Commemorative Speech: My Wife

Commemorative Speech: My Wife

Every spring, many people graduate from college and receive a piece of paper called a diploma. There is no way that simple piece of paper, no matter how beautiful or elaborately written can convey the struggle of that graduate to achieve her goal. My wife, who graduated today with a degree in biology, is my hero. For many years, she was uncertain if she would be able to obtain her degree, not because she lacked the desire or the ability, but because she was afraid it would take her away from her family responsibilities and her duties at work. She was afraid that she would not have the time.
Yet despite the tremendous obstacles she faced, she made time. She spent many long hours sitting at the kitchen table doing her homework, after helping our children with their own homework. Sometimes the beds did not get made and sometimes she was very tired in the morning. But the work always got done because of her passion to learn and her certainty that she could reach her goal if she tried. She wanted to set a good example to our children of the value of education and the value of hard work.
Yet she also wanted to set a good example for herself. My wife is the type of person who will inevitably put her own needs second to others. For once, she did not want to do that. Instead, she wanted to put her own desires and dreams first and foremost in her consciousness and shatter the glass ceiling in her mind of what was possible. When she was younger, she did not have the time or money to attend college, even though she believed she had the ability to earn a degree. Now that she was more mature and our children were older, it seemed like the right time.
College is an important milestone in everyone’s life. Getting a better job is clearly the goal for most college graduates. I know that my wife is no exception. But she is also filled with a desire for personal fulfillment. My wife loves to learn. She loves to read. Biology and the sciences are her passion.
But although today is an important end of a long struggle, it is also a beginning. My wife now has proof of the struggle she has gone through to get her degree and tested her knowledge again and again over the course of these many years. I know what an honor it is for her to share her struggles with her family and friends as a result. All of you, whether you know it or not, made a contribution to her success. Whether it was through your willingness to help her out when she was pressed for time, a word of encouragement, or simply listening to her when she needed a friend to have coffee with and to talk about things, all of you helped her achieve this life milestone.
My wife has always been there when I need her and I have tried to be there for her. In the future, I will strive to similarly be a bedrock of support as she leverages her degree and cashes in on the commitment of her investment in her dreams. No one can predict the future and how she will be able to use her degree but nothing can take away its value. A value that will translate into—hopefully—economic gains and a better job but a value which is also priceless in terms of the knowledge it represents.