Mark Webber's speech at the Medallion Ceremony, 5-14-19
Good evening, Dr. Rios, Dr. V, Dr. Barron, fellow faculty and staff, and especially to the Class of 2019, the reason we’re here tonight.
Seniors, we are reaching a milestone soon. It’s a milestone for you because you’re about to graduate and enter the adult world with all of the challenges it will present. For me, I’m retiring after 40 years of teaching, 26 of those at VMT, and will be facing the challenges retirement will present.
My first milestone as a teacher, decades ago, was my first-ever day of class at my first paid teaching position. First period students came in after the bell rang, I started speaking, and a girl raised her hand and said, “Sir.”
I turned around to see who she is speaking to, and I realize I’m the sir. That hit me like a ton of bricks. That’s a milestone I’ll never forget.
Likely your first milestone at VMT was something you’ll never forget.
I’ve had many other milestones in teaching and in my personal life throughout the years.
For me, leaving Memorial Middle School to transfer to VMT 26 years ago, in the summer before it opened in 1993, was a big milestone.
Those 26 years have had their own challenges and have brought me much pride from seeing students growing up, often starting as shy freshmen and blossoming into fine young adults brimming with confidence and who become excellent, award-winning journalists, creative writers, photographers, and graphic designers.
I am able to say I am the only faculty member left from our old campus. At the end of the month, after I retire, a staff member and colleague in the Communication department will remain as the sole link to the old campus.
Our first year at our old campus downtown was quite something. It was a unique experience. We held class in the board room on Houston Street and at St. Peter’s Plaza, and a dance teacher held class in the courtyard of the house that held superintendent’s office at the other end of the street. Sometimes we’d spread out in the old civic center auditorium and ballroom if the downtown facilities were not available.
At the ballroom, my students and I would find ourselves surrounded by music students, each playing a different instrument and a different song. That was quite an experience!
Slowly, one by one, our buildings were ready and we moved in. We in journalism observed a milestone as we moved into our little 3-room building two or three days before the big inauguration Mr. Vidal M. Treviño organized. That included then-Texas Governor Ann Richards, and held at locations throughout the campus and in St. Peter’s Plaza.
Moving to our new campus in 2015, the buildings where we are now, was another milestone.
Possibly, a milestone for many of you is when you received your first cell telephone. Advances in technology have greatly changed all of our lives, especially with telephones.
Technological advances have impacted us in other ways, also.
The world when the school opened 26 years ago, in 1993, was quite different from now. Let’s go back a generation and take a look.
Imagine taking photos with a film camera, then waiting a few days to get your photos back from a photo processor.
That’s what people who took photographs did then to get their photos. By the way, at the old campus we had a black-and-white darkroom. Nowadays, of course, we use a cell phone or download pictures from a digital camera, and use email, texting, or the internet to share those images.
Speaking of the internet, the World Wide Web was in its infancy. Back then, when you wanted to go online, you’d unplug the wire from your telephone and plug it into your computer. Then you’d click on the dial-up icon and wait -- and wait -- and wait -- for website images to open. Patience was a virtue back then.
Those who had cell telephones in 1993 used analog-based devices with 1G or 2G technology. Those phones allowed you to make and receive calls, and if you were lucky to have the right one, take tiny, low resolution photos.
We’re so spoiled nowadays with our smart phones, aren’t we? Our mobile phones are far more powerful computers than what space ship Apollo 11 had when it took three American astronauts to the moon in 1969. By the way, I watched them frolic on the moon on my home’s black and white television set, which was already old technology when I was a junior and senior in high school.
Now, back to 1993. Other notable events when the school opened was the inauguration of Bill Clinton as the nation’s 42nd president and the first bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City.
In popular culture, Stephen Speilberg’s Jurassic Park, Mrs. Doubtfire with the late Robin Williams, and The Fugitive with Harrison Ford were the year’s top movies, the Toronto Blue Jays were baseball’s World Series champions, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Buffalo Bills to win Super Bowl 27, and the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan won the NBA championship.
Just think about all of the history and high points in your own lives over the past 17 or 18 years. Those are the milestones you one day will describe to your children -- and grandchildren -- in vivid detail.
To close, I’ll leave you with guides that have helped me throughout the past six and a half decades:
1) Be kind to others. You never know when you’ll need their help some day, and they’ll remember your kindness.
2) Take care of your body. Good health is priceless. If you must indulge in something, practice moderation.
3) Stand up to bullies. Nobody deserves to be mistreated.
4) Advocate for yourself. Don’t be afraid to take credit for your work. Toot your own horn. Be proud of who you are and what you do.
5) Pray. Place trust in a supreme being.
6) Accept yourself. Be comfortable with who you are as a person.
7) Be curious. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Be willing to learn new ways of doing and thinking. Don’t be afraid to fail. If you fail, try again, and lastly,
8) Have fun. Enjoy life. Find joy in the most mundane or routine of tasks. Keep on smiling.
