{"id":68771,"date":"2005-05-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2005-05-13T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-turf-management-student-selected-as-commencement-speaker\/"},"modified":"2005-05-13T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2005-05-13T00:00:00","slug":"uri-turf-management-student-selected-as-commencement-speaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2005\/05\/uri-turf-management-student-selected-as-commencement-speaker\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 turf management student selected as commencement speaker"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tKINGSTON, R.I. — May 13, 2005 — Christopher Jablonski will be the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s student commencement speaker this year. He will graduate this month with a degree in environmental horticulture \/turf management, which is the study of the culture and use of plants that enhance human and natural environments.\t<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI grew up playing golf,\u201d explained Jablonski. \u201cI would play golf and see people on the course, and wonder what they were doing. That peaked my interest in golf course landscape management. I never wanted to sit in an office. In this field, there is something new and exciting every day.\u201d <\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cI decided to compete for the commencement speaker spot because I thought it should be a positive, but short speech, \u201d he said.<\/p>\n


\n\tThe speech is an analogy, relating life to getting a driver\u2019s license, an experience nearly everyone can relate to. He says that the last four years at 溏心vlog免费B站 were like having a learner\u2019s permit. Receiving a diploma is getting a driver\u2019s license. Commencement is the day a person sees the freedom of the open road ahead, all the possibilities life has in store. <\/p>\n


\n\tThe Monroe, N.Y. native was actively involved in campus life as an orientation leader, a 溏心vlog免费B站 tour guide, the chief operations officer of the Student Senate, a 溏心vlog免费B站 101 mentor, and part of the Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences (SMILE) program. He was also a student admissions representative, a member of the Student Alumni Association and a volunteer at Peace Dale Elementary School. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cAll the opportunities exist here,\u201d said Jablonski.<\/p>\n


\n\tJablonski even had time to found the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon. \u201cThe ideal of Sig Ep is to change the stereotype of a guy in a fraternity,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a good way to promote my ideals of what a fraternity should be. We are the kind of guys women could bring home to their mother.\u201d <\/p>\n


\n\tThe 22-year-old is one of four children of Walter and Eileen Jablonski. Walter is retired from the Federal Reserve Bank and Eileen is a secretary. His oldest sister, who is a physical therapist, just had her first child, and his older brother is a pilot for Coca-Cola. His younger sister will be a freshman at the University of North Carolina Greensboro this fall. <\/p>\n


\nJablonski decided to attend 溏心vlog免费B站 when he came on Welcome Day as a senior in high school. \u201cI was overwhelmed with the students\u2019 enthusiasm, even the ones helping park the cars,\u201d he recalled. \u201c溏心vlog免费B站 was near the beaches and it also had a good turf management program. It was an overall good fit for me.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tBy accomplishing so much during his time here at 溏心vlog免费B站, Jablonski learned an important life lesson. \u201cDepending on how much effort you put into something, you will get that back exponentially,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Jablonksi already has a job lined up for after graduation. \u201cI will be the second assistant at the Royce Brook Golf Club in New Jersey,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Commencement Speech<\/b>
\n

\nChris Jablonski \u201905 <\/p>\n


\nLet me start off by saying that I am not an English or communication studies major. Rather, the degree I\u2019m getting today is far from anything to do with public speaking\u2014Environmental Horticulture and Turfgrass Management. (Pause) Thanks for laughing; I start work on June 1st.<\/p>\n


\nFour years ago, I can remember sitting on another stage. It was at my high school graduation in Monroe, New York. I can recall thinking that there was no way I could succeed at 溏心vlog免费B站. I was shy and scared.<\/p>\n


\nThe summer passed quickly and before I knew it, I had moved into Burnside and was on my own. I didn\u2019t know a soul. But everyone around me seemed to know each other. And I was just some New Yorker surrounded by these people who spoke funny. I was almost ready to call my parents and tell them to come get me. In a last ditch effort to save myself and my parents a lot of money, I turned to the two people I actually recognized at 溏心vlog免费B站\u2014two student orientation leaders –Danielle Lachance and Chris Walsh–who had helped me out during freshmen orientation. I told them I was a wreck and had no idea what was going on. They told me to relax and took me out to lunch. They explained to me that college is a lot like driving a car for the first time. Some students hit the highway, hop in the fast lane, and speed off directly to their future. <\/p>\n


\nOther students weave in and out, constantly changing lanes and majors. Some become hitchhikers, grabbing a ride without a sense of personal direction. Others like me, pull over, too scared to see what the road ahead holds.
\nI was still apprehensive, but then Danielle said something. She told me: \u201cThere is a spark in you that I can see and everyone can too. You need to find it. \u201d Well, some thing took that day, and I have been a changed and happy man ever since. <\/p>\n


\nSo here I am standing on different stage about to get my academic driver\u2019s license. This time I\u2019m ready to drive confidently toward that highway of \u201clife.\u201d <\/p>\n


\nClass of 2005, you are all going to receive your academic license today. Fasten your seatbelts! Choose your own routes! May your roads all be smooth, and filled with happiness and success. Drive safely and smartly (be sure to check your rearview mirrors for the Narragansett police.) And don\u2019t forget to pull over sometimes to reflect on all the beautiful things that surround you. And lastly, may your hearts always stay warm with the memories of the journey we shared at this wonderful University. Thank you.\n\t<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. — May 13, 2005 — Christopher Jablonski will be the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s student commencement speaker this year. He will graduate this month with a degree in environmental horticulture \/turf management, which is the study of the culture and use of plants that enhance human and natural environments. \u201cI grew up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68773,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}