May: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Guest Column by Chad Dull, Vice President of Student Success, Minnesota State College Southeast
May 2022

Red Wing Republican Eagle | Winona Daily News | Winona Post

If you were on campus at Minnesota State College Southeast recently, you might have heard me humming or singing and been a little confused. "Why is Chad singing an Andy Williams Christmas song?" you might have thought as I hummed over and over again, "It's the most wonderful time of the year..."

I've been working in post-secondary education for two decades now, and as wonderful as the winter holidays are, to me they just don't compare to graduation season. May is truly my favorite time of the year and maybe I can help explain why.

I remember my own college graduation. My path through college was neither direct nor quick, but May of 2000 marked a turning point. When I finally graduated from college, it was the day I could think about my career and my future differently. I have never forgotten that feeling.

So, as I sit on stage this year and watch our MSC Southeast graduates gather to cross the stage on graduation day, I will remind myself they are each completing an important chapter of their life story as well.

I will think of the gentleman I met in his 30's or 40's who told me that our food pantry was what kept weight on his body as he chased his dream of a professional job in the trades.

I will think of scholarship winners in our Phi Theta Kappa chapter who have the university as their next destination, some of them the first in their family to go to college and earn a degree.

I will think of the brilliant musicians who took the time to add repairing and building instruments to their already remarkable skill set.

So, when I see a nurse, or a welder, or a cosmetologist walk across that stage at Commencement, I don't just see the person, I see their dream.

My career has been in the technical and community college sector and that has been on purpose. I have told people for 20 years that I get the unique privilege of watching lives change in real time. If I am honest, it is a little selfish on my part, because I am lucky enough to work in a place these things happen every day. That's why I try to go to every special event that our students and faculty create to let us share in the achievement of their dreams.

So, I give my thanks to our amazing students and to the wonderful faculty and staff who partnered with them in the good times and the challenging times. This week has been thrilling with the Student Guitar Show and Violin Showcase in Red Wing and the Practical Nursing Pinning Ceremony and Commencement Ceremony in Winona. May is truly the most wonderful time of the year -- and I will never grow tired of it.