December Graduation 2017 | Ed Sheehan

Est. 1853

2017 DECEMBER GRADUATION Edward J. Sheehan, Jr. President of Concurrent Technologies Corporation

December 8, 2017 — Mount Aloysius College - Sister Bertschi Center & Technology Commons

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REMARKS OF EDWARD J. SHEEHAN, JR.

President of Concurrent Technologies Corporation Greetings – President Foley, Faculty, Administration, Families, Board of Trustees and the reason we are here – our students. Congratulations to our graduates and to those who helped them; many are here tonight.

Thank you, President Foley, for the opportunity to be here this evening and to share some thoughts and observations with those in attendance.

President Foley and I have known each other for almost 20 years – going back to his work as CEO of the United Way of Pennsylvania and where I was a board member and eventually Chairman.

We have always encouraged and supported one another. President Foley continues to be the ideal public servant whether in government or non-profit leadership. Thanks, Tom. My recently completed board service at the Mount concludes almost 20 years of association with Mount

Aloysius College including four years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Over that time I met many wonderful people from all walks of life and have been part of an amazing transformation at Mount Aloysius College. New curricula, new facilities, and an improved campus look and feel. The institution is much more inviting today than it has ever been.

What has remained steadfast and unchanged is the dedicated and committed faculty, administration, board leadership and the Sisters of Mercy. All of us brought different ways of thinking; different viewpoints and all of us were committed to one thing – the success of our students – all of you – and to those who preceded you and those to come.

And we made it work through many challenges and opportunities.

As this Address is my farewell to Mount Aloysius College as a member of the board of trustees, please

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afford me with the opportunity to recognize a most important group of people – The Sisters of Mercy.

From the beginning, the sisters were and remain the bedrock of this institution. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve with them and to follow them. They are some of the brightest and best leaders I have ever met. Their dedication and love of this place is always visible and present. Of all of the things I do to serve as a volunteer leader – I enjoy this service the most. The moment I return to this beautiful gem in the Alleghenies, I feel a sense of serenity and peace. I attribute this sensation to the presence of our Triune God, manifested through the love and actions of the Sisters of Mercy. Through their values of justice, hospitality, mercy and service, all who are a part of the Mount Aloysius College family, bec0me better people and better Disciples of Christ. Thank you sisters, you are amazing people.

And thank you all for indulging

me.

But enough about me, let’s talk about you!

Mount Aloysius College – thank you for your display of courage.

You have been an inspiration to all who know you – Well done!

There are 109 December graduates. More than half are graduating from our outstanding – I think the best – nursing program.

More than half are first-generation to attend College in their families.

Sixty three percent worked part time while earning their degree.

The average grade point average – the average is 3.31!

As many of you complete your formal course work here at Mount Aloysius College – know, because of all you have said and done – you are well prepared for your next challenge. You have completed rigorous course work with the assistance of the finest faculty in the region; you have learned the value of perseverance,

Two thirds of the graduating class earned Bachelor’s degrees and three fourths of the graduating class are women.

Fifteen percent of our graduates are parents and three percent of the graduates are Veterans – Thank you for your service to our nation. Ten percent of our graduates are student athletes and almost all graduates are from Pennsylvania; one is from the United Kingdom!

As I look upon the characteristics of the graduating class, I marvel at how impressive your achievements are; those 63% who worked and learned; those who are married and/or parents, you served your families and others while working and learning; and, those who were engaged in student life through sports, theatre and a host of other activities and still learned. You have fulfilled so many of life’s requirements while earning your degrees! Truly impressive.

To our non-traditional students and our first-generation to college attendees – and those who had to overcome obstacles to enter

dedication, collaboration and commitment.

You have also overcome adversity, encountered challenges, and experienced disappointment and failure.

You have welcomed success, achievement, better knowledge of oneself (learning what you are capable of doing), and the joy of investing in yourself, of which

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there is no greater investment that can be made.

And the next phase of your life will bring these same experiences – joy and sorrow – and again, you are well prepared.

When times are difficult – do not fear, do not recede – recall your body of work and accomplishments here at Mount Aloysius College. Allow your success here to reinvigorate your confidence and belief in yourself.

Life is a marathon not a sprint.

When you enjoy success, pause and give thanks for the blessings, experience and education you received at Mount Aloysius College.

In all instances, please recognize that success and failure should draw you closer to our God, his Son and the Holy Spirit because

all things are His will, His plan and His love for us. And yes, you are well prepared.

As I think about the environment you now enter as a college graduate, I think about your complete experience at The Mount and how it has prepared you. You will step into a divisive, loud environment where tolerance, mutual respect, objectivity, trust and belief in leadership across any group has been brushed aside and pushed to the far reaches of our society and our world.

There is more partisan thought, less harmony and a lack of effort to bring people together than in recent memory.

Social media – in my humble opinion – has accelerated this firestorm of bitterness and hatred. Everyone has a voice – which is a good thing – but very

bad when hateful, hurtful, and untrue assertions are launched and relaunched. We continue to see half-truths and complete falsehoods pushed far and wide in the ubiquitous internet.

