It’s All About Relationships
A couple of weeks ago I graduated from Bluffton University with my MBA. On Wednesday I finished my final class so I guess that means…I’m done! It has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of the graduating class of 2016.
I never thought I would go back to university after my first year, but in the fall of 2010 I embarked on an educational journey that has been transformational.
I have been asked the question lately by many people, Why Bluffton? Quite frankly, I looked at a number of universities but as an adult you don’t quite fit into the traditional university box. I hadn’t done well academically in high school so my transcript didn’t read – pick me! I also knew I didn’t want to work at this university “project” for 10 years. Bluffton provided me with a clear path to graduation.
To shed my modesty, when I graduated with my undergraduate degree in 2014 I had been on the honor roll each semester and I graduated with a 3.94 GPA. I was inducted into the honorary society, Phi Delta, which promotes high standards of scholarship. This accomplishment is recognized as an incredible achievement and for me, will stand forever as one of my proudest moments!
During my graduation weekend in Bluffton, I sat quietly on this bench. I sat for a long time and reflected on my five and a half year experience of completing my undergrad and MBA degrees. As my fingers traced the words on the back of the bench I thought about the phrase “it’s all about relationships”.
Two stories come to mind when I think about relationships.
When I sat in the Director of Adult & Graduate studies office at Bluffton back in 2010 I knew I had found my educational home. I recall the adviser stating that there was good news and bad news when he reviewed my transcript. The good news was that I received 6 credit hours of transferable credit from my past university experience. The bad news was that I only received 6 credit hours of transferable credit from my university experience. That being said, I had a lot of work to do in order to complete the 124 credit hours required to graduate. At my MBA graduation, the Director commented on how pleased he was that I persevered and put in the work required to complete both my undergraduate degree and my MBA. I told him that Bluffton invested in a relationship with me that very few others were prepared to do because I wasn’t a traditional student but an adult who had a strong desire to obtain a university education. Yes indeed, its’ all about relationships!
At about the same time as I started university, my dear friend Anne bought Revel Café in Stratford, Ontario. For Anne, it’s all about relationships and doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. Anne has embraced her community both locally and globally. She has opened up her Revel home as a place for friends to gather and connect and provides a creative space for artists to share of their talents. Revel has a direct trade coffee relationship in Nicaragua and with her roasters at Las Chicas del Café. She connects directly with local farmers and producers – not because it is easy or inexpensive but because it is the right thing to do. For me, Anne lives out every day, “It’s all about relationships”.
In my leadership development work with youth and young adults they continue to talk about the importance of knowing that they matter and the significance of creating healthy relationships. As those who are tasked with leading it is imperative that we continue to find ways to do the right thing when no one is looking, to emphasize authentic leadership and personal formation and to nurture our communities to be resilient, collaborative and sustainable.
In my final class the words of Parker Palmer where shared with us:
A leader is a person who has an unusual degree of power to project on other people his or her shadow or his or her light. As a result a leader must take special responsibility for what is going on inside him or her. Less the act of leadership create more harm than good.
What I know for sure…we can all look for ways to project our light and continue to be mindful that it’s all about relationships!