Oh, The Places We’ll Go
By Jody Gifford, Community Connect Program Graduate, Class of 2022
(Jody with her small group, left to right, mentor Nadilia Gomez, Jody, Alexa Strickler, Lacey Little and Megan Grandgeorge)
Graduate: a person who has successfully completed a course of study or training.
A couple weeks ago, I was talking to a friend about Community Connect. She was asking how things were going, if I had landed on a goal (there had been several previously discussed) and if there was anyone I was still hoping to connect with before the end of class. This was just a couple days after the session wrapped and I was happy to share that I was now a graduate of the program.
“Do you actually graduate from something like that?” she asked. I didn’t know, honestly. I’d always thought that was the correct terminology when you completed a program like Community Connect. No, I hadn’t put in four years of study or walked across a stage in a cap and gown, but I had completed the requirements of the program and I was ready to head out into the world armed with the tools to live my purpose.
The funny thing is, I thought about this a lot over the next couple days. Could I really call myself a Community Connect “graduate” or was I merely a “participant?” I needed to know so, of course, I went to Google.
“What does it mean to graduate?”
“What’s the definition of a graduate?”
“How do you graduate?”
Answers varied but the one thing they all had in common was the idea that graduation meant completing a course of study or meeting all the requirements of a particular area of study.
Had my fellow Community Connect participants done that? Yes! Creating a purpose statement and a goal were the two main hallmarks of the program and we’d all done the work. In fact, on the last night of the session, we were tasked with sharing those with our fellow participants and mentors.
It was as ceremonious as any graduation as I’ve been to. We lined up with our small groups at the front of the room, printed pages in hand, ready to share what we’d created. It was the first time many of us had ever spoken our purpose statements and goals out loud and we were all, it seemed, a bit nervous about taking that next big step in our journey.
I’d had the chance to meet just about everyone in the class and had gotten to know a handful of them well over the course of the program. We’d all collaborated with one another, to some degree, and I personally found that every time I’d connected with someone new, my purpose statement and goal became more focused and polished because of their help and feedback.
Listening as everyone shared theirs, I realized that we’d all benefited from these connections in class. I could hear it in their words and see it in their faces: they’d all gained the confidence to leave the classroom, ready to take on the world with what they’d learned.
Isn’t that what graduation is all about—taking what you’ve learned and making the world a better place? I think so, and I’m confident that the 32 of us are going to do great things now that we’ve completed, er, graduated from Community Connect.
So, congratulations, Community Connect class of 2022! Stay in touch. I can’t wait to hear what you’re up to in the months to come!
