This year’s valedictory address from Anika Asfeldt at the Edwin Parr Composite graduation last Saturday was a refreshing break from speeches mining the “you can do anything” message that is so often rehashed at graduations.
While Asfeldt acknowledged the vista of possibilities facing graduates, she also recognized that with great privilege comes tremendous and too-often forgotten responsibility.
That message is one that is applicable to us all.
Decisions we make as consumers, as careerists and even as readers and viewers stand to impact people on the other side of the world. As important as it is to celebrate local grads, being cognizant of global responsibility is far more essential. And as Asfeldt said, with a little imagination, we can move beyond awareness to change.
