Justin Harris shares important lessons with BGSU Firelands graduates

Justin Harris addressed degree candidates for the Class of 2018 on May 5 at BGSU Firelands. Harris received his Associate of Applied Science in 2000 and his Bachelor of Applied Health Science in 2001, both from Bowling Green State University. Caylie Shover ’16, a candidate for a Bachelor of Applied Health Sciences, served as the student speaker.

Harris, who earned a law degree from Ohio State University, began his legal career as an associate with a law firm in Dayton. In 2005, he returned to Sandusky to practice law and now serves as the law director for the City of Sandusky. He is an adjunct professor in the legal studies/business department at Firelands and is a member of the Firelands Alumni Board. 

He shared his personal experience at Firelands and how it helped him find the right collegiate and career path. 

“During my time here, I learned that commitment is that turning point in your life when you seize the moment and convert it into an opportunity to alter your destiny,” Harris said. “I learned that one of the best things that you can do for yourself in life, is to trust the process, and ‘commit’ without apology to the ‘journey” and not the outcome.

  “Make no mistake, every one of you have the potential to be as successful, if not more successful, as a Harvard or Yale graduate. Simply stay committed to yourselves. Although I would love to give every one of you a blue print for the rest of your journey ahead, I can’t, because each one of you are going to have to travel a different path. But I challenge every one of you to become dedicated to bettering yourself and staying the course. 

“And I can promise you one thing, if you continue to commit and invest in yourself, and not the outcome, you will find yourself five, 10, maybe 20 years from now, in places that you could have never imagined.”