Magrath:
'Learn to improvise, encourage,
persevere"
Understanding
the power of encouragement, perseverance, respect and kindness can change your
life and ensure your success, said scientist and ethicist Dr. Larry Magrath on
Friday night to summer graduates at the University of Science and Arts of
Oklahoma.
While today
Magrath is known as one of America’s foremost authorities on native orchids
and is curator of one of the largest plant collections in Oklahoma, Magrath
recalled a story from childhood in which he gathered pretty leaves he didn’t
know were poison ivy. He fondly
remembered his teacher taking the time to teach him and his classmates how to
identify common poisonous plants. “The
moral of my story is that you sometimes have to improvise on the spot in order
to keep a small thing from becoming a major disaster.
You simply must be prepared in life to think and to improvise,” he
said.
Magrath, a
32-year member of the USAO science faculty, is professor of biology, director of
interdisciplinary studies and curator of the USAO Herbarium.
Books have
had an immeasurable impact on his life, Magrath said, including simple books
that were read to him as a child.
“One of the
first books I learned to read was entitled, ‘The Little Engine.’ You may remember it. It
pulled a great load, and every time it approached a hill, it said, ‘“I think
I can; I think I can.’ And when it succeeded, it reminded itself, ‘I knew I
could, I knew I could!’ That
simple lesson of perseverance is worth remembering.”
Growing up
in meager circumstances on a farm in eastern Kansas, Magrath said he was poor
but never knew it.
“My
father was a poor share-cropper and my mother a retired elementary school
teacher,” Magrath said. “I
learned to read by the light of a coal-oil lamp and to help my father with farm
chores, especially the care of the horses.
Until I was about 7 years old all of our farm work was done by horse
drawn machinery. But I never felt
like I was poor or deprived because my mother gave me a very precious gift –
literacy – the ability to read and further to enjoy reading.
That is a precious legacy.”
Reading
changed his life, encouraged him to pursue education and broadened his small
world.
“Make
time for your children, read to them, spend time with them, even if they act
like they don’t want you to,” he pleaded.
“I have
traveled a long way from that rural Kansas farmhouse, and I feel that I have
accomplished a few things along the way,” he said, “but only because I had
friends and teachers who were willing to encourage me.
While you have been students here at USAO, you have met some of those
people. And you will meet still
others as you travel the long and sometimes difficult road that will be your
life.”
Magrath
encouraged the 45 graduates and their families to respect the environment, to
seek to understand how other cultures work, and to learn from other’s
mistakes.
“Don’t
just repeat the mistakes you’ve observed,” he said.
“Can’t we make some new ones?”
Magrath
defended genetic engineering as morally neutral.
“It is not new technology that is either good or bad; it is what we as
a society, and we as individuals, choose to do with these new technologies that
will be good or bad.”
Through
every complex issue he faces, Magrath said he embraces the following statement
by Albert Einstein as a guiding principle in life: “The ideals which have
lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life
cheerfully, have been kindness, beauty, and truth.”
Finally,
he offered an ancient Egyptian blessing: “May God stand between you and harm
in all the empty places you must walk.”
Magrath joined the USAO faculty in
1972. he earned his bachelor’s
and master’s degrees in science from Emporia State (Kan.) University, and
earned his doctorate in botany at the University of Kansas.
Friday night’s event was broadcast live
on USAO Channel 18. Copies of the
ceremony are available on DVD from the college at 574-1318.
President Dr.
John Feaver presided at the ceremony, his fourth summertime commencement since
being selected by the USAO Board of Regents to serve as the university’s 12th
president.
The
ceremony began with the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance” processional,
performed by Dr. Stephen Weber, associate professor of music at USAO. Rev. David
Woods, pastor at Parkview Christian Church, gave the invocation. Warren Roach, a
senior from Chickasha, sang “Shower the People,” written by James Taylor.
Roach accompanied himself on guitar.
Faculty selected
outstanding graduates, who were introduced at the ceremony. Dominique
Suzanne Evans of Chickasha was named outstanding graduate in the Division of
Arts and Humanities. Randal Henderson of
Anadarko earned the honor in the Division of Business and Social Sciences. In
the Division of Education and Speech Language Pathology, Teresa
Lynn Piazza of Moore was named outstanding graduate.
Dana Manning of Lindsay
received the USAO Alumni Association’s Distinguished Graduate award, presented
by Alumni President Pate Cave.
Manning
earned her bachelor of science degree in business administration and graduated
cum laude. She is employed with
Morgan Stanley of Chickasha. She
was named to USAO’s Hypatia Honor Society in 2004, and to the National
Dean’s List. She finished her
baccalaureate degree in three years, while working two jobs, and maintained a
high grade point average.
“Dana Manning
exemplifies the best traditions of USAO,” said Craig Elder, the faculty member
who nominated her. “One of the
signs of a truly great leader is not only their performance but the ability to
make everyone around them better. Few
students approach Dana in this respect.”
Dr. Dan
Hanson, professor of music, led graduates and guests in singing the
"College Hymn," accompanied by Dr. Stephen Weber on the organ. Hanson
also performed the recessional, “Triumphal Procession” an original
composition, on the organ. Members of the honor societies, Alpha Lambda Delta
and Hypatia, served as ushers for the event.
Special
guests at the ceremony included members of the USAO Board of Regents: Malyne
Hilburn and Ed Hicks, of Chickasha, and Teresa Adwan of Tulsa. Other platform
guests included State Rep. Ron Langmacher (D-Carnegie).
At the
commencement ceremony, Feaver issued 25 bachelor of science degrees, 18 bachelor
of arts degrees and two bachelors of fine arts degrees.
Receiving
bachelor of arts degrees were
Apache:
Tiffani D. Oswald
Chickasha:
Andrew D. Vaughan, Dominique S. Evans, Ron G. Akins, Ronald C. Watt, Tamara M.
Hardway, Warren P. Roach
Fort
Cobb: Terra Y. Fullbright
Lawton:
Brad J. Battaro, Jodie S. Brown
McAlester:
John S. Johnson
Newcastle:
Charles B. McClain
Ninnekah:
Scott D. Palesano
Oklahoma
City: Lydia Franco, Shawn Nathaniel Clewis,
Lindsay N. Webb
Tulsa:
John H. Hardway
Receiving
bachelor of fine arts degrees were:
Duncan:
Adam P. Heilman
Oklahoma
City: Matthew D. Meason
Receiving
bachelor of science degrees were:
Anadarko:
Jeremy A. Von Noaker, Randal G. Henderson
Ardmore:
Jon A. Collings
Blanchard:
Tiffany A. Hood, Charles N. Rogers
Chickasha:
David N. Woods, Holly D. Sanders, Melissa K. Lightner,
Rachel Nicole Miller
Dibble:
Jeremy D. McGaha
Guthrie:
Heidi M. Leach
Lindsay:
Dana L. Manning
Marlow:
Tamra D. Cook
Minco:
Alan Mock
Moore:
Hollie B. Gauntt, Teresa L. Piazza
Newcastle:
Russell S. Daily
Ninnekah:
Chrystal M. Egbert, Julie A. Mellinger
Oklahoma
City: Amy C. Barber, Michelle R. Freeze,
Nataya M. Jones,
Amanda D. Moxley
Verden:
Matthew C. Wray
OUT OF STATE:
Grandview, Montana: Elliot V. Magee