“What are you going to do after you graduate?”
That is the question many of us, particularly seniors, are asked more frequently as graduation approaches. This question causes stress, especially if you cannot provide an answer.
At a funeral for an alumni member of my fraternity, two even more important questions crossed my mind:
“How are you going to be remembered?” and “What will your legacy be?”
George Vaclavek became an honorary initiated brother of Lambda Chi Alpha in the ‘70s during his tenure as head groundskeeper at OCU. At his funeral service stories were shared about how he helped students get through college. He provided many students with jobs and housing, and he taught everyone around him the value of hard work.
He literally left his mark, not just on OCU by landscaping around campus, but also on the Bricktown canal and various other landscapes around the state. His legacy goes beyond the beautiful scenes of nature he left us. It lives on in every young man he showed the proper way to trim a tree and with every person he encountered. Generations of men’s lives were touched by George.
Unfortunately, I never got to know George. From time to time current members of Lambda Chi Alpha would take him to the grocery store or doctor’s office. I always made excuses as to why I couldn’t go, like “I’m too busy,” or “I have too much homework.” I missed the opportunity to meet a brother and a great man.
What you do after graduation is important. After all, why put in four years or more of hard work to get a degree if you don’t do anything after college? How you live your whole life is even more important. What made George’s legacy so meaningful is not what he did but how he did it, with hard work, dedication and compassion.
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