Keynote Address from Professor Robert Manzo at University Convocation

There is no such beauty as where you belong. 

That is a lyric from a song The Road Home, by Stephen Paulus which was performed at our choral arts concert this past spring semester.  I say this because of you, where you are right now, this place and time, is truly beautiful.  There is something very special about your first few days at college.  I went to college for my undergraduate degree a long time ago, but I remember my first few days like it just happened.  The people I met, my first roommate, the places I went to from the dining halls to the book stores.  What makes this time so special is the amazing opportunity that lies before you.  This opportunity to explore and learn so many things about yourself, our world and beyond.  It’s an exciting journey you are about to embark on.  I am thrilled and honored to have a few minutes to speak with you today.

This will be my 17th year teaching at Lehigh.  I currently teach Introduction to Financial Accounting and Introduction to Managerial Accounting which is take mostly by 2nd year students.  I live right here in the Lehigh Valley with my wife Julie and two children, my son Isaac who is 9 and my daughter Stella who is 7.  My son just finished elementary school which ends at the third grade for our town.  So now he is off to intermediate school.   I was recently looking through his yearbook.  The first thing that struck me was that I don’t remember getting a yearbook when I was elementary school.   When you get to the end of the yearbook, the school prints for each third grader what they would like to be when they grow up.  I read through the kids responses: doctor, baseball player, singer, football player, teacher, dentist, scientist, veterinarian….none of the third graders wanted to be accountants.  They will ask my daughter this question in about two years…….we’ll see. 

What I find interesting is that I have had many conversations with college students around this very same question.  It’s fun when you are in the third grade, but it can become a bit overwhelming at times when you get to college.  So I thought I would share a few insights that have come from my conversations with college students over the past several years. 

Here’s the good news, you don’t have decide today what you are going to do for the rest of your life.  In fact, it is not really a decision at all.  Finding that place where you belong is a process of discovery.  If there is a decision to be made, it is to embrace and be committed to this journey which you are starting today and will continue well after Lehigh.  The objective on this journey is simple:  find what you love to do.  What are those things, either activities or coursework, that motivate you to go above and beyond the basic requirements?  You will make decisions along the way, but you can change your mind, whether it’s here at Lehigh or years after Lehigh.  Even when you do decide to pursue a career path, it does not have to be permanent.  I changed my mind several times over the course of my career. And I am thankful I did make these changes.  I am thankful I challenged myself, because if I didn’t I would not be talking to you today….I would not be a professor.  I wake up every day knowing this is what I was meant to do.  And it really is a beautiful place.  You will get there too through this great journey.

Now a word of caution.  Sometimes we convince ourselves that we love something because it’s something that comes easy or something we’ve always been good at.  For some people, it can be that simple and that is great.  But be careful.  To fully embrace and maximize this opportunity that lies before you, taking on challenges, which may include challenging courses that may at first seem difficult or intimidating, can be really good risks worth taking.  In some cases, these challenging courses might be required, like accounting for business students.  However, it will ultimately be up to you to decide what challenges you wish to take on.  Your greatest accomplishments will come from succeeding at those things that are most challenging.  And, it is this part of the journey that can change your life forever and bring you to that beautiful place.
 
I know this, because this is what students have told me after taking my class, in some cases years after taking my class.  Some of the things students said they were thinking before they took my class are as follows:  “I was so worried about taking Accounting”, “I heard this class is so hard”, “I was so worried about getting a good grade”, “I would have never taken this class if it was not required”.  Those same students now have careers in prestigious accounting firms, consulting firms, or accounting departments in major corporations.  And here is the best part…..they love what they do.  They tell me, I never thought that this is what I would do.   I never thought this was possible.  This is what I mean by embracing and being committed to this journey and this opportunity that lies before you.  Don’t let the challenge intimidate you.  Things that are easy are quickly forgotten.  But you will remember the challenges forever.

A follow-up conversation that I also have with students is what can I do now to be successful?  How can I get ahead and be successful at what I want to do?  Great question but no simple answer, or not something that you can get done.  This is also journey.  My suggestion here is Leadership.  Great leadership skills is what makes you distinctive, unique, standout above everyone else.  A great combination for being successful.  Here is the good news, you can work on this right now.  You can work on leadership skills every day.

I teach ethics in my accounting courses. Not ethics from a philosophy perspective, we don’t get that deep into it, but we look at ethics from a decision making perspective.  These decisions don’t have a clear right or wrong answer.  We are dealing with ambiguous situations.  We look at laws and relevant facts.  But at the very core of this lesson is how your decisions and actions impact other people.  It’s amazing how much clarity you get on a decision when you take the perspective how other people are impacted by your actions.  It is my belief that successful people who have had a positive impact on society get this right.  They understand how people are impacted by the decisions they make.  It is a hallmark of great leadership.  So while the learning objective falls under ethics, I tell my students that what they are really learning is the foundations of great leadership skills.              

You are a vital part of our Lehigh community.  What you say and do matters.  Your decisions and actions will impact a lot of people in the Lehigh community and, if you think about, well beyond the Lehigh community.  Taking this rather simple approach of learning how your actions and decisions impact other people goes a long way in developing great leadership skills.  I believe that great leadership skills are not only a key ingredient for you to succeed in whatever career you pursue, but it can also help you produce a positive impact on our world.

I don’t think you have to look too far to see that our world needs great leadership.  The record of history is crystal clear, especially over the past 120 years, but even well beyond that.  And that is all of the world’s institutions: whether it is schools, governments, farms, hospitals, or businesses, all of these institutions must succeed and in order to succeed they will need great leaders….a lot of great leaders.  Failure in any one of these institutions increases the risk of loss for all of us.  I believe the greatest positive impact on our world will not come from technological innovations, medical breakthroughs, or alternative food… no…it will come from people who are committed to the journey and the hard work to become great leaders with the intentions of producing a positive impact for everyone in this world. 

That is your opportunity!
That is your challenge!
That is our challenge as we work together over the next few years.  And I promise this challenge is worth all the effort you can give because…
There really is no such beauty as where you belong.

Welcome to Lehigh.
Welcome Home.