An End, A Beginning: The Natural Rhythm of Our Professional Lives

On Friday December 18, 10 of our program's students moved from the status of "student" to the status of "graduate."

As the "December 2009 Graduate Recognition & Reception" took place in the law school forum, and family members, friends, professors and others assembled to celebrate the moment, I reflected on our graduate program students who completed their studies at the end of this semester. For me, it was a moment of enormous satisfaction for the students, their families, and all those who care about them. Without question, the students -- and those around them -- have invested much time and energy in their journey to this meaningful moment.

The diversity of this group was impressive indeed with graduating members of our "community" including students from Chile, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and the United States. Moreover, their dedication to hard work and commitment to improving how the world uses natural resources and protects our environment also were on my mind.

But most of all, I thought back to the first day that Lucy Daberkow, the assistant program director, and I met these women and men. Many came from long distances and have made significant sacrifices to pursue their dream of earning a degree from the University of Denver. Between the time they first arrived and now, each faced his or her own challenges, which often included both disappointments and successes. To be sure, we are extremely proud of all of them as a group and each of them as individuals.

I would not be honest if I said that there was not a slight bit of sadness in my heart as I thought about the beginning of courses next January and the reality that most of them would not be in Denver. In many instances, Lucy and I have had the enormous pleasure of welcoming them into our community and sharing with them the rhythms of life within this community. Children have been born. Couples have been married. Jobs have been obtained. Birthdays celebrated. Scholarships won.

Thus, put into a larger perspective the sadness that Lucy and I may have is soothed in large measure by knowing that while these individuals have ended one part of their lives (i.e., their education at DU), they are just beginning the next phase of their lives. And in this next phase, many -- if not all -- will make significant contributions to their chosen areas of environmental and natural resources work.

The sadness of an ending is balanced by the joy of a beginning, and the knowledge that what ties us together as a community is far stronger and enduring than any physical distance will ever represent.

We wish all of our graduates good health, much success, and a promise of working for a better future for all of us. Felicitaciones y buena suerte. Congratulations and good luck.