Posted 5/9/01
North Branch students of excellence learn to DREAM
ìIt is only when you act on your dreams that they will become a reality,î began Ann Dolence, keynote speaker at the Students of Excellence banquet May 3 at the St. Cloud Civic Center.
Dolence invited the audience to participate in spelling the word DREAM as she explained each letter.
ìDî represents dreams, wishes and hopes for yourself and others. It is really thinking about what success looks like for you and what you will be doing in the future. She challenged honorees to think about what makes them happy and gives them focus.
The banquet, hosted by Resource Training & Solutions, honored 165 high school seniors from 42 high schools in the Central Minnesota region.
Over 680 students, parents/guardians, teachers, administrators and invited guests gathered for the annual event. This yearís honorees had not even started school when the Students of Excellence banquet and recognition ceremony began in 1987.
Welcoming the guests was Dr. Rob Cavanna, executive director for Resource Training & Solutions, and Craig Kay, Dassel-Cokato School District, who served as the presiding superintendent at the banquet.
The letter ìRî stands for realizing that risks can be worth the effort. You must, however, surround yourself with people who support you when you go out on the limb, Dolence went on. She cautioned honorees not to get too comfortable but to be a risk taker and seek out new ideas and friends. However, do not jeopardize your values, beliefs or health just for the sake of risk-taking, she continued.
It takes energy for the long haul. ìEî is the third letter. ëIf you had a fuel gauge on your forehead what would it read this time of year?î Dolence asked. ìI know it took some doing just to make it to this event tonight let alone all the other things youíve got going. Just remember to make choices intentionally and refuel your tank regularly.î
Dick Hardy of Cambridge, chairperson of the Resource board of directors, presented each student with a certificate from Governor Ventura and a plaque.
ìLife is like a marathon, training is the key to performance and you must focus on the finish line, stay on course and believe you will reach your goal,î said Dolence, herself a marathoner. She told of an event she witnessed at the Grandmaís Marathon in Duluth. It seemed the seventh runner, a Moroccan, was completely spent yet the finish line was merely a hundred yards away. The next runner, a man from Ethiopia, came up from behind and knew he could pass the quickly-fading Moroccan; however, instead he chose to grab the seventh runnerís elbow and assist him to the finish line.
When asked about it later, the Ethiopian just said, ìIt was the right thing to do.î His attitude was not just about himself and winning but also of support for others.
The fourth letter is ìAî and it is about attitudes that support success in yourself and others. Dolence emphasized that you may never know how far your kindness and inspiration to others reaches.
Criteria for selection to the recognition event is at the discretion of each school but based upon recommended guidelines. Schools can choose two to four seniors and have the option to invite a favorite teacher, coach and administrator.
Resource Training & Solutions has been sponsoring, coordinating and fiscally supporting the event since 1987. The event is organized by Sandra Cordie, educational specialist for the agency.
Dolence concluded with the letter ìMî which stands for a mission.
ìWhen your vision and values and beliefs are all in alignment, you can focus on your dreams. They become your mission that motivates you.î
She challenged everyone in the room to daydream, think about the possibilities that are before each of us and then D-R-E-A-M to achieve them.