Jack McGraw: You were meant for greatness

Good morning. My name is Jack McGraw. First, I want to congratulate my fellow graduates of the class of 2025! We did it! Elgin Community College has been a great school for us, from the vibrant Student Life community to the great professors who have developed us into who we are today. Before I move on to my personal story, I challenge you throughout this day to think about one thing that made ECC a great place to be.

Hope. What is hope? As a Christian who aspires to be a substance abuse counselor and mental health therapist, I believe that hope is an unrelenting expectation that there will be brighter days, especially in the midst of great hardship and suffering. I have cerebral palsy, which, throughout my life, has stripped me of the ability to walk independently, talk understandably with my mouth, and go out with friends independently. In this way, my cerebral palsy locks me up in shackles. I am sure that we all have our shackles – things in our lives that prevent us from doing the things that we think would lead us to happiness, so what are the things you want to do but are not able to do? Have your shackles ever led you to feel hopeless? There were many days and nights during my childhood when I questioned if I had any worthwhile purpose. However, in high school and college, I discovered my purpose and passion, which is to serve others out of the love that God always gives me.

This discovery changed everything for me. Even though I have to consistently deal with frustrating challenges, I was made for greatness, and my specific call to greatness is to lift up those in need. Although it was very difficult, I did not allow cerebral palsy to take away my hope that I was made for greatness! Everyone was made for greatness in different ways. Even when we feel hopeless, we can find hope again. Suffering can darken our lives for a time, but hope can enlighten our present and future because it makes our suffering tolerable in anticipation that there will be brighter days ahead. What do you hope to be great at?

I am graduating today with an associate degree in applied sciences, but I actually started at ECC for the first time back in 2017 as my parents wanted me to start college close to home. If it were totally up to me, I would have chosen a big school away from home. So, I thought I would miss out on the “authentic” college life. I felt hopeless when I was about to start at ECC. However, I quickly began to realize what made ECC so special: I began to get involved on campus and really started to get a sense of belonging. I acquired leadership skills and made friends. Thus, I had hope that my experiences at ECC would be fruitful for the rest of my life. Developing hope requires you to have patience and realize that your own ideas of happiness aren’t the only ways for you to be happy.

I transferred to Benedictine University in 2020 and earned my bachelor's degree in psychology. I came back to ECC in 2023 to take classes to become certified as a substance abuse counselor because substance abuse and addictions are enormous obstacles to hope and greatness, and I could not get a job with just a bachelor’s in psychology. My human services classes here and involvement in the Human Services Club have only led me to be hungrier to spread hope to others. Dr. Rosenfeld and Dr. Hope, my amazing professors and mentors, have taught me that hope is never out of reach and that change for the better is possible no matter how dark a person’s life seems. Hope can break through the storm you may be going through by enabling you to trust that suffering is only temporary and there can be brighter days ahead. So, do not ever give up on your goals and dreams because you were made for greatness!

Being in the ECC Human Services Program has immensely changed my life. My classmates are some of the most incredible people I have ever met. They dedicate their lives to serving others, are extremely humble, and are full of hope! Last year, I had many frustrations trying to secure an internship. This almost led me to give up, but my classmates and professors encouraged me to keep trying, and it paid off, as I did complete an internship! So, if you get frustrated that your plans are not going the way you want them to, do not give up hope because there is probably a better opportunity waiting for you since you were made for greatness!

Finally, I want to thank God, my family, friends, classmates, professors, who have helped me to cherish my time as an ECC student. ECC has given us so many great memories that we can look back on and say, “Wow, I loved my ECC Experience!! Thank you all, and remember to never give up hope because you were made for greatness!