the encouragement lounge: A wonderful commencement address!

Friday, May 8, 2009

A wonderful commencement address!

Hi All,

Some of you will be graduating this spring. I encourage you to take a few minutes and enjoy a commencement address that Bill Cosby delivered at Carnegie Mellon a few years ago. There are a few moments where he is clearly focused on undergraduates, but most of it is relevant to us all, and I think it's a wonderful talk. Cosby's address is also a terrific example of effective public speaking... after a few words of introduction, he tells just one story (which begins about 6 minutes in) and that one story delivers a powerful message.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY-WFfajWq8

Harriet

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Working adult students, on my mind...

I hope this blog will be helpful to friends and others involved in a variety of endeavors. However, I created the blog with students in mind and continue to develop it with that specific group as my focus.

I believe that with the increase in evening, weekend, and low-residency programs, students are working more and more in isolation. If we were all full-time students on campus, we would have the informal support that comes with being able to go down the hall and talk with a colleague, etc. But instead, we are working late nights and weekends at home in front of the laptop.

With that in mind, I hope the encouragement lounge provides brief moments of respite and energizing connection. This does not at all replace valuable face-to-face contact. Many aspects of the academic journey can only be addressed via in-depth conversations with colleagues and teachers. And I would always rather sit down and talk with someone than to communicate online. Nonetheless, my aim is to give you one more channel for quick hits of support.