Commencement speaker: Live with integrity, humility, fearlessness

On a joyous Mother’s Day, Heidelberg welcomed ’81 alumnus and Trustee Leon Garoufalis as the keynote speaker for its 172nd Commencement exercises. Leon is the president and CEO of Composites One, the largest supplier of composite materials in North America. In his remarks, he shared with the graduates lessons learned from the successes and failures throughout his career – things he wishes he had known when he graduated from the ‘Berg 44 years ago.

Leon encouraged the Class of ’25 to live with integrity, respect for others, and a mindset of gratitude, framing his lessons around the idea of advice he’d give his own kids.

‘Live with integrity’

The first, maintain integrity in every relationship and everything you do. “Good relationships don’t exist without integrity,” he said. “Your reputation stays with you your entire life. … (It’s) what people know you by, it’s what they think about when they think about you. Cherish it, protect it. Be deliberate about it. This is the foundation on which you build your life.”

‘Respect others always’

His second piece of advice: Follow the Golden Rule. Respect others always. Simple gestures like asking how someone’s day is going make their day. We’re all in the same boat in that regard.

“No one is better than you and you are better than no one. What you sow, you reap – always be good to other people in all situations.”

Choose hard work

Third, you can accomplish anything through hard work, discipline, and belief. “This is a matter of choice,” Leon said. “Your choice.” He noted that while in college and unsure what career he would pursue, he took a counselor’s seemingly random advice that he would like sales. “After I graduated, I quickly found out that being good at sales takes a lot of work and practice, and I was determined to be good at it. So, I read books, listened to tapes – we now have digital downloads and podcasts – and worked very hard for years.

“And the best part is this – the satisfaction and successes and accomplishments far outweigh the work and effort that made those successes possible – that’s a fact!”

‘Be thankful’

The fourth lesson is very simple: Be thankful for everything you have in your life, every day. This is easy to do when things are going well. “It’s not as easy but so much more important to be thankful” when things are not going well.

A part of being thankful is to believe in yourself and not focus on what others have, which human nature sometimes pulls us to do. “Love yourself, be good to yourself,” Leon said. “Don’t let others determine how you feel about yourself. Express gratitude to others for what they do and who they are, especially to those who are in your life.”

‘Fear nothing!’

Finally – and most importantly – he encouraged the graduates to live without fear or doubt. Life teaches us that if we face our fears, we will conquer them. Yes, hard work helps. Yes, treating others well helps. But being bold and conducting ourselves with confidence will serve us well, he added.

The graduates should be very proud of their Heidelberg degree, he said. It will lead them on a path of opportunity.

“You can decide how to live the rest of your life. … Look for those doors of opportunity that open in front of you and get out of your comfort zone and grow. … And have no fear – be bold – harness the incredible power of extreme confidence and sincere humility,” he concluded.