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News & Photos
Jerry Bias '86: Scholarship Students are "Have Mosts"
Jerry B. Bias ‘86 delivered the following remarks at the Scholarship Celebration Luncheon, April 6, 2006. The annual gathering brought together current scholarship students from the Upper School and donors to the scholarship program.
Thank you for the generous introduction and thank you for the invitation back to the grounds of McDonogh.
I am not usually the type of person to rush to a podium to give speeches and certainly am not a fan of filibusters… But, when I received a call followed by a personal visit to New York from Dave Farace ’87 and Bo Dixon, I simply could not resist the opportunity to come back to McDonogh and speak to the students of whom I am most proud. Those students are all of you – the scholarship students of McDonogh.
In a world that is quick to categorize people as “haves” and “have nots,” I categorize the scholarship students of McDonogh as the “have mosts.” You have the most courage, the most opportunity and the most responsibility. I define this outstanding group of “have mosts” as follows:
Indeed you have the most courage. I say this because it takes nothing short of courage to apply to this academic institution of distinction, survive the interview process and then, hopefully, successfully endure the academic and social challenges in order to graduate. It takes courage to have the determination to make a choice to pursue the premier level of education that McDonogh School provides… and you have done that.
You have the most opportunity. You have the most opportunity to utilize your scholarship, compete and excel at McDonogh, and thrust yourself into the jet stream of excellence. Whether you know it or not, McDonogh is the foundation where you can begin to make your dreams become a reality. Always remember to trust and pursue your dreams.
You have the most responsibility. You have a responsibility to your family. Your family members are proud of your accomplishments. They pick you up when you fall and they have made sacrifices for you to excel enough to attain the significant status of being a scholarship student at McDonogh. In addition, you have a responsibility to McDonogh. Whether you love your experience at McDonogh or dislike it, you have a responsibility to make this place better for the next generation of “have mosts.” You have a responsibility not only to receive a scholarship and write a letter of thanks to a donor you may never meet, but to also give back to McDonogh once you leave. Whether your giving is in the form of time or in the form of treasure, you have a responsibility to give back in order to increase the number of scholarship students and to ensure that the McDonogh Scholarship Program lives in perpetuity.
I am proud to have been a scholarship student at McDonogh. I am grateful for the foundation, courage, opportunity and responsibility that the McDonogh Scholarship Program afforded and bestowed upon me. At the end of the day, whether I realized it or not while I sat in the same building 20-plus years ago, McDonogh made me a better person and I will always be grateful. McDonogh taught me that life is about obstacles not barriers. I learned that you measure your success by simply being yourself. Being yourself is always good enough and usually better than most.
In closing, I will leave you with a few tidbits of wisdom that have never failed me:
It’s not how your start; it’s how you finish;
Work like you don’t need the money;
Love like you’ve never been hurt;
Dance like nobody’s watching;
Sing like nobody’s listening; and
Live life like it’s Heaven on Earth!
Thanks for your time.
Jerry B. Bias ‘86 delivered the following remarks at the Scholarship Celebration Luncheon, April 6, 2006. The annual gathering brought together current scholarship students from the Upper School and donors to the scholarship program.
Thank you for the generous introduction and thank you for the invitation back to the grounds of McDonogh.
I am not usually the type of person to rush to a podium to give speeches and certainly am not a fan of filibusters… But, when I received a call followed by a personal visit to New York from Dave Farace ’87 and Bo Dixon, I simply could not resist the opportunity to come back to McDonogh and speak to the students of whom I am most proud. Those students are all of you – the scholarship students of McDonogh.
In a world that is quick to categorize people as “haves” and “have nots,” I categorize the scholarship students of McDonogh as the “have mosts.” You have the most courage, the most opportunity and the most responsibility. I define this outstanding group of “have mosts” as follows:
Indeed you have the most courage. I say this because it takes nothing short of courage to apply to this academic institution of distinction, survive the interview process and then, hopefully, successfully endure the academic and social challenges in order to graduate. It takes courage to have the determination to make a choice to pursue the premier level of education that McDonogh School provides… and you have done that.
You have the most opportunity. You have the most opportunity to utilize your scholarship, compete and excel at McDonogh, and thrust yourself into the jet stream of excellence. Whether you know it or not, McDonogh is the foundation where you can begin to make your dreams become a reality. Always remember to trust and pursue your dreams.
You have the most responsibility. You have a responsibility to your family. Your family members are proud of your accomplishments. They pick you up when you fall and they have made sacrifices for you to excel enough to attain the significant status of being a scholarship student at McDonogh. In addition, you have a responsibility to McDonogh. Whether you love your experience at McDonogh or dislike it, you have a responsibility to make this place better for the next generation of “have mosts.” You have a responsibility not only to receive a scholarship and write a letter of thanks to a donor you may never meet, but to also give back to McDonogh once you leave. Whether your giving is in the form of time or in the form of treasure, you have a responsibility to give back in order to increase the number of scholarship students and to ensure that the McDonogh Scholarship Program lives in perpetuity.
I am proud to have been a scholarship student at McDonogh. I am grateful for the foundation, courage, opportunity and responsibility that the McDonogh Scholarship Program afforded and bestowed upon me. At the end of the day, whether I realized it or not while I sat in the same building 20-plus years ago, McDonogh made me a better person and I will always be grateful. McDonogh taught me that life is about obstacles not barriers. I learned that you measure your success by simply being yourself. Being yourself is always good enough and usually better than most.
In closing, I will leave you with a few tidbits of wisdom that have never failed me:
It’s not how your start; it’s how you finish;
Work like you don’t need the money;
Love like you’ve never been hurt;
Dance like nobody’s watching;
Sing like nobody’s listening; and
Live life like it’s Heaven on Earth!
Thanks for your time.