On Friday, June 10th I was blessed to speak to a group of scholarship winners and donors at University of Houston- Clear Lake. I spoke about my experience as a student and scholarship recipient, and afterward received lots of positive feedback about my experiences. I’ve gotten a few emails asking if I would post the transcript of my speech in hopes that others would read it and be inspired.
President Staples, faculty and staff, generous donors, parents, and scholarship recipients, good evening. My journey from 17 year old high school graduate to 39 year old graduate student has been filled with countless obstacles, amazing achievements, soul crushing defeats, and unbelievable memories. Basically, it’s been life. My journey is no different than the countless other students that have walked the halls of this and many other universities around the country. What sets you and me apart from many other students is one key personality trait: drive.
Drive can be expressed in many different ways. Self-starter, go-getter, work ethic, or intrinsically motivated for you future psychologists out there. No matter how it is expressed, they all mean the same; we will not stop until we achieve our goals. Drive is what pushes us to keep studying when we are exhausted. Drive pushes us when our friends want to go out but we have a paper due. Drive pushed me to complete my degree and to now pursue advanced degrees.
Let me give you the Reader’s Digest version of my life. I started college at Sam Houston State as a 17 year old know-it-all Criminal Justice major who cruised through high school on his smarts and little else in terms of work ethic. By December, my eyes were opened. I struggled through another year and a half when I just decided that school was too hard so I dropped out. I was doing well at my job, in 2 years I went from front clerk to pharmacy technician to district trainer for Eckerd Drugs. I thought, “I can be successful here,” so I worked hard to be the best pharmacy technician I could be. I quickly realized that my glass ceiling was low, and Drive was whispering in my ear that I should be crashing through this ceiling. I dipped my toe back into education by taking 1-2 classes a semester at College of the Mainland. Thanks to wonderful teachers like Emmeline Dodd, my drive awoke and became a prominent voice in my head. Then I became a father, and Drive somehow started a band and with its microphone exclaimed, “Make your son proud of you!” I completed my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the University of Houston, making the Dean’s List my last 2 semesters. I cold called every community college in town and became an adjunct professor then Program Director of the Pharmacy Technician Program at San Jacinto College. I would not be held back by this ceiling I just shattered. Unfortunately, complications from my 2nd son’s pregnancy led me to quit that position and go back to Eckerd’s, now known as CVS. After he was born, I encountered another fork in the road of my life. What’s next?
Drive eloquently reminded me of that low glass ceiling, so I chose to get my alternative certification and become a teacher. As a science teacher, I have been nominated for national science teacher awards twice, gone to Space Camp, participated in 3 geology expeditions sponsored by Texas A&M, and presented over 200 professional development workshops at the local, regional, state, and national level. As I became more and more successful in my career, Drive called out to me again. “Pursue your Masters. Get a PhD. Dr. Becker sounds super cool, right?” Inspired by Drive and mentored by UHCL faculty members Dr. Brenda Weiser and Dr. Jana Willis, I enrolled into the Instructional Design and Technology Master’s program in Summer of 2014. I will get a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with a STEM focus from UHCL. I will be the Robert Langdon of Education Technology, hopefully without the near-death adventures.
My biggest obstacle? Paying for school. A single, full-time dad of two amazing boys since March of 2010 means I don’t have a lot of disposable income. As you will learn, college can be expensive. However, I would not be deterred. Drive kicked into overdrive! I worked hard, received straight A’s in all my classes, and became a scholarship recipient myself. Without the selfless generosity of the donors here in this room, I may not be standing here in front of you preparing to work on my thesis, preparing to graduate next summer, preparing to start my doctorate in the fall of 2017.
These donors are here because their drive pushed them to be successful in their careers and are giving back to their community. I am here because my drive pushed me to be successful in my education and my career. Your drive has pushed you to be successful in high school and receive a scholarship to attend this wonderful university. What else will your drive push you to do? Thank you.
Instructional Design by Don Becker 