Enjoy happiness, speaker urges YSU grads

By BOB JACKSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

YOUNGSTOWN — Quoting Kermit the Frog might not seem like a typical thing to do when addressing a group of college graduates, but Chad Miller made it work.

It was just part of a speech that Miller, who graduated Sunday from Youngstown State University, admitted was just a little outside the ordinary. Miller, of Poland, was the student speaker during Sunday’s graduation ceremony at Beeghly Center.

While graduation speeches are often chock full of the usual admonitions for grads to pursue their dreams with all their might, Miller advised his fellow graduates to pull back the reins on the dream-chasing. Pursuing goals and dreams is important, but not if you become blinded to life’s smaller, less-spectactular moments and experiences along the way, he said.

An honors graduate and a former president of YSU’s Student Government Association, Miller said people too often get caught up in the pursuit of money, fame or a lucrative job, believing that those things, once achieved, will bring about happiness.

“But then we tend to not even give ourselves a chance to enjoy the happiness we’ve achieved before we’re off chasing another goal,” Miller said. “There’s always another what-if. It’s natural. It’s human to keep trying.”

For complete story, see Monday’s Vindicator or www.vindy.com.