BY DAVE MATHIESON
AMHERST NEWS
SPRINGHILL, N.S. – Sometimes mom does know best.
“I graduated from high school in 2015 and, like many other teenagers, I had no idea what I wanted to do when I got older,” Brendan Stone said. “I was trying to decide what to do when my mom gave me the outrageous suggestion that I go take Business Administration. I quickly turned down that idea, and said, ‘I don’t want to work in an office mom. Why would I want to take that?’”
After that conversation, Stone, the Valedictorian for the Cumberland Campus Class of 2019, decided to take the Electronic Engineering Technician program at the Cumberland Campus, a course he graduated from in 2017.
After graduation, Stone decided he’d like to change course and take the Utility Line Worker program at the Cumberland Campus and was accepted to the program.
One month before the start of class Stone decided that, instead, he would like to take the Business Administration program at the Cumberland Campus.
“I remember my mom suggesting I take business two years prior and I was kind of afraid to tell her.”
Stone finally got up the courage to tell her about his new plan.
“She got that look, you know the look where the parent knows they were right all along.”
Stone then had a meeting with the business faculty and was told that business isn’t always about working in an office. After the meeting, he applied to business administration and was accepted to the program.
“The moral of the story is, always listen to your parents, they’re right about 99 per cent of the time,” Stone said.
Stone finished his valedictorian speech by telling the class of 2019 that it important to set goals but it’s also important to follow your heart and change course if you think it’s the right thing to do.
“Events happened in my life that have changed my goals drastically, but I would not be where I am today if it hadn’t been for those events,” Stone said. “All of us had a goal the get to graduation and we finally achieved that. There were probably some tough times but without those tough times we would not be who we are today.”
As part of an articulation agreement between NSCC and St. FX University, starting in September, Stone will complete his business degree in two years at St. FX.
