dr. Eurmon Hervey. Dr. Hervey Eurmon, please stand and take a bow.

Once he received the directive from Dr. Sessoms to begin standing up the community college, he got to work right away. He did a fine job and he is the person who spent many countless hours engaging me to take this position. Thank you Dr. Hervey - Give him a hand please. As a small, but wonderful gesture of gratitude and appreciation I would like to present Dr. Hervey with one of the very first community college pins.

This morning, as we proceed with our inaugural convocation for the Community College of the District of Columbia, I want to take the next several minutes to do the following. I want to look at some of the remarkable events that occurred on September 24. Next, I want to tell you about me and why this is an important mission for me. Then I want to share with you a vision for this institution.

September 24 is already a remarkable day in history.

On this day in 2005: Hurricane Rita made landfall and devastated Beaumont, Texas and
Houston, Texas. There is no rain so we should be fine today.

In 1993, Brøderbund released a computer game that became the best selling game of all time.

In 1962, the US court of appeals ordered the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith.

There were riots when Mr. James Meredith, armed with a Court order and guarded by federal marshals, enrolled at the University of Mississippi a few days later. Meredith prevailed in spite of Governor Barnett's initial defiance of the orders. He graduated from the university in 1963.

In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent National Guard troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation.

In 1948, the Honda auto company was founded.

In 1940, there was baseball news on this day. Jimmie Foxx became the second member of the 500 home run club.

In 1908, the first Ford Model T was built.

In 1869, our financial markets were in upheaval. We saw gold prices plummet as Jay Gould and James Fisk plotted to control the market. This is the original "Black Friday"

In 1852, the first airship was displayed.

In 1789, the United States Post Office Department was established.

In 1493, Christopher Columbus departed on his second expedition to see the brave New World.

In 622, Muhammad completed his withdrawal from Mecca to Medina to escape persecution.

This day in history is filled with many first and seconds and many more notable events. History reports the short lived work of scoundrels, the beginnings or endings of religious or exploratory pilgrimages, the founding of well-known organizations, historic milestones in sports and court ordered enforcement of equal rights.

These events are clearly a part of our past and have helped to define who we are as a nation and as a community. And many today may ask “How will history define this day for the Community College of the District of Columbia?” I don’t have that answer, but this much I can assure you.

The future is ours to create.

As you ponder the future it gives me an opportunity to talk with you about my past and how it has shaped my future and how it makes sense that I am here today.

Some 34 years ago, I was a younger man. I graduated from high school in the twin island
republic of Trinidad and Tobago and decided to continue my studies to the next level.

But let me tell you how I got to high school. First, I had to sit for a national examination. Your test scores determined whether you would get a place in one of the handful of high schools that existed. At that time, you needed to not just pass this exam, but you needed to be in the top 5 or so percent to earn a spot. High schools were really, really scarce.

It was more than just my dogged personal determination that got me a spot in high school. I received a great deal of encouragement from my mother, who alone, raised two rambunctious boys and a girl. My mother is a proud woman; she is very pragmatic and ever caring.

Back to this high stakes exam for minute, this exam was so high stakes that when the scores were released, the two daily papers carried the results for the placements of all the high schools. No one was ever certain to which high school he/she would be assigned so you checked every school and both papers until you found your name and if you didn’t you checked again. It was typically a Sunday when the scores were released and everyone bought the Sunday paper on their way home from church. You had better find your name before the family and the neighbors started to ask questions.

I remember the proud smile on my mother’s face and knew right away that she had seen my name. She had that mother’s look that say’s that is my son. Later I learned that I was selected for one of the best schools in the country.

This paper was an official record of her son’s, our family’s first high school attendee. In order to protect this cherished document, my dear mother found a thick see-through plastic bag that would become the initial safe keeper of this prized Sunday paper.

