Our Founders Day Assembly was excellent this year. The speaker chosen is always an alumnus and this year Julie Tolan, Class of 1983, took the podium. She is currently CEO of the Milwaukee YMCA but on Friday, she was a real friend and supporter of all our BA scholars. Her message was simple and clear and powerful. She explained that her BA career had taught her three lessons that she continues to carry forward into her daily life – both in her work and in her personal life.
First she learned from the experience of hard work, from her successes and failures, and from her teachers’ encouragement to persevere… that we can choose to be winners or whiners in life… we always have a choice. She came to learn not to whine over obstacles and setbacks, but to learn from mistakes and choose a positive attitude. Ultimately this approach makes us Winners!
Next, she spoke about how she learned to face problem solving with imagination and flexible thinking. She had some great opportunities in theater productions at BA and they allowed her be another character with expressions and memorized lines to interpret. She could have that challenging feeling on stage where she or another cast member may have slipped on a line…and the good feeling of figuring out how to make it all work out in front of the audience.
Finally, she spoke about her experience on the athletic fields and explained that her teams were not always the most talented or the most experienced but she learned at BA to support her teammates and always stand up for each other. She learned loyalty, dependability and teamwork. Today she takes these same lessons into her relationships at work and with her family. She concluded that life itself is a TEAM sport. I love that message and try to create that environment in our little community in Liberty Hall.
Of course, in addition to these three points, Julie could not overlook the Five Stars and she reported that she still thinks about them now as an adult. Like so many alums that I have visited with, she continues to use them to guide her in life’s decisions to this day. I wish the same for all our scholars.
With these messages, Julie has certainly helped me plan some future assemblies, but I hope that your children will be able to take away these same positive perspectives from their years at Brookfield Academy.
If you have never attended a Founders Day assembly, please mark your calendar for next year’s – Friday, September 5, 2014 – it is always a great morning!
First she learned from the experience of hard work, from her successes and failures, and from her teachers’ encouragement to persevere… that we can choose to be winners or whiners in life… we always have a choice. She came to learn not to whine over obstacles and setbacks, but to learn from mistakes and choose a positive attitude. Ultimately this approach makes us Winners!
Next, she spoke about how she learned to face problem solving with imagination and flexible thinking. She had some great opportunities in theater productions at BA and they allowed her be another character with expressions and memorized lines to interpret. She could have that challenging feeling on stage where she or another cast member may have slipped on a line…and the good feeling of figuring out how to make it all work out in front of the audience.
Finally, she spoke about her experience on the athletic fields and explained that her teams were not always the most talented or the most experienced but she learned at BA to support her teammates and always stand up for each other. She learned loyalty, dependability and teamwork. Today she takes these same lessons into her relationships at work and with her family. She concluded that life itself is a TEAM sport. I love that message and try to create that environment in our little community in Liberty Hall.
Of course, in addition to these three points, Julie could not overlook the Five Stars and she reported that she still thinks about them now as an adult. Like so many alums that I have visited with, she continues to use them to guide her in life’s decisions to this day. I wish the same for all our scholars.
With these messages, Julie has certainly helped me plan some future assemblies, but I hope that your children will be able to take away these same positive perspectives from their years at Brookfield Academy.
If you have never attended a Founders Day assembly, please mark your calendar for next year’s – Friday, September 5, 2014 – it is always a great morning!