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EDITOR'S RETROSPECTIVE: MOVING FORWARD, BUT NEVER FORGETTING

By Kevin Mould (RPTA '14), Editor, The Report

I won't lie. I've considered how different my life might be if I'd chosen a major other than RPTA, even as recently as the past few days, only a month away from graduation.

Then I realize where I am and what I've learned. I realize the things I've been able to do as a part of this major and the amazing friends and teachers that have become a part of my life. I consider these things, and it becomes clear to me that I wouldn't exchange my time as part of this program for the world.

I'd like to echo the sentiment that Anthonia Edgren, previous editor of this newsletter and a good friend of mine, shared in her final editorial: without RPTA, this whole college experience just wouldn't have been the same. Perhaps more than any other department, our faculty empowers its students to make every aspect of the Cal Poly experience their own. From an incredibly diverse selection of volunteer and professional opportunities, to participation in all aspects of campus life, to the ability to tailor our concentrations to best suit our interests and goals, this department makes it easy to squeeze every last drop of opportunity out of our time here as students.

For those who have yet to graduate: make sure that you do just that. Time here goes