The reasons for this are many and varied. And the actions pose a real and legitimate threat to our national security and our ability to interact with one another in a constructive way.

I believe social media in its present form pushes our society into isolationism – our own world – with a potential outcome of believing that your voice is more important than another.

While these are difficult times to be sure, you can make a difference. And remember, you are well prepared.

To take on this next stage of your

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life, consider this year’s theme at Mount Aloysius College – Authentic Discourse. How totally appropriate and timely for all of us.

Combining the skills you have learned, including critical thinking, always strive to continue learning through Authentic Discourse – meaning real or genuine conversation – with real people, not mobile devices.

Be a better listener than a speaker.

Seek the truth, not what Google, Yahoo, or some search engine or social media site of the day offers you. Those outlets refine and restrict what you see based on the frequency and types of

searches you generally request.

Instead of expanding our view, it is narrowed. And if you do it well, Authentic Discourse will help you learn and mold and reshape your views.

Lifelong learning is important to staying young at heart. Think how courageous the early Christians were. They turned to a belief in “The Way”– a new faith, based on the truth that is Jesus Christ. Don’t be afraid to learn. Don’t be afraid to admit you learned and you changed or improved. Discourse also affords us the opportunity to engage with others in a more personal way through humility. Social media

can isolate us from one another to the bubble of self – increasing the perception of the importance of our own voice in the world as opposed to showing Christ like humility. We are all Children of God. There are truths in life, dare to seek them with great humility – our times demand Authentic Discourse.

My fellow citizens of this great nation, we are presently being called to action; to lead Authentic Discourse – not to out shout or out post on social media against those who differ with us! Rather, engage in meaningful conversation that informs and educates about truth and use our values shared with us by the Sisters of Mercy.

Show justice (i.e., fairness), hospitality (consideration and respect), mercy (understanding and acknowledgement) and service (for the public good). If you do this – if you engage in Authentic Discourse – you will make a difference every day in your world, one discussion at a time. And soon more of the world will be a better place.

My friends, we are called to action, all of us, right now – in this place, at this time.

And you graduates of Mount Aloysius College are well prepared.

Thank you.

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another way. She says—“Don’t ever confuse your life with your work...the second is only part of the first.”

CLOSING REMARKS Thomas P. Foley, J.D. President, Mount Aloysius College Thank you Deans—Drs. Mills, Haschak and Anderson—for your gracious oversight of tonight’s festivities. Thank you, Ed Sheehan, for sharing a bit of your life with us, for embracing our theme Authentic Discourse, and for your thoughtful insights. Thank you Registrar Dr. Lovett and your staff for organizing this ceremony and for the role you played at the time of their matriculation and today at their graduation. And thank you to our faculty and staff, who more than anyone else at the College, helped get you to this wonderful evening.

Thank you graduates—as you leave the College tonight and as you look forward to accepting positions as fully credentialed professionals, we hope that as Mount Aloysius graduates, you will remember those other parts of your education here— education not just about how to earn a living but education on how to live a life. They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world—someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.

One of my wife Michele’s favorite authors, Anna Quindlen, puts it

There are tons of people with the same degree that you have as of today and maybe tons more with the same job that you will have. But you are the only person alive who has full custody of your life—your own particular, special, remarkable and individual life. Your entire life—not just your life in the emergency room, or the classroom, or the rehab center or the office.

Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just the size of your bank account, but the measure of your soul. You alone have full custody of these things that I talk about.

Our mission at Mount Aloysius is not simply to prepare you for a job, but to help prepare you for life. It is no accident that you heard the college statement of philosophy so often while you were here. One more time: “Mount Aloysius College provides a setting in which students are encouraged to synthesize faith with learning, to develop competence with compassion, to put talents and gifts at the service of others and to begin to assume leadership in the world community.”

You have all done some of that during your time here, or you wouldn’t be sitting here as graduates. Your challenge is to take those lessons about a “life well lived,” as well as a “profession well practiced,” out with you into your world—and let others learn from and admire your example.

As future leaders in the professions you will serve, as role models in the settings in which you work and as active duty citizens in the neighborhoods, towns and communities in which you will live, you have the chance to make a difference—in work and in life.

And that is the complete message of your education here at Mount Aloysius College—that you have the talent to make a difference in your work, in your life and in the lives of those around you. Never doubt it, because each one of you already proved it to the faculty and your advisors here on this campus.

You brought hope with you when you first came onto this campus, and now you take hope back out into the world with you as you leave.

Family and friends—someone once said that the universe is not made up of atoms, it is made up of stories. And we know there are 350 different stories sitting out there tonight. We thank each of you for the special story of your family, the story that led you to bring your children here to us at Mount Aloysius in the first place.

And Graduates—we are counting on you to go out from here and write your own stories.

Congratulations.

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and manufacturing; advanced intelligence solutions; energy and environmental sustainability; readiness and training; safety and occupational health; and secure information technology solutions.

CTC operates from approximately 20 locations with a staff of over 500 employees.

Edward J. Sheehan, Jr. is President & CEO and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC).

