A MESSAGE FOR MOUNT VERNON’S STUDENTS
By Mayor André Wallace
School’s back in session. I wanted to write directly to the students from the City of Mount Vernon to provide encouragement and to share my own personal experience. As adults, we often forget that we too were once students and that the decisions that we made or the habits we may have picked up impacted our adult lives and even the lives of the next generation. I hope you’ll take this column for what it is really meant to be: a supportive message of encouragement. I am a cheerleader for each and every one of you. I want you to succeed and to find your passion, while using your drive and determination to power through when times get tough.
Many people don’t realize that I have been running a school for about 10 years now. I have trained over 1,000 students, teaching them how to get good, high-paying jobs in construction trades. I started my school because I couldn’t sit by any longer and watch talent get wasted. I saw kids who wanted to work hard but didn’t know how to apply that drive in a meaningful way. It’s been the most rewarding experience of my life, especially as I see my former students come back to help teach the next generation of skilled tradesmen and tradeswomen.
As you head back to school, I wanted to give each of you a few things to ponder about as you move along in your educational journey.
WHATEVER YOU’RE DOING, DO IT COMPLETELY. No matter what it is, if you are spending your time on something – homework, sports, fitness, reading, working – make sure you are doing it with all of your energy. We live in a very distracting world, with so many things trying to pull our attention away from what we’re doing. If you’re doing your homework, put the phone away. Turn off the television. Give yourself the opportunity to devote your entire self to whatever you are doing. You’ll find that the results will be better, the rewards more rewarding.
HARD WORK CREATES NEW OPPORTUNITIES. The single best way to be noticed in this world is to work hard. People are drawn to hard workers like magnets. They can’t help but look at those people. When you give 100% of your effort to the task at hand, you are telling the universe that you’re ready for the next challenge even if you don’t know it. You will be amazed at the new opportunities that will open up once you get a reputation as a hard worker.
YOU CAN BE SUCCESSFUL AT ANYTHING. You don’t have to be a Wall Street banker or a NASA engineer to make a great living in this world. If you’re good at something – anything – you can make a living doing it. If you focus and practice and become excellent at it, you can make a great living. Hard work, as I said above, creates opportunities. I know guys who started out as plumbers who now own houses in the Hamptons. If you are the best ditch-digger in the world, you will have a good paying job your whole life. For every talent out there, there is opportunity. Don’t ever be discouraged. Start anywhere, work hard, and before you know it, you’ll be running the place.
The point I really want you to take away from all of this is that success is within your grasp. I want you to know that the entire City of Mount Vernon is pulling for you to succeed. There is more talent in this four square-mile city than in any City I’ve ever seen. History has proven that. With your help, we know the future is very bright, indeed.
Keep working hard. Keep focusing. Keep practicing. Keep striving to be the best you can be. We’re rooting for you. And, we’re all here to help however we can.
If you have thoughts or comments about this issue or any other, reach out to me at mayorwallace@cmvny.com.
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