Deputy Chancellor Price; President designate Campbell; Ms. Bertrand, Chair of the Board of Governors; Dean Lesley Follows; members of the platform party, proud parents and guests; and most of all, the graduating class of 2026:
I was about to depart for London when I opened an email inviting me to deliver this address. My initial reaction was PANIC—Should I accept? What would I talk about?
That feeling sat in the pit of my stomach – until I arrived at my favourite London hotel, one that I frequent often when visiting family. And there, lining the hallway lay a carpet imprinted with truisms such as LIFE IS SHORT; START DOING THE THINGS YOU LOVE.
I had walked this carpet many times, but now, it was as if I were really seeing it for the first time. Here, beneath my feet, lay the inspiration for my talk!
My first message to you, dear graduates, is that inspiration often comes when you least expect it – from a variety of sources. So many times, in my life, the answers and solutions I had been seeking were right in front of me only to be discovered when the time was right, and I was ready to see them.
And so, this invitation to speak to you today turned out to be a gift - an opportunity to reflect on my own 63-year career in nursing – a profession that I have loved from a very young age and one that I still feel passionate about. Which leads me to one of the truisms in bright, bold letters on that carpet in that London hotel hallway about the importance of passion:
DO THE THINGS THAT INTEREST YOU THAT YOU FEEL PASSIONATE ABOUT
As you leave ɬŔď·¬, your task is to invest in your passion, things that you find fascinating, that interest you. Cultivate them. Nurture them. Explore their many forms— and the many ways you can express yourself.
Remember that no two people will approach their practice in the same way. You will bring your uniqueness, your own stamp, your own personal talents, gifts, values, and dreams to your career.
Find a job that aligns with YOU – where there is a goodness-of-fit—where you can grow, thrive, and progress.
Stay connected with what initially attracted you to your chosen field for herein lies the source of passion. Your challenge is keeping that passion, that commitment, alive.
For me, passion was connected to power:
• the power of nurses, through their care, to make a difference in patients and their
families healing;
• the power to humanize health care;
• the power to discover and develop my own hidden capabilities – abilities that were often unlocked through the very process of meeting challenges head-on;
• the power to create conditions that promotes the growth of students and colleagues.
These days, people can expect to have three-to-seven careers in their lifetime. These can be careers in completely different fields or in the same field, what I call “a career within a career within a career.”
I have been fortunate to have had many careers—all within Nursing. Staying in the same field allowed me to develop depth, breadth of knowledge and skills that fueled creativity, fostered innovation, and gave me the freedom to experiment. Which brings me to the second carpet truism about the importance of learning:
OPEN YOUR MIND, ARMS AND HEART TO NEW THINGS AND PEOPLE.
Learning fed my excitement-- energized me--propelled me to redraw the boundaries of my role and of my field and equipped me to see possibilities and to respond positively to opportunities.
Learning is the fuel that will prevent boredom and burnout. And the bedrock of learning is curiosity.
How do you stay curious year after year?
Nurture a "wonder" mindset by staying curious, listening to and learning from others.
Staying curious requires an openness to others. Every experience, every person adds to your storehouse of knowledge and skills.
Staying curious requires asking yourself, “What inspires me?” Years ago, when a colleague asked me this very question, I realized I had not been inspired for some time. This spurred me to look outside my field. Reading philosophy and linguistics opened new vistas and helped me consider nursing issues and concepts through different lenses.
Staying curious involves learning about other disciplines and appreciating their unique contributions to the healthcare enterprise. It begins by building bridges and valuing partnerships.
The graduation certificate you will be receiving shortly is a reward for your hard work. You have invested heavily in your education. The challenge is to capitalize and build on this investment.
As a young boy, investment guru Warren Buffett was introduced to the concept of compound interest - money that grows exponentially. I encourage you to apply this idea to your career: Compound your experience by learning about your own field—its history, its evolution, trends that may impact and alter its landscape. At the same time, seek out knowledge from other fields that can spark novel, innovative ways of thinking.
I would wager that most of you were attracted to healthcare because you wanted to work with people, to contribute to their health and wellbeing. This brings me to a third truism imprinted on that carpet:
LIFE IS ABOUT THE PEOPLE YOU MEET AND THE THINGS YOU CREATE WITH THEM
Early in my career I recognized that healthcare was human care and that human care requires investing in relationships. It is these relationships that have nurtured my sense of purpose and brought me such great satisfaction.
During these past 63 years, the healthcare system has undergone considerable changes as a result of advances in scientific knowledge, treatment protocols, and technology. With AI, we are on the cusp of a massive technological revolution that will transform how healthcare is practiced.
YET the fundamentals of healthcare remain the same – the human need for security and safety, belonging and connection; the need to be understood and treated with dignity, respect, and compassion. These needs are felt most acutely during periods of vulnerability, uncertainty, loneliness, and threat – the familiar companions of illness, disability, injury, trauma, aging.
How you address these needs depends on how you choose to show up in your respective roles—whether you choose to connect with humility, compassion, empathy, and kindness anchored in knowledge. A chatbot can be programmed to carry out tasks but it cannot provide the physical and emotional connections that people require to optimize their functioning and sense of wellbeing.
Don’t forget the importance of investing in YOURSELF.A career in the helping professions is demanding. Although intrinsically rewarding, being engaged takes energy. Energy is a finite resource that needs constant replenishing. The risk of burnout is real.
Early on, I decided to prevent burnout by intentionally setting aside one day a week for myself. I chose to observe the Sabbath which meant ceasing all work for a full 24 hours, focusing instead on rest, family, and friends. This day became the gift I bequeathed myself and which I credit with my career longevity.
Now, back to THE carpet. We are repeatedly told to look ahead -- to look up -- to look around. Rarely does anyone tell us that to maintain our equilibrium, we also have to look down. Metaphorically speaking, journeys are made up of small steps, each step taking us in new directions—planned and unplanned. Being open to possibilities and seizing opportunities will make a career within a career within a career both possible and desirable.
My hope for each of you, dear graduates, is that as you leave here today, you will make the most of every step of your journey, confident in your abilities and inspired to keep nurturing your passions by learning, staying curious, and investing in relationships.
Many convocation addresses end with the phrase—CARPE DIEM- Seize the day. I would rephrase to CARPET DIEM—Be the best you can be and enjoy a fulfilling career!
Congratulations, Class of 2026!
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