Cal U grads urged to leave their mark on the world
CALIFORNIA – Speaker George Prodan joked that he was the second George to speak at a southwestern Pennsylvania commencement this weekend when he took the stage at California University of Pennsylvania Saturday morning. However, he did not cause quite the same stir or security issues as President George Bush, who addressed the graduating class at St. Vincent College in Latrobe Friday.
Undergraduates listened during the 164th annual commencement ceremony as Prodan spoke about his experiences in the technology marketing and product management field.
The 1974 Cal U alum told the crowded gymnasium, “sometimes you need to hear it’s possible, but not just on a small scale, but on a leave-your-mark-on-the-world-it-matters-that-I-was-here kind of way.”
Prodan, retired vice president of Extreme Networks in the state of California, taught industrial arts before entering the corporate world. He also graduated from then-Shippensburg State University with a Master of Science degree in instructional communications.
He said he admired the graduates, especially the graduates that were the first in their families to get their college degree. He estimated that 60 percent of the graduates fell under that category.
“Your heart should be bursting from your chest,” he told them.
He explained to the eager degree-holders that success doesn’t “come along right away,” to “follow the bends in the road” and when “uncommon opportunities leap from the shadows, grab them.”
“It’s perfectly fine to follow an unconventional path if it’s right,” he said. “If I knew at 25 what I know at 55, it probably would not have made a bit of difference.”
University President Dr. Angelo Armenti Jr. told the soon-to-be alumni that they are always welcome at the university as they were “closing a chapter and opening another.”
“Keep in touch with us,” he encouraged. “The university is extremely proud of you and your accomplishments.”