Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-07-08
COMMENCEMENT DAY
By H. Addineton Bruce

A ND now, for thousands Of young peo-
Y pie, comes the well named Com
mencement Day-day that marks the
commencing of the professional an bust
ness careers for which their college studies
have been preparatory.
Preparatory, however only in part. They
will do we'll to remember, each and every
one of these fedgling graduates, that no
matter what knowledge they may have
gained from their teachers and their text
books no matter how they may have dis
tinguished themselves ACCIDENTALLY, there
still is ahead of them period of tutelsge.
Every occupation makes special demands
that no amount OF college education will
enable the novice to meet. College education,
of course, through the mental training it has
provided, should materially assist in meet
ing these special demands Yet they re-
main new problems to be solved, new les
sons to be learned.
If the college graduate recognizes this, If
his occupational approach is that of the will
ing and humble learner-Wel and good. II,
on the opposite, he turns from the college
world to the world of business in spirit
of undue self-esteem, things are likely to
go exceedingly hard with him.
Many are the college students who make
precisely this mistake.
Perhaps because of having been over
praised for intellectual prowess, perhaps be-
cause or aQulaClOu IOI pIOW6SS III dIhISIiOo'
they seem to think that they can do equally
we'll in business without any particular
learning effort. Besides this, they often
seem to think that they are above advice and
criticism.
But all business beginners need advice,
and none can hope to avoid entirely errors
calling for criticism, if not blunt reproof.
To the student accustomed only to praise
and adulation, this comes as painful
shock 1t is something so novel, so unex-
pected so Earring to his egotistic sensitive
ness as to astound, even stun him. Some
times he reacts to it with impulsive irrita-
bility. Sometimes he reacts by developing
fears doubts and indecision.
In either case he puts heavy handicap
upon himself so far as the winning of bust-
ness success is concerned, and invites hard
er knocks than he would otherwise be called
on to endure. Whence 1t may readily hap
pen-and often does happen-that the boy
who was the star scholar or the star half
back fails lamentably to progress as his
friends had confidently expected he would
progress.
Still worse, he may not only become a
business failure, he may little by little de-
generate into neurotic weakling. And all
because he passed from school to the world
in an unfortunate attitude of mind.
A college education, it cannot too in
sistently be reiterated, is never in itself
guarantee of occupational proficiency All
that can and should be reasonably expected
of it is that it will make the gaining of
occupational proficiency easier than would
be the case were the college education lack
ing.
That is why colleges have been establish
ed Their mission it is, not to insure for
their graduates a primrose path of effort
less achievement, but to equip those grad
yates for greater facility in learning and
doing after college days are done.
Luckless Is the graduate who forgets or
would ignore this fundamental truth.
Copyright, 1924