Lee Geiger

Graduation weekend is like a football weekend without the game.

Robert Goddard

The following was written by a very proud father: Robert Goddard (i.e. Robo), my partner at Penserra Securities.  Robert’s daughter, Jaime Goddard, graduated this weekend from the University of Michigan with a degree in Communications.

The hotels were booked, the restaurants were full and the shuttles were ready to go. Ann Arbor knows how to host big college events and the Class of 2015 was ready to graduate. This college graduation was a big deal for me for two reasons. One, my daughter Jamie was graduating with a BA in Communications Studies. And two, I had never attended a college graduation before, including my own.

The town was full of families getting to and from graduations, parties and celebrations.
The mood was one of pride and joy and excitement throughout the weekend. There were strangers chatting in lines about various speakers and ceremonies. Mothers telling young sons to be careful crossing the street and fathers telling the same stories over and over while their daughters rolled their eyes. For me, I couldn’t have been more proud of my daughter and all she has accomplished to this point. Just getting to Michigan was huge and now, here she is, about to take the next step in life. For four years, she worked hard and played hard. She studied, traveled and worked in Europe, Chicago and Israel, along with Ann Arbor. She built long lasting friendships with incredible people, several of whom I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know over the last four years. I believe she has gained many of the tools she will need to not only get a job but thrive in the workforce and be successful in life.

This leads me to the part of the weekend that I never experienced before now; college graduation ceremonies and commencement speakers. Because of the size of the University of Michigan, like most large schools, each student goes through two graduations; one with their department major, and one with the entire class. Most of the speakers struck a deep cord with me and I found their insight and life advice to be appropriate not just for college graduates but for all people. At Jamie’s Communication Studies graduation, the opening speaker, Professor Susan Douglas, Chair of the Department, spoke at length of the challenges in today’s world of people trying to stay connected in a world where technology and social media are changing at such a rapid pace. What does staying connected mean? And, even though we are able to communicate and stay more connected to each other electronically, does this really mean we are more connected? I believe these are questions we all think about and struggle with every day in our own lives.

Next came the keynote speaker, Jon Hein, a U of M alumnus. Jon is a world renowned pop culture guru and a producer on The Howard Stern Show at Sirius XM radio where he has also hosted a variety of programs. Jon spoke of the struggle of having a job (yes we all have to pay rent) while continuing to be passionate and dream. His life equation was simple; talent plus persistence equals luck. In other words, find something you’re good at and love, stay with it as long as it makes you happy, and you will get lucky at some point. Smart guiding words I’d say.

Saturday arrived and we entered The Big House with the entire Class of 2015. With the stadium half-filled I almost expected Coach Harbaugh to profile his new team. Mark Schissel, President of The University of Michigan, spoke of graduating a group of young people that has learned to be critical thinkers, work inclusively and respect others opinions when searching for a solution. He described their education as one that prepared them to not just get a job but being prepared to thrive in the workforce. He admitted that we screwed up the world and that it’s their job to fix it.

Finally came two of the honorary degree recipients and commencement speakers for the Class of 2015, Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzwieg, co-founders and co-CEO’s of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses. The two shared a dream for a great corned beef sandwich and an organization with soul. In 1982, with a $20,000 loan and two other employees they opened Zingerman’s Delicatessen. World renowned and showcased by Inc. magazine in 2003 as “The Coolest Small Company in America,” they eschewed offers to replicate their deli elsewhere and created a model for incubating new businesses that provides ownership opportunities for entrepreneurial employees. Today they share ownership with 21 partners across nine businesses that employ over 700 people and generate more than $55 billion in annual sales. Their speeches focused on several areas. None of which was how to be the biggest, how to gain market share, how to put the competition out of business, or how to generate the most profits. They focused on working within and creating a partnership within the community. They spoke about creating joy in one’s life through charity and giving back. They spoke of the charity by business being good for business. They spoke of “open book management,” a system that invites all employees to become involved in making decisions to help run the business.

Our world could use more of this type of community minded businesses that enables to people to flourish in their jobs while finding joy and happiness and helping others in their communities.
After hearing all of the speakers I outlined above, I felt inspired, confident and hopeful that the Class of 2015 has the tools along with the morals to make this world a better place. I was also pleased to see that most of my tuition and expense payments over the last four years hadn’t gone to Rick’s and Scorekeepers. As for Jamie, she is searching for next and yes, that first job. The continuation of a journey that is passionate and allows her to continue to dream and find joy and happiness.

P.S. Jamie plans to return to the San Francisco Bay Area and continue looking for a job. If you’d like to see her resume (a BA in Communication Studies with a 3.5+ GPA), please reach out to me…[email protected]