3 Do we really value our education?

Published in The Edinboro Spectator: March 7, 2013

Dedicated to memory of LaQula Walker (1989-2013)

A few days ago I was on Facebook when I saw a status post from an old friend that caught my eye. This friend was a former Edinboro University student who came here around the same time that I did, lived in my residence hall, except he didn’t graduate. He spent most of his time here partying, hanging out and doing other “extracurricular activities.” He was intelligent but he wasn’t focused.

On his Facebook status, he spoke about how much he should have valued his time here in Edinboro instead of a viewing it as a place for partying and leisure. He explained how he’s now at a smaller university where the atmosphere is much different than that of Edinboro. His current school, he claims, is a “degree factory” where many of the classes are boring and don’t really engage students.

This thoughtful, reflective post made me think about some student here at Edinboro today. I thought to myself, “Do people really value their opportunities here?”

Sometimes, I even have to ask that question about myself.

Often, people view college as a vacation. They see it as free time to have fun and “live it up”.

Yet, in this quest for fun, excitement, a new “high” and attention, people forget the real purpose of college, which is to get an education.

Make no mistake about it, there is nothing wrong with having a little fun every now and then, yet we have to have balance and remember what our priorities are.

I’ve had my years where I partied more than I more than I studied, but then I grew up.

These days it is hard for me to live that lifestyle, mainly because I know that my college education is bigger than me. I’m not doing this just for myself.

I do it for my ancestors who would have died (literally) for some of the educational opportunities that I’ve been blessed to have.

I do it for my family members who grew up in the Jim Crow South and had to walk miles to go to school.

I do it for my great grandparents who grew up in the Great Depression and never got the opportunity to go to college.

Ultimately, I do it for the future, for my younger brother and sister, for the kids in the inner city, the suburbs and in the country, who want to be better than the world tells them that they are.

By me not honoring my opportunity to learn, I dishonor the dreams of all of these people.

Last year, I met a remarkable young woman who opened my eyes to the importance of making the most out of our opportunities.

She was a graduate student here at Edinboro University who was ambitious, driven, and had wisdom beyond her years; this young woman’s name was LaQula Walker.

She valued her education and knew that she had an opportunity to become something much greater. She would tell me about her dreams of attending law school and changing the world.

Sadly, a week ago, LaQula passed away at the young age of 23, just a few months shy of graduation, as she was close to reaching the prime of her life. Yet, as sad her passing was, it opened my eyes and caused me to ask a profound question.

I asked myself, “If we’re still here, and we’re blessed with the gift of life and have a chance to learn and to make something of ourselves, what is our excuse to take that for granted?”

Maybe that’s a question which we all need to ask.