Thank you.
Seniors, we are reaching a milestone soon. It’s a milestone for you because you’re about to graduate and enter the adult world with all of the challenges it will present. For me, I’m retiring after 40 years of teaching, 26 of those at VMT, and will be facing the challenges retirement will present.
My first milestone as a teacher, decades ago, was my first-ever day of class at my first paid teaching position. First period students came in after the bell rang, I started speaking, and a girl raised her hand and said, “Sir.”
I turned around to see who she is speaking to, and I realize I’m the sir. That hit me like a ton of bricks. That’s a milestone I’ll never forget.
Likely your first milestone at VMT was something you’ll never forget.
I’ve had many other milestones in teaching and in my personal life throughout the years.
For me, leaving Memorial Middle School to transfer to VMT 26 years ago, in the summer before it opened in 1993, was a big milestone.
Those 26 years have had their own challenges and have brought me much pride from seeing students growing up, often starting as shy freshmen and blossoming into fine young adults brimming with confidence and who become excellent, award-winning journalists, creative writers, photographers, and graphic designers.
I am able to say I am the only faculty member left from our old campus. At the end of the month, after I retire, a staff member and colleague in the Communication department will remain as the sole link to the old campus.
Our first year at our old campus downtown was quite something. It was a unique experience. We held class in the board room on Houston Street and at St. Peter’s Plaza, and a dance teacher held class in the courtyard of the house that held superintendent’s office at the other end of the street. Sometimes we’d spread out in the old civic center auditorium and ballroom if the downtown facilities were not available.
At the ballroom, my students and I would find ourselves surrounded by music students, each playing a different instrument and a different song. That was quite an experience!
Slowly, one by one, our buildings were ready and we moved in. We in journalism observed a milestone as we moved into our little 3-room building two or three days before the big inauguration Mr. Vidal M. Treviño organized. That included then-Texas Governor Ann Richards, and held at locations throughout the campus and in St. Peter’s Plaza.
Moving to our new campus in 2015, the buildings where we are now, was another milestone.
Possibly, a milestone for many of you is when you received your first cell telephone. Advances in technology have greatly changed all of our lives, especially with telephones.
Technological advances have impacted us in other ways, also.
The world when the school opened 26 years ago, in 1993, was quite different from now. Let’s go back a generation and take a look.
Imagine taking photos with a film camera, then waiting a few days to get your photos back from a photo processor.
That’s what people who took photographs did then to get their photos. By the way, at the old campus we had a black-and-white darkroom. Nowadays, of course, we use a cell phone or download pictures from a digital camera, and use email, texting, or the internet to share those images.
Speaking of the internet, the World Wide Web was in its infancy. Back then, when you wanted to go online, you’d unplug the wire from your telephone and plug it into your computer. Then you’d click on the dial-up icon and wait -- and wait -- and wait -- for website images to open. Patience was a virtue back then.
Those who had cell telephones in 1993 used analog-based devices with 1G or 2G technology. Those phones allowed you to make and receive calls, and if you were lucky to have the right one, take tiny, low resolution photos.
We’re so spoiled nowadays with our smart phones, aren’t we? Our mobile phones are far more powerful computers than what space ship Apollo 11 had when it took three American astronauts to the moon in 1969. By the way, I watched them frolic on the moon on my home’s black and white television set, which was already old technology when I was a junior and senior in high school.
Now, back to 1993. Other notable events when the school opened was the inauguration of Bill Clinton as the nation’s 42nd president and the first bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City.
In popular culture, Stephen Speilberg’s Jurassic Park, Mrs. Doubtfire with the late Robin Williams, and The Fugitive with Harrison Ford were the year’s top movies, the Toronto Blue Jays were baseball’s World Series champions, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Buffalo Bills to win Super Bowl 27, and the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan won the NBA championship.
Just think about all of the history and high points in your own lives over the past 17 or 18 years. Those are the milestones you one day will describe to your children -- and grandchildren -- in vivid detail.
To close, I’ll leave you with guides that have helped me throughout the past six and a half decades:
1) Be kind to others. You never know when you’ll need their help some day, and they’ll remember your kindness.
2) Take care of your body. Good health is priceless. If you must indulge in something, practice moderation.
3) Stand up to bullies. Nobody deserves to be mistreated.
4) Advocate for yourself. Don’t be afraid to take credit for your work. Toot your own horn. Be proud of who you are and what you do.
5) Pray. Place trust in a supreme being.
6) Accept yourself. Be comfortable with who you are as a person.
7) Be curious. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Be willing to learn new ways of doing and thinking. Don’t be afraid to fail. If you fail, try again, and lastly,
8) Have fun. Enjoy life. Find joy in the most mundane or routine of tasks. Keep on smiling.
Thank you.