Address from the Graduating Class of 2019 . . . We Are on Our Way

Franca Muraca

This speech is dedicated to all the women warriors out there, my mom being one of them, upon whose backs women like myself glide. It is through their example of perseverance and unconditional love that I learned my wings do work and my only limitations are of my own making. And most of all, to my daughters Milena and Georgia. My greatest work and joy will always be the incredible gift of being your mother.

I am incredibly excited and honoured to be celebrating with you today. Today marks the culmination of 2 years of intensive studies to become BC’s newest Notaries Public!

We are armed with a desire to make a change through our varied life experiences, diverse backgrounds and education, and incredible determination.

We speak English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, French, Taiwanese, Italian, Croatian, Spanish, and Russian.

We are men and women who range in age from our late 20s to our early 50s. Some of us have experienced success in other careers for over 25 years and some of us are just over 25 years of age! We are mortgage brokers, Realtors, business consultants, teachers, conveyancers, postal workers, accountants, HR consultants, biochemists, small businessowners, bankers, a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, and more.

The theme that binds us is our desire to become BC Notaries. Our diversity is now linked by that one commonality and it is one of our greatest strengths. Our backgrounds will afford us the ability to connect with our clientele, to truly appreciate where they are coming from, and how best to serve their various needs.

We all quickly learned that nothing in our lives would stop simply because we decided to pursue this education. As we continually marched forward, we have sat beside parents in the ICU, consoled our babies when they were sick, made deals with our friends that we would be able to see them again soon, written essays at the pool while stealing a few hours as our children played, spent an inordinate amount of time at our local Starbucks together, welcomed new babies into our lives, and even said goodbye to some of our loved ones.

We found a way to process an incredible amount of information and many, many times, the only mantra that would get us through was “One day at a time!”

We learned about Canadian Law, Property Law, Legal Issues, Legal Philosophy, what a Loss Prevention Annotation Device is, and how to jerryrig a pen with hockey tape so it wouldn’t slip from our sweaty palms as we wrote our challenging statutory exams.

We would learn that BC Notaries are craftsmen and women charged with ensuring that the written legal affairs of others flow seamlessly and accurately through drafting, authenticating, and getting the facts straight. It’s the Notary whose seal is bond.

Life is not about the destination; it’s about the journey. We are not at our destination but we are on our way and that is what matters most.

Congratulations to the newest Notaries Public, in and for the Province of British Columbia. s