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A group of high school students was being inducted into an honor society, and a professor from a nearby university had been asked to give a few remarks to the inductees. I was a proud parent in the audience, but I braced myself for some well-meaning but boilerplate words of congratulations. I could not have been more wrong. It may have been one of the more unexpectedly profound speeches I have ever heard.
He told a story of his growing up in a rural part of the state. Neither of his parents had finished high school, and he had received little encouragement to do well in school. But one of his middle school teachers took an interest in him, praised some of his assignments, and, this, over time, inspired him to improve his grades and to value learning.
And now, over 20 years later, he stood before these high-achieving kids, in the position of giving them advice.
What could he share with them that would stick and would alter their lives?
These were the points he emphasized:
As much as the teacher had affected his life, he had never tracked him down to thank him for what he had done. Indeed, he was unsure whether he could remember the teacher’s name. For all he knew, the teacher had long passed away.
And yet, here he stood before these kids, essentially transformed by what this man had done.
What to make of this fact?
Was the message that they should seek out those who had helped them and show gratitude?
Yes, this would be a good thing. No doubt.
But this was not his key point. What he hoped these kids would think about was that they also would be able to influence those around them.
He urged them to live their lives with this front and center in their minds.
Do so, even though your influence may go unacknowledged. A further twist was they, themselves, may not be aware of the fact and nature of their influence. Did his teacher ever know the effects of his actions? In all likelihood, not at all.
This is just the way of the world.
But know this, he said to these kids. Know that you WILL be influencing the people around you, whether or not you find out about this influence.
And so, go about your lives trying to influence people for the best, even knowing that you rarely know these effects and that, as way leads to way, you may rarely be thanked.
And with this, he took his seat.
