Metzgar Urges Graduates to Seek Opportunities
In honor of the 60th anniversary of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, alumnus Robert D. Metzgar ’60 gave the commencement address, titled “Opportunity,” at the college’s fall 2008 ceremony.
Penn State Behrend Commencement Address
Robert D. Metzgar
Friday, December 19, 2008
Graduates, moms, dads, family and friends… what a joyous occasion this is, one that you have been waiting for for a long time. Obviously, my remarks are directed to all of you receiving degrees, but hopefully they may benefit everyone!
As the title of my remarks suggests, “opportunity” will be explored. Webster defines opportunity as “a favorable juncture of circumstances; a good chance for advancement.”
As you enter this new phase of your life, you might ask, “How do I know whether I have taken advantage of opportunities, or if I have just been lucky?” As I continue with my comments, try to ask yourself if it is luck, or if you have postured yourself to take advantage of opportunities as they come your way.
A couple of months ago, Dr. Burke, his wife, Candy, my wife, Sally, and I had the pleasure of visiting the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, and Hungary. The trip was wonderful and memorable. However, one aspect of the trip reminded me of Warren County, Pennsylvania, where we live. On the fourth day, we visited Nuremburg, Germany, the site of the famous war trials of the Second World War. Robert Jackson, Supreme Court Justice and longtime friend of President Franklin Roosevelt, was appointed by President Harry Truman to be the lead prosecutor in the Nuremberg trials for the United States. So, you are probably asking yourself, why does this remind me of Warren County? Well, Robert Jackson was born in a farm house, which was torn down many years ago, in western Warren County, here in Pennsylvania. How did this kid get to be a Supreme Court Justice and be the lead attorney during the war trials following World War II?
I am here to tell you that it was not luck, but a thirst to succeed while posturing himself along the way to take advantage of opportunities. He was born in 1892 in Spring Creek, Warren County; at the age of five, he moved to Frewsburg, N.Y., 25 miles away. He graduated from high school in 1910. At a young age, Robert was a great orator and entered law school against his father’s wishes. At age 20, he graduated from law school and was admitted to the New York Bar the following year. Notice that he graduated from law school at age 20. He practiced law in Jamestown, N.Y., and was active in politics.
In 1933, President Roosevelt called on Jackson to litigate tax cases. In 1940, Jackson was appointed Attorney General of the United States and, in 1941, became a Supreme Court Justice. By being able to express one’s self, meeting and influencing the right people, and being of strong character with self confidence, Robert Jackson postured himself to take advantage of an opportunity when it came his way.
Let’s look at another individual who, at a young age, was just like all of us. John O’Hurley, the Hollywood actor who played “Peterman” on Seinfeld, was the first champion of “Dancing with the Stars,” hosted NBC’s National Dog Show, and is a composer and writer. He grew up like many of you—in the woods of New England with a pet. John O’Hurley had a dog!
In his book, “It’s Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump,” John talks of how he sat on the bench as a high school football player and never got into the football game; he was not a good athlete and envied the star players. He also related how he went out for the cross-country team and always finished last.
Then, as he pointed out in his book, one day he was playing with his dog, Ding. And Ding loved to run! Ding would run after her ball for minutes on end at top speed every time John would throw the ball. The dog was determined to do the best she could for her master. Every day, her back would flatten and lower as she dug through each step with her front legs at full extension. John thought, “Why can’t I do this in the cross-country races?”
Well, the next race John was in, he told his coach he was going to do better. When the race began, John sprinted to the front of the pack running as fast as he could, and soon distanced himself from the other runners. As the race neared the halfway point of the three-mile course, he began to tire, but kept thinking of his dog, Ding, running after the ball time after time at full speed only to please her master. So, John—with his lungs burning and gasping for air—continued on. The other runners kept gaining on him, but he kept on running. Even though he didn’t win, he finished the race in the middle of the pack and was never last again!
Even after so many defeats and disappointments growing up, John O’Hurley took advantage of an opportunity with extra effort and determination. Was he lucky? I don’t think so.
As John states in his book, “I had been able to change my results by changing my thinking. If I ran like a failure, it was because I thought like a failure.” So think positive and your results will be positive.
Today, as a nation, we are struggling economically. Many of you in this auditorium are facing severe financial difficulties. Many of you have seen your life savings and retirement portfolios become decimated. The Dow Jones is at an eight-year low. Recently, fuel prices were at an all-time high.
We are in a recession and things appear gloomy. As new graduates entering the work force, you may not have a job. Some of you in the room may remember the Great Depression that began with the stock market crash of 1929. For others, I am sure you have talked with your parents or grandparents about it.
Times were extremely difficult for families throughout the 1930s and into the start of WWII. In the middle of the Great Depression, a baby was born. The father of the child had been working as a “CCC boy” in the Civilian Conservation Corps, organized under the Roosevelt administration to employ masses of the nation’s young men, as there were no jobs. The family lived in a one-bedroom barn-board house in a very remote area of the forest. The house had no indoor plumbing and water had to be carried from a nearby spring. In 1937, shortly after the birth of the baby, the father was able to secure a job working long hours every day.
In a couple of years, he was able to move the family to a rural town. The baby grew up in the rural town attending elementary school, and then was bused to junior high school and high school in a larger town. He developed a strong work ethic and desire to succeed. While in high school, he studied hard but never took a book home as he was trying to earn money along the way.
It became understood that he would have to attend college after high school. He went to college and got married between his junior and senior year. He graduated with no money and considerable debt, entered the workforce, and borrowed some money for a new car and a new home. He worked very hard for his employer and became active in his church—becoming a deacon and Sunday School teacher. He joined the Junior Chamber of Commerce and went through the leadership chairs, became an active member of the Boy Scouts Council, and organized the Tri City Chapter of the American Production and Inventory Control Society. All of this while changing jobs to become a plant manager of 475 people, and then eventually buying his own company.
Well, if you haven’t guessed by now, this young boy born in a home with no running water and no indoor plumbing was me! I haven’t been lucky in my life; rather, I feel I postured myself to take advantage of numerous opportunities that came my way over the past 71 years.
Hopefully, the examples of these three individuals who were in your shoes at one time will help pave the way for each one of you to be the very best you can be! Are you, the 2008 graduates of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, going to posture yourself to take advantage of opportunities when they come your way?
Robert D. Metzgar is president of Warren-based North Penn Pipe and Supply, Inc., the world’s oldest oilfield supply house to remain in continuous operation. He is a long-serving member of the Penn State Behrend Council of Fellows, and, in 1995, was appointed to the University’s Board of Trustees by Governor Tom Ridge. He has since been reelected to succeeding terms. In 1996, Metzgar was named a Penn State Alumni Fellow, the most prestigious honor awarded by the Penn State Alumni Association. This summer, he and his wife, Sally, presented Penn State Behrend with a $2 million gift to create a freestanding admissions and alumni center that will serve as the college’s “front door;” construction on the project will begin this summer.