To the Class of 2016
Excerpted from a speech at the Sonoma Valley High School graduation ceremony on June 2.
I will start by saying that these are some of the best days of the year for me because I get to shake the hands of all of the students moving from one stage of their lives to the next. Yesterday I attended promotions at El Verano, Altimira and Adele. At El Verano I was struck by the words on one of the murals: “It Takes a Village.” I couldn’t agree more.
Today you, Student of the graduating class of 2016, will receive a diploma as recognition for your work. But first, let’s give a round of applause to your village that helped get you here today. Because there value in knowing how to be grateful and accepting that it has taken a lot of individuals and their sacrifices to make for this very moment right here, for you.
I feel like the strongest message I can convey to you is that I am no different than any of you. So you see me here today in a suit and tie, I’m invited to bring you a message, I have the mic, but I am a product of this same town, this same high school, this same teaching staff and administration. I was first an El Verano Mustang, an Altimira Wolf, and then graduated from Sonoma Valley High as a rather average student with just decent marks. I didn’t have a lot of resources but I had everything I needed.
My journey since my graduation12 years ago was where everything got interesting. There I was, 18 years young, sitting in the same seats as you, I had it all figured out: Sonoma State for four years, degree in Business Admin at age 22, I apply to a job with a big company and high life and cubicle work for the rest of my life. Easy, right? Wouldn’t you know, I failed in my original plan but the important part is that I worked through it.
In the last semester when I was finishing up my degree, my parents and I opened up Picazo Café. And just as that business has evolved, I have evolved as an individual. It was my start to entrepreneurship, it was my challenge to build a company, it was my challenge to learn a lot that had never been taught to me, it was my challenge to lead people.
There I have learned some of the most valuable leadership traits. There is where I have met some of the most influential people in my life that I have added to my village.
The point is that although you might have a vision of yourself today, make sure you are ready to encounter hindrances. Be resilient enough to face and overcome those obstacles and use them to strengthen you as a person. Less excuses, more execution.
Success, what does that mean? In reality it will mean something different to all of us. In this crowd today we have future doctors, contractors, plumbers, dentists, teachers, politicians, and of course, entrepreneurs. Each profession comes with a different measuring stick of success. But I am more interested in one form of success and that has everything to do with just you. Success will be you waking up everyday and loving what you do. Looking in the mirror and loving the person in the reflection. I don’t mean it in an arrogant, egotistical way; I mean it as a soulful necessity. Love yourself, love what you do, because I know first hand that when those two things happen, you will be unstoppable.
Embrace different and be different. When I was your age I didn’t embrace different, I fought it. Doing or being the norm was so much easier.
Be inquisitive, and always willing to learn. If there is one thing I regret in high school and college it is not asking enough questions. I ask about everything now. Maybe too much. But I urge you to do the same. If you have a profession in mind, go ask someone in that profession why they chose it, how they do it, and what advice they give you for your journey towards a similar goal.
Work. Be prepared and willing to work. Everything we do and its outcome is from the work we put into it. The saying you get out what you put in is vividly true.
Donate some of your time! You would be amazed how good you feel from giving back without getting anything in return. After all, they say character is measured by how you treat people that can’t do anything for you in return. Embrace that sentiment!
To sum up, I will leave you with this: inevitably in life we need to earn money to survive and live. My challenge to you is to not live life just to make money, but rather to live life to make a difference.
Sal Chavez is president of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District board, representing the El Verano School attendance area. He sits on the board of directors of La Luz Center, and heads up two business ventures.
