Faculty & Staff Resources
Things of Interest
Brown Bag Series

College of Education and Human Services
Undergraduate Commencement Student Speaker
1:30 pm - Friday, May 8, 2009

Jenny Mae Bingman
Rehabilitation Institute

I begin with an important question: Have you ever read the label on a bottle of cream of tartar? I know, that’s kind of a personal question, but when you get home, go to the spice rack and look at the label. My container states, “Cream of Tartar is a by-product left after the fermentation of grapes into wine. It is used to stabilize beaten egg whites and in baking powder.”

I never knew that, and I can’t say I’ve stayed up nights wondering about it either, but isn’t it fascinating to think that something as apparently worthless as pulverized grape “goop” could yield a product that’s responsible for the meringue topping on your coconut pie!

• Everything has worth.
• Everything has purpose.
• Everything has value; be it grape goop or a person.

That story comes from my mom’s website LikeMyLife.com, and I often go there to remind myself what matters most. People matter most. We are here because people supported us; parents saved to provide financial help; educators here nurtured the seeds planted in us by our instructors in high school; teammates lifted us up when the hurdles seemed too high to jump; and friends caught us from falling on our way down. Everyone has a role to play in this world. After today, we will go our separate ways. Some will continue to graduate school, some will enter the job force, while others will still be deciding their next step. As different as we are, one thing ties us together. Look through the list of departments graduating today and you will see that we have chosen to be people who help others: Kinesiology, Athletic Training, Exercise Science, Physical Education Teaching, Rehabilitation Institute, Communication Disorders & Sciences, Rehabilitation Services, Social Work, and Workforce Education & Development.

We all have chosen to spend our life healing others. While we are healing their physical bodies, we must never forget to also heal their inner being. One of the most precious and essential things in all this world is a sense of belonging, of being wanted, of having a purpose.

Sometimes, it won’t be easy. For some of the people we’ll meet, years of feeling unimportant has buried the goodness inside them. But it’s there. Look for it. And when you find it, nurture it, comfort it and watch it bloom.

The people here at SIU never gave up on us. Think of the people who have gone out of their way to make today happen for you. Now, become one of those people to someone else. Be it in your professional life or your personal life, live a life that matters to someone else.

Og Mandino is an inspirational writer who wrote this: "Journey quietly on your pathway to forever with charity and a smile. When you depart, it will be said by all that your legacy was a better world than the one you found."