Empowerment

I returned to my alma mater this afternoon as a guest speaker in Dr. Gerianne Merrigan's Empowerment class. I felt a strong sense of nostalgia as I walked on the San Francisco State University campus. I graduated a decade ago and have only been back once a few years ago to pick up transcripts. Dr. Merrigan and I have a very good relationship and have kept in touch over the past ten years, so when she asked me to speak in her class about life after SFSU, I naturally said yes.

I arrived at the Humanities building a little bit before noon, which allowed me some time to briefly catch up with Dr. Merrigan. The first thing she said to me was, "You look the same! You haven't aged!" I responded with a simple, "It's the spikes and backpack. They make me look like a student all over again." My mentor is looking quite good herself. The two of engaged in a bit of small talk and when it was time, we walked over to the lecture hall. I explained to her that I really didn't prepare anything and that I was just going to jump in and talk about what I've been doing since graduation. She had no objections. I will admit that I was a bit nervous, but once I got in front of the room, flashbacks of my SFSU speech days came back to me, and I quickly felt at home.

I opened my presentation with a question. I asked the students what they intended to use with their Speech and Communications Studies degree, and it came as no surprise to me when a handful of them didn't really know. I then admitted that when I was in school I didn't know either. I then launched into my life story starting from the point when I received my Bachelors in Sciences in Biological Sciences from the University of California at Davis and had my heart set on becoming a veterinarian. However, after working for a vet for a year and realizing that I didn't wanted to stick thermometers up cats' butts the rest of my life, I decided to go back to school just to defer my student loans. I ended up choosing Speech & Communications Studies at SFSU because I thought it would be fun giving speeches. Little did I know that this program really prepared me for the real world, both professionally and personally.

I talked about my trade show experiences at Dolby Laboratories and how I apply all the concepts of public speaking and verbal and nonverbal communications skills that I picked up at State. I explained that the operational end of my day job requires me to know a thing or two about organizational, inter and intra-cultural communications. I even elaborated on how in my film making life outside of work, I have utilized the concepts of oral interpretation, oral histories, and performance in my creative process. As I rambled on and on, I was happy to see the students so engrossed in my testimonial. When my 40 minutes was up, I put in "Urgent Care" and sat back and enjoyed the reaction from this college crowd. It Donned On Me's debut film really got the crowd going! When the film ended, I thanked Dr. Merrigan and the students, and went on my way.

Dr. Merrigan jokingly says that I am the poster boy for the Speech And Communication Studies Department, and I whole heartedly agree with her. I loved it at SF State, and I embrace everything I learned there. For me to say that this program changed my life would be melodramatic, but what I can say is that it allowed me to explore areas that I never thought I would go any where near. I am doing everything I want and enjoying life to its fullest, and I would be remiss if I did not give Dr. Merrigan and the SFSU crew of 1996-1998 some credit for my happiness. Now that's empowerment.