Not much later, the look of pride turned to concern. Right away, I knew what that meant. I
would no longer be walking the next mile to school. I would use public transportation or taxi to get to school. I would be in a world unfamiliar to my mother. She only completed the 2nd grade, but she made educating her children a priority. This new world of mine also meant that there would be expensive books and classroom supplies.

We lived on a small dairy farm and it was becoming increasingly difficult to see positive returns on our physical output. Our ability to support me was an issue.

Thus, my teen years were shaped by the experiences of growing up and working on a dairy farm and by the reality of being the only one in my family who had the opportunity to get a high school education.

Now remember, I started to tell you about my journey after graduating high school. Yet, I have provided much of this pre high school material to give you some context. Since my life as a farmer also shaped my views, let me share a farm story with you.

The eastern most tip of our farm was bounded by a stream that was about 15 ft wide. It was a wonderful spot on those hot days and even the cows knew it. These gentle creatures would often break through the barbed wire fence and stand in the water or cross to the other side of the river.

On one of these occasions when they had crossed over, it had been raining for hours and I was responsible for getting them back for milking. I left the house and made my way to where I was certain we had left them earlier that day.

I want you to picture in your head, a river with a flood plain that has a decent slope. Now
imagine that flood plain with rising water and you have to retrieve the cows that are on the other side. Yes, cows can swim, but who is going to get them to do this Michael Phelps
impersonation?

Accompanying me was my dog, Joe. Joe found his way to our home as a puppy and we kept him. He was no more than a few inches off the ground and he went with me everywhere. Joe and I started wading through the floodwaters and as I made my way down I realized that it no longer made sense to walk. I needed to swim. A couple of strokes later I decided to peek around to make sure that I knew what was happening with Joe. And was Joe ever doing fine. Much to my surprise and chagrin, Joe was high and dry on the bank looking out at me. The moral of the story here is not only that dogs aren’t always like the ones you see in the movies, but there is a leadership lesson here.

As a leader, every once in while you need to turnaround and/or look over your shoulders. Take the pulse of those who are in the trenches with you. Make sure they are still supporting you and assure that you are getting their support for the right reasons.

Back to this high school graduate about to enter the next chapter of his life and feeling really good about it. With my desire to do something about the economics of the dairy farmers, I decided to pursue a course of study in economics and chemistry. Until some administrator pulled me aside and said, “young man, there are two courses of study here - the arts and the sciences. You must pick one.” My arguments were in vain with this man and I enrolled only to drop everything two weeks later. It was not what I wanted.
For the first time in my life I felt like a quitter, but mostly I felt betrayed by a system that let me get that far and then denied me the opportunity to do something a little differently.

One’s right to freely express an opinion is a deeply held belief of mine. This is a second
leadership lesson here. Don’t just look over your shoulders, but listen to the opinions of those around you even when you do not like what you hear.

I spent the next half dozen years doing a variety of things with my life including making our
farm the best there was. We were selected as farmer of the year on a couple of occasions.
Despite these and other involvement and accomplishments, I continued to feel the need to do more. In 1980 I enrolled in a two-year business program in Boston, Massachusetts and
completed it 17 months later. This is when I first saw the power and the benefit of the
community college.

Many years later, I would be drawn into education as a volunteer tutor, then as a paid tutor, a part time instructor and then eventually as a full time faculty member and administrator. Because of those early experiences with the community college, I chose to work in the community college environment at first. The students that I saw resembled me. Their struggles, their dreams and their aspirations were all mine. Teaching and learning everything about education became my passion and soon it was the life I loved. I left the community college environment for a few years and worked at universities and four-year colleges. Yes, they too are fine environments for learning, but I realized that my heart belonged with the community college.

