We Will Be Successful in Whatever We Do

Stephanie Dikeman-Watts
Graduate in Regional and Community Planning

Two years ago, I walked into Professor Keithley’s office to discuss the planning program.  We talked for a while and apparently the man has powers of persuasion unmatched by any other, because at the end of our meeting I, the kid who had a major in almost every college, was walking out of his office with a planning t-shirt in my hand and my name on the class roster.  From that day on, I have not looked back and have never once second guessed my decision.

It seems so surreal to be standing on this stage today receiving my master’s degree.  I still don’t think my parents have any idea what my degree is in, but they are just excited I am finally graduating and have found a career I am passionate about.  Come to think of it, most of the people I talk to have no clue what planning is or what a planner does, so I by now am used to it.  When I started to think back on how exactly we got to this point, and where we go from here, I realized that for the first time in our lives we are at the end of a road, that a plethora of beginnings are laid out before us, that only we can determine the appropriate path.  And for most of us, for the first time we will no longer identify ourselves as students.  For almost 20 years now the educational system has guided our next moves and decided the next path to take. 

As I started to think about this further, I began to reminisce about my early school-aged days.  I guess I should say first that I have always known that K-State is where I would spend my college days, and it all started when I was all but two years old.  This is when my parents took me to my first Kansas State football game, and I have been a Wildcat ever since.  But in just in case I was feeling a little fuzzy about my college of choice being as I had only been to maybe 15 football games by the time I was seven, my dad sat me down when I was in first grade to start discussing my college plans.  I wasn’t even thinking about second grade, let alone college.  He began to tell me how I had to get straight A’s while in school in order to attend K-State, because if I slipped up and got B’s I would have to go to “the other” university in Kansas, whos name we do not speak of.  Needless to say, my dad is an avid K-State fan and will even go so far as using the parenting technique known as the scare tactic to make me realize the only appropriate choice for college. So when senior year in high school rolled around and it was time to start applying to colleges, there was little doubt in my mind as to which I would attend (partly out of fear that my dad would disown me).  In all honesty I have truly enjoyed every minute I have spent while I was here.      

For two years now, I, like my fellow planning peers, have been working on my master’s in regional and community planning.  We haven’t had the time nor long hours of studio to bond with one another like the other departments, but trust me, we are by no means envious by our lack of studio time.  The planning students graduating today have backgrounds in many different subjects and fields.  We also had quite the mix of people in our graduating class which has made every moment interesting, to say the least.  Between classes we would sit in Seaton 252 talking about TV shows from when we were children or speaking of “protein spills.”  Or recalling the time when we were up in the lab working diligently on our population projection spreadsheets, only to be interrupted by an 80’s song blasting out of one of the computers.  Little did the person know that the reason the song was so hard to hear through her headphones was because they weren’t plugged in.  Whatever the memories may be, we will always carry those with us.

I think one of our classmates got more of an education than he signed up for, since he had lived in the New England area all of his life, except for the last two years he spent working on his master’s here in Kansas.  I warned him that if he didn’t come to graduation, I would share some of his finer educational moments with everyone.  So, here it goes.  You would have thought that even if you didn’t grow up in Kansas you would have seen a cow in person at least once, but apparently this is not the case.  While on a site visit for our infrastructure class, this un-named person for the first time saw a cow up close, and this same cow happened to also be giving birth.  I think this image still to this day gives him nightmares.  This person was also taken back when he found out that deer are not goat sized and thought CRP was another name to call “weeds” yet we just forgot to put an “A” in there.  I think one of the reasons this un-named individual isn’t here today is because he probably took the first flight back to the east coast after having to experience the Kansas lifestyle.  As for the rest of us, some of us are still desperately searching for jobs, while another of us is starting law school in just a couple of weeks. I commend him on his self-motivation for starting law school right after finishing his masters, so Leland, congratulations. 

No matter which department you are graduating from today, or what your future plans may hold, I know we can all be confident that we will be successful in whatever we go on to do because of the dedication and commitment our professors, staff, and faculty have given to ensuring we attained the best education possible.  Congratulations to all of you, and best of luck on all of your future endeavors.