When Carroll Shreeve was a young child she created her first book. At eight-pages and with stick figure drawings it was hardly a publishable work, but at that moment, she knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to make books. Someday, she wanted to walk into a bookstore and buy a book with her own name on it. Years later she pursued more practical dreams by teaching art and working in the publishing business. She even spent a number of years writing books for others as a ghost writer, swallowing her pride and watching others take credit for her writing. This process taught her how to write books that people would buy, and how to get them published. In 2000, she finally saw her dream come true as she published her first book under her own name, and has published several since.

Ms. Sheeve translated her experiences into both inspiring and practical advice to OWATC’s graduating class. To help graduates remember some of her life lessons, she organized her thoughts by the letters OWATC.

• Own your worth. Believe in yourself. Set an example for others.
• Work toward your goals. Make a daily down payment on your dreams. If you are not living your dreams yet, do something small every day to work toward those goals such as taking a class or asking others who have been successful how they did it.
• Accept responsibility for your choices and the natural consequences.
• Turn try into do. As Yoda said, “Do or not do. There is no try.”
• Contribute value to others with your mind, hands and heart. Treasure integrity, and exemplify an attitude of gratitude, and she assured the audience that the financial rewards will follow.

To succeed, Ms. Shreeve encouraged graduates to prepare now for opportunities that will someday. Many jobs that students will do in ten years have not even been thought of today. She quoted Abraham Lincoln who said, “I will prepare for when my opportunity comes” and told her own story illustrating this point. When she decided to pursue her dream of publishing, she took a dramatic pay cut to start at the bottom rung of a publishing company. Within a few short weeks of working in the darkroom, she was promoted into an editing capacity because she went beyond her regular duties and found numerous errors on the items that she processed. Shortly after that, the opportunity she had been preparing for arrived when her boss was suddenly fired and she got his job. She could not have seized this opportunity had she not already aggressively learned her boss’s job prior to that event.

Ms. Shreeve encouraged students to take a practical approach to success, and provided the following tips:

• Arrive on time, and dress neatly
• Do not engage in gossip about co-workers. The person you gossip about today may be your boss tomorrow.
• Learn your job responsibilities and those of the people around you.
• Interview people who are doing what you want to do and learn from them
• Scrapbook your dreams
• Take risks
• Make a daily investment in your dreams

English Skills, Cultural Barriers and Gender Stereotypes Among Obstacles Overcome by Student Speaker

When Edna Hernandez was in High School she did not speak fluent English, but that not-so-minor detail did not stop her from setting sights on pursuing a career in Industrial Engineering. After arriving in Utah, she considered attending Weber State University but had her hopes frustrated by the realization that as an out-of-state student she would pay three times the regular tuition rate to attend college. When someone referred her to OWATC, she discovered the Industrial Automation and Maintenance program and realized it would be exactly the education she would need to start the career she had dreamed about earlier.

Getting through the program presented its challenges, however, since she lacked the English skills she needed to get through technical college-level classes. She was also dealing with the major adjustment of living in a new culture, navigating the financial issues of college life, and working as a woman in a traditionally male field. Ms. Hernandez warmly thanked the office of Diversity, the financial aid department, her instructors and counselors for helping her succeed.

Ms. Hernandez completed her program with honors and plans on completing a four-year bachelor’s degree from Weber State as she works in her new career. She expressed appreciation to OWATC for helping her get the training needed to get started in a career where she will immediately make a great living, and start in the profession she has always wanted.