I was minding my own business when along came Allen Sessoms and Eurmon Hervey. They
both had this notion that the nation’s capital needed a community college. Although I did not know Washington DC well enough, I too had this same notion. Several months ago, they asked me to consider becoming the CEO and as they know full well, it was not a simple decision for me. I don’t know if there is another decision that caused me to spend as much time personally deliberating and talking to as many people as I did and there were the hundreds of questions, many of which remain unanswered. Here I am today with a vision for you. A vision that is truly inspired by and with support from my family. I’ve already told you about my mother’s influence. Well, there are two other smart women - My wife Josephine and my daughter Joy who really helped with this decision.

My wife was really clear. When I told her what I was asked to do, she said, “you are going to do it, aren’t you?” I fumbled through a response while she responded, “if you don’t do it, who will?” As if to imply that if I did not accept this challenge, I had better find someone else who could do a better job.

My daughter had a bit of a different take. She merely pointed out that I had always dreamt of creating an institution to serve those most in need.

Well folks, this is something I need to do.

So - Washington DC, Can you hear me? I’m serious. Can you hear me?!

I have news for you! We have us a Community College. It is your Community College.

Let us work together to make this the envy of the nation.

Let us model an institution where everyone finds opportunity.

A place where everyone who is touched by what we offer is a better, more successful learner and individual for it.

A place where assuring that our learners and teachers accept as the most important standard, the completion of a recognized credential.

A place where we are focused on the needs of the city and its residents.

And where failure is not an option.

Our strategic plan calls for the creation of state of the art facilities. We are aiming to address the learning styles of a variety of learners and teachers. As such, we plan to have facilities with the best available technology so that work environments, complex problems and processes can be modeled and studied so that students can gain insight into real world applications.

Our strategic plan also calls for us to maximize the use of our resources to keep down the cost of getting a higher education in this city. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation reminds us that high school is no longer enough. The median wage for workers with no college is now close to the poverty line for a family of four. That leaves only one path out of poverty: education — a college education. Whether it comes as a certificate, an associate’s degree, or a bachelor’s degree, a postsecondary credential is the best bridge between poor students and good jobs.

It is no longer enough to say more young people are accessing college. For the sake of their future and our country’s future, we have to make sure more young people go on to complete college.

Students and parents today are caught in a paradoxical enigma. If you don’t go to college and earn a credential, you are more than likely to have a less than successful adult life. In fact, your earning power is considerably reduced over your lifetime. On the other hand, paying for college can create significant financial burdens for students and their families. With the help of our local leaders and I do speak for each of them even though they have given me no permission to do so, we will make earning a college degree very affordable.

I don’t have to tell you one more time that we are in the worst economic downturn in modern times. You already know that, so I will say this. What is our responsibility in providing an education that is both accessible and affordable? That answer is simple. It is our responsibility!

At the moment, our tuition stands at $3,000 for a full time student, per year. In this economy, or any other economy, you could not get a better return on your investment. This is one of the best deals in the country.

We are going to put Washingtonians into good jobs that are available in this city. I spent
yesterday evening in Ward 8 where close to 500 men and women are registered to take job training and academic courses at one of our sites. Of the over 1600 students who are currently enrolled at the Van Ness Campus, you should hear them speak of opportunity that our affordability presents.

Although our tuition remains low, it can still be a challenge for many. Therefore, as the leader of this city’s newest college, I am announcing the creation in my wife’s name, Josephine Gueverra, the Community College’s first scholarship. And Josephine, this will be the reason there is no money left in your checking account.

Let me close by taking a moment to speak directly to our students:

Nobel Peace Prize recipient and the father of the modern South Africa tells us that education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

I want you to use it.

I want you to live like there is a tomorrow waiting for you to reach out and seize it.

Today and everyday have their own meaning and each day presents a fresh set of opportunities.

Nothing is impossible to do unless you’ve already decided that you are not even going to make an attempt.

Liberate yourself from the belief that the world has only the haves and the have-nots.

I dare to say to you that this world does in fact have those who have and many more among us who know not what we have.

Find your hidden talents.

Finally, when anyone asks you, what does a community college in the District of Columbia mean for you, I want to you respond with one word – Opportunity!