Broad School Undergrad Commencement Speech
by Kelly McGill

Kelly McGill, Undergraduate Commencement Speaker 2005

Good afternoon to the wise members of the faculty, our support network of family and friends, and most importantly, to the energized and esteemed graduates!

My name is Kelly McGill and I am incredibly honored to represent the 2005 Graduates of the Eli Broad College of Business!

I am here today to suggest to you that the key to success is following your passion. Now, I am not going to be unrealistic and tell you that money is not important and as business majors we know, that money is what makes the world go 'round. However, I feel passion for what you do is what makes the ride worthwhile.

Now, at this point, many of you might be thinking, "well Kelly, then my passion is to get rich." Fine… But I'm urging you to dig a little deeper. What internally makes you tick? What motivates you to jump out of bed in the morning, excited to dive into a new project? What gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside and makes you feel like you have made a difference? What makes you feel important and purposeful? Have you ever felt that kind of excitement before? Wouldn't it be nice to feel it every day for the rest of your life? Well I KNOW we can!

We all have our own inspirations and motivations and these are uniquely what we should use as the fuel to drive us to success and prosperity. Career success is almost guaranteed to those who apply their gifts and talents to work at what they are passionate about. Author David McNally, declared in his book, Even Eagles Need a Push, that "those who seek to fulfill their passion in their work are committed to doing and being the best. They often exceed their own expectations… and the result is success… and money follows success as surely as spring follows winter." Focus on your passion and money and prosperity will follow. Focus only on prosperity, and your life will lack the passion to drive you to success.

If you remember anything from my speech today, please remember… PASSION first…money and prosperity second.

Consider those people who have earned the modern world's respect. Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Walt Disney, Lee Iacocca, Mikhail Gorbechev, Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul and the relatively unknown homemakers, artists, business people, school teachers and volunteers that have all touched our lives. They all have significantly different beliefs, callings and careers…but what unites them is that each has the power of purpose in their lives and they are passionate about what they do.

Now, I could tell you the inspirational stories of entrepreneurs such as the great Henry Ford, or even Mr. Eli Broad, but I have an entrepreneur in mind that I feel that some of us college students can realllllly relate to and share and incredibly strong passion with. And that is Mr. Adolf Coors of the Coors Brewing Company.

Mr. Coors loved beer, and he loved to brew it. Adolph worked nights as a brewery's bookkeeper in his German homeland. In 1872 Adolf came to Denver, Colorado, ready to pursue his dream.

One year later, Adolph partnered with an acquaintance and opened "The Golden Brewery." Adolph, now just 26 years old, contributed his $2,000 life savings, his expertise and his enthusiasm. It was Adolf's passion for brewing that helped keep his company alive through the prohibition, and several world wars.

Throughout over one hundred years of family succession, Coors Brewing Company has grown to be a Top-5 global brewer with annual revenues of over 4 billion dollars. All of this was started by a man with a dream… and a passion...like some of you out there... for darn good beer!

Now it is not going to be easy for us to stick to our passions, they say obstacles are what you see when you take your eye off of your goal. There will be roadblocks and difficult decisions that will hunt us down… but we need to be strong, and show the Spartan strength that we have gained over the last four, five maybe 6 plus years some of us have been here at Michigan State.

We have to stay committed to our passions, our employer might ask us to compromise our values, we might be offered a great deal of money to do a job that is not in line with our goals, we might have to take the road less traveled, and we might have to risk feeling stupid or even failing miserably… but following our passion is always worth it!

We have to take risks for our passions, and that means allowing ourselves to make mistakes. "If you are not making mistakes, you are not taking risks, and that means you are not going anywhere." That's what John Holt said in his book Celebrate Your Mistakes.

Don't ever shy away from an opportunity to use your passion just because you are afraid of what others might say. We have to have the confidence in ourselves and our capabilities to let our passions shine.

Take me for example, upon graduation; I will be working in NEW HOME SALES. When describing this to others, many first reactions are…" you need a college degree to sell homes?'' And I say, "Yeah, ya do." I am passionate about the real estate industry, I love customer interaction and relationship building, I love helping to developing personnel as their mentor and manager, and I found a company that is in line with my career goals, values and ethics. When you're around people who share a collective passion and a common purpose, there's no telling what you can do. What more could possibly I ask for? I am excited to be selling homes, and I am not concerned about being successful, because I know, that it will come with hard work, dedication and commitment toward what I am passionate about.

In closing, please remember that WHAT we do is FAR less important than HOW and WHY we do it. Let's choose careers that inspire us to be the best, and let our passion drive us to success!

Thank you, and congratulations to everyone!

Click here for past home page stories