CTC is an independent, nonprofit, applied scientific research and development professional services organization based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Mr. Sheehan also serves as the Vice Chair and President of the CTC Foundation and Chairman of the Board of Directors of EVC, a for profit subsidiary of CTC. Together with its affiliates, CTC leverages research, development, test and evaluation work to provide transformative, full lifecycle solutions for the federal, state and local governments, as well as the industrial base. To best serve clients’ needs, CTC and its affiliates offer the complete ability to fully design, develop, test, prototype, build, and maintain technology based solutions required to address complex challenges. The Company supports its clients’ core mission objectives with customized solutions and strives to exceed expectations. Areas of expertise include advanced engineering

Under Mr. Sheehan’s leadership, CTC has earned a number of national and international awards. CTC has been recognized with prestigious awards for excellence in science and technology, including Gold and Silver Edison Awards for Innovation in Material Science and Environmental Sustainability, respectively; Technology Provider of the Year Award; Deltek’s Best Intelligence Award; and Defense Manufacturing Technology Achievement Awards. The Company was named One of the World’s Most Ethical Companies

by Ethisphere Institute; a Top 100 R&D Government Contractor; One of the Top 50 Best Nonprofits to Work for in the Nation; a Best for Vets Employer; One of the 100 Best Places to Work in PA; a Top 100 Business by Pennsylvania Business Central; recipient of the OSHA VPP STAR Award for Workplace Safety and Health Excellence; and recipient of the PA Governor’s Award for Safety Excellence.

Mr. Sheehan has been named a Top 100 Business Leader by Pennsylvania Business Central numerous times. He serves on the Board of Directors of 1st Summit Bank and holding company and on the Board of Directors

for a number of Pennsylvaniabased economic development, public service, and charitable organizations in a volunteer capacity. He served as a past chair and a member of the Board of Trustees of Mount Aloysius College; and serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and was a past Chairman. He is a member of the Western Region Advisory Board of Highmark, Inc.; a University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Advisory Board Member; Vice Chair and Board Member of the John P. Murtha Foundation; and a Board Member of the Johnstown Area Heritage Association. He is also a member of the Council of the Pennsylvania Society.

Mr. Sheehan has over thirty-six years of corporate, management, and programmatic experience associated with a variety of assignments for large and small businesses located throughout the United States. He earned his degree from the University of Virginia. He and his wife of over 36 years, Julie, have four daughters and one son-in-law.

Mount Aloysius College — Since 1853 Founded in 1853 by Sisters of Mercy from Dublin, Ireland, Mount Aloysius College is an accredited, comprehensive, degree-granting institution offering Associate, Baccalaureate, and select Graduate Programs where women and men of diverse cultural, educational, and religious backgrounds optimize their aptitudes and acquire skills for meaningful careers. Mount Aloysius graduates are job ready, technology ready, and community ready.

Mount Aloysius College is located on a beautiful 193-acre campus in Cresson, nestled in the scenic Southern Allegheny Mountains of west-central Pennsylvania. Convenient and accessible from U.S. Route 22; the College’s setting is rural but within easy access from State College, Altoona, Johnstown and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Mount Aloysius has earned accolades as a Best Value College, a College of Distinction, a Catholic College of Distinction, and a Military Friendly Institution. The College’s Nursing Division is ranked sixth among Pennsylvania’s largest and most prestigious nursing programs.

The College is accredited by Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the Conference for Mercy Higher Education, and by 12 separate profession-specific accreditation bodies.

Four Traditions

Mercy Tradition

Catholic Tradition

We cherish and revere the charism and example of the Sisters of Mercy, our founders and inspiration. We make concrete the Mercy Values — mercy in all relationships among students, faculty, staff, and administration, justice in all our endeavors, with hospitality and service to all at Mount Aloysius and in the larger community in which we live. In pursuit of these values, our faculty and staff personally engage, care for, and mentor each student. In practice as well as in word, we help all our students — including those facing significant challenges — to pursue their objectives.

surmount economic and educational hurdles that inhibit their aspirations for productive and fulfilling professions. To this end, we recognize that responsibility is shared across the Mount Aloysius community.

Our faculty acknowledge and promote the truth that learning for career and for life takes place both in and outside classroom settings. Our staff give daily support to students, enhancing the process that brings them to their graduation day. We require service of our students so that they will recognize that educational attainment and self-giving are inseparable components of the good life.

We rejoice in the assistance and loyalty of trustees, alumni, and the larger community who contribute in multiple ways to our mission, modeling the conviction that fulfillment ensues as a result of generous living.

We affirm and embrace the Catholic heritage of higher education, seeking knowledge, and communicating truth from its manifold sources, and welcome people of all faiths. (60% of the student body comes from other traditions.)

Liberal Arts Tradition We challenge and empower students in all programs to attain the goals of a liberal arts education — character development, critical thinking, communication skills, a passion for continual learning — and to become responsible, contributing citizens.

Mount Aloysius Tradition We honor and sustain the Mount Aloysius legacy of being an “engine of opportunity” for all students, helping them