Lydia Mihalik, a 2002 UF graduate and mayor-elect of the city of Findlay, gave the following commencement address on Saturday, Dec. 17.

Welcome!

Lydia Mihalik ’02, mayor-elect of the city of Findlay speaks to the December 2011 graduates.

I would like to thank the University for the opportunity to participate in commencement this afternoon. I have to admit that having the chance to stand before you today is something that ultimately allows me to check one task off my “bucket list.” Today, I am honored to stand before you and pray that I am able to impart some wisdom your way as you walk across this stage and start a new chapter in your life. 

First and foremost, as I prepared for our time together this afternoon, I wanted to make sure you realized how important it was to recognize the significance of the leadership change that took place on campus last year. Nov. 8, 2011, was a historic moment for our community. I can’t help but think the season of “historic firsts” in Findlay, Ohio, ultimately began when Dr. Katherine Fell took the reins at The University of Findlay. With poise and grace, this strong woman has arrived on campus and has immediately taken her place amongst the great leaders in our community.

We are fortunate to have a woman of her caliber leading our University. There are people in your life that you will meet, or that you have met, and they command a room with their presence and charisma. Dr. Fell has the “it” factor and as amazing as she is, the most admirable quality I believe she holds is the fact that she is the wife of Roger and a mother of a six and a president of an amazing institution.

I am thankful for the contributions she has already made to our community and am thankful she is around to call on. And trust me graduates, as we leave here today and walk through the arch this afternoon, it won’t be the last day you hear from or see our beloved president.

As a political scientist at heart, I like to compare and contrast. As you prepare to walk out into the professional world, or continue on in your selected field of graduate study, I wanted to give you some perspective on how quickly things change. The world is a much different place from the time when I received my degree nearly 10 years ago.

In 2002, the U.S. Department of Justice started its investigation into Enron. The “Dot Com” bubble finally burst, and the Dow fell to nearly 7,200 points. We started the war on terror in Afghanistan with Operation Anaconda. The movie “A Beautiful Mind” won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Former President Jimmy Carter became the first president in or out of office to visit Cuba since the Castro Revolution.

The U.S. Congress authorized President Bush to use the United States Armed Forces to the extent he deemed necessary against Iraq. In keeping with the war on terror theme, President Bush signed the Homeland Security Act, which happened to be the largest government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947.

The “Beltway Snipers” John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were finally arrested towards the end of the year. The Dow ended the year at 8300 points, and the Mayor of the City of Findlay was a retired State Representative and former Cabinet member to Governor George Voinovich, John Stozich, or “Coach” as many called him.

Fast forward almost 10 years. Most notable internationally in my mind is the “Arab Spring” movement. Major protests and civil resistance to the governments in Tunsia, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Libya and Yemen erupted. Other countries in the region also spoke up: Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco and Oman.  Spurred by angst of the dictatorships, human rights violations, government corruption and extreme poverty, the youth in these countries, for the most part, were refusing to continue the status quo. 

While most of us were celebrating the possibility of democracy or a change in leadership on the other side of the world, the unrest did not come without a price here in the states. The unrest in Libya, in particular, caused the cost of oil to rise nearly 20 percent over a two-week period, causing what some call the 2011 energy crisis. 

A few thousand miles west of the Arab Spring region, we saw the devastating effects of a 9.1-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami on the east side of Japan. More than 15,000 people perished in an event caused by Mother Nature, which most of us had never seen except for on a movie screen. 

On a more positive note, millions of people across the globe watched the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. 

Early in the spring, President Barrack Obama came into our living rooms and told us that the world’s most wanted criminal Osama Bin Laden had been killed during an American military operation in Pakistan. This is one of the most significant news items I believe I’ve witnessed in my lifetime. The attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, in my opinion, changed the way most of us feel about life and the American Way. Finalizing the Bin Laden chapter helped bring closure in a lot of ways to many people.

Other notable events: NASA stopped its space shuttle program, ending an era of space exploration that most of us witnessed as children. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average this week has hovered around 12,000, and the new mayor-elect of the City of Findlay for the first time in its history is a 32-year-old mother of two.

So, as you prepare to close this chapter in your life, it is good to reflect on your experiences here at The University of Findlay as an Oiler, but it is also important to realize the world is an ever-changing place. 

The mission of The University of Findlay is to equip our students for meaningful lives and productive careers. It is your job to validate that mission by exercising choices in your life that are reflective of the culture and education you have received here. 

At the risk of sounding like fellow Hoosier, John Cougar Mellencamp, I was born in a small town, and I went to school in this small town, and I can’t help but think there is a reason for that. There are certain aspects of the University that attracted my attention immediately. When I arrived on campus in August of 1998, and I had no idea what this beautiful place would offer me, I went through many ideas in my head as to what my career would hold. Would I be a college professor and teach political science or would I be a lobbyist at the state level?

Never in my wildest dreams did I believe I would find a desire to serve this community in local government. Public service never entered my mind. However, it is the skills and relationships that I built over my time on campus that prepared me for a meaningful life and, up unto this point, a very productive career.

My words of wisdom to you are this:  Wherever you go, whatever you do, find an opportunity to practice servant leadership. Another fellow Hoosier, Robert Greenleaf, defines the term “as a management philosophy which implies a comprehensive view of the quality of people, work and community spirit. It requires a spiritual understanding of identity, mission, vision and environment. A servant leader is someone who is servant first, who has responsibility to be in the world, and so he contributes to the well-being of people and community. A servant leader looks to the needs of the people and asks himself how he can help them to solve problems and promote personal development. He places his main focus on people, because only content and motivated people are able to reach their targets and to fulfill the set expectations.”

Too often in this world, there are people that only look out for No. 1.

Knowing that our world is ever-changing at a very rapid pace and that each of us is given opportunities to lead and/or make a difference in our communities, it is our duty as human beings to explore those opportunities and make the most of them. Which reminds me of a quote by President E. Gordon Gee from The Ohio State University: “You can’t always control the timing of your opportunities, but you can control how you take advantage of them.”

A community comes in all shapes and sizes but truly is what you make of it. I chose to stay here in Findlay because Findlay is a place where I know I can make a difference. In my profession, there are many reasons why people choose to get into politics. Some do it for power and some do it for the opportunity to effect change.

I remember hearing someone make a comment as it related to this very topic, and for the life of me, I can’t remember who it was, and I’m sure it was borrowed from someone else. But I’ve heard before that “Boys and girls run for office to be somebody. Men and women run for office because they want to do something.” 

The places you choose to live and the communities in which you have the opportunity to serve will be blessed with an Oiler, an Oiler who has been equipped with the tools for meaningful lives and productive careers. The diploma that you receive as you walk across this stage is a symbol of the sun setting on yet another chapter in your life. It is up to you validate it when the sun rises tomorrow morning. A new chapter full of excitement, opportunity and the unexpected will begin and if you can find a way to make the most of it, you will find happiness.

Stay true to your standards and push forward relentlessly. Empower those around you and work to make a difference and do something in this world.  Know that the administrators, faculty and staff of this institution will always welcome you back to campus with open arms.

The opportunity to stand here before you and share in this moment with you, your family, your friends, the Board of Trustees and the faculty and staff is a humbling and inspiring experience and because of this moment, right here, right now, please remember that no matter how far you travel or how long you are away, you will forever have a friend in Findlay that will hopefully be sitting in the mayor’s office for many years to come.

Congratulations, every one of you, and Godspeed to you all!

Thank you!