Sam MacDonald.

By Joseph Bell

For Ridgway native Sam MacDonald, the opportunity to deliver a commencement address at his alma mater was humbling. But, at the same time, it presented a daunting task.

"I was honored when principal (Heather McMahon-) Vargas called me a few weeks back to be the speaker," MacDonald said. "But I was a little surprised and worried even. At the time, I had written a few books but tough times had arrived. I was, for all intents and purposes, an unemployed father of three with another baby on the way."

The humorous 1991 Ridgway Area High School graduate said his initial plan was to mow grass for the summer and hope for the best.

"Which sounds a lot like my plan 18 years ago," MacDonald said. "But now mowing grass is harder because I'm old. 

"So I explained this to (McMahon-Vargas) but she said something along the lines of 'I'm sure you'll figure something out.'"

MacDonald said he tried to remember the last time a person had such faith in him and recalled a day on the little league baseball diamond as a 13-year-old.

"I don't remember the situation exactly but our manager realized he needed a pitcher and I wasn't a pitcher so he must've been desperate," MacDonald said. "He awoke me from my daydream in right field, handed me the ball and said 'pitch.' "Now I wish there was a great moral to the story but to be honest, I don't think anything dramatic happened. A few people laughed at me, I think, but I don't recall anybody hitting any home runs nor do I remember striking out the side."

MacDonald's reasoning for remembering this baseball moment was because his little league manager at the time was Denny McMahon, who is principal Heather McMahon-Vargas' father.

"So if there is a moral, I think it's that your principal comes from a very optimistic family, at least in regard to my baseball and speaking skills," MacDonald said. "But in her case, that optimism has panned out, she was right. 

"Something did come up as I recently signed on as Community Outreach Specialist for the Pennsylvania Wilds, a job that has allowed my family to move back to Ridgway."

But MacDonald's recent turn of events tempted him to deliver what he called a 'standard inspirational graduation speech in which a supposedly sage old man delivers compelling career advice to eager young listeners.'

"But that would be ridiculous coming from a guy who used his Yale degree to land a job as a bouncer at a Baltimore dive bar, that's me," MacDonald said. "A man who once with twin boys on the way turned down a six-figure speech writing job in Washington D.C. in favor of a $13,000 a year teaching gig in Pittsburgh. You can ask my wife about that one. 

"So if it's career advice you want, go to your guidance counselor, I understand you have an excellent one here, so that's good news."

Ultimately, MacDonald said commencement speakers usually lay down three pieces of advice.

"Don't view this as an end, view this as a beginning. Two, to be truly happy, find your passion and follow it," MacDonald said. "And the closely related No. 3, which is to be truly happy, find something that you're good at, and do it. 

"Unfortunately, all of this advice is either half true or entirely wrong."

While commencement is often defined as both a beginning and an end, MacDonald assured the 67 high school graduates that Friday night was indeed an end.

"To prove it, five years from now, come back to high school," MacDonald said. "Walk through the halls and sit in on a geometry class. 

"Better yet, ask a tenth grader to the prom. In both cases, I suspect Ms. Vargas will have you arrested."

And while MacDonald agreed that it is important to find your passion, he warned not to become so passionate about something that you become close-minded.

"In my case, I never took a writing class in high school or college and, to be honest, I thought writing was kind of stupid," MacDonald said. "But I became a journalist and a writer of books. After I became a writer, I began teaching, expecting to hate it. I did it to finance the writing but I became passionate about education. 

"Both of these passions are part of my current job. I hope that you can be just as lucky but the only way to make that happen is to let it happen and to make the best of what's in front of you."

In regards to finding something that you're good at and doing it, MacDonald said the notion would have led him to employment as a dishwasher.

"Working my way through college, I took a job as a dishwasher in the dining hall and I was good at it. To say that I was good at washing dishes is to say that Albert Einstein was pretty good at science or William Shakespeare could string words together," MacDonald said. "But to watch me wash dishes is sublime. It is to watch someone who has perfected a craft. I know this because managers from other dining halls used to send their dishwashers over to watch me, hoping that by simply witnessing my speed and grace, it would somehow inspire them to greater things knowing that they've never seen anything like it in a kitchen before or since."

While MacDonald admitted that it is nice to do something that you feel you were born to do, he warned that 'most people have to work harder than that.'

"I know that I do," MacDonald said. "I find writing incredibly difficult. I don't think I'll ever feel like a 'natural.' 

"I constantly fret about my teaching skills, too, but that's part of the job and something that you'll have to get used to no matter what you do, at least if you want to do it well."

MacDonald said he wanted to stress the importance of approaching life with an open mind, especially at such a young age.

"The fact of the matter is, most of you have no idea what you're really good at now," MacDonald said. "Many of you will become passionate about things that you've never even heard of. That's not to say that none of you have decided on a career path, many of you have, whether it's medicine, business, industry or the arts. 

"If you do know what you're going to do with your lives, I say 'congratulations.' You don't need any advice, particularly from me. In fact, I might come seek advice from you after graduation.

"To the rest of you however, the people who work in this school and in the community as coaches and friends have given you a gift, but the gift is different for each and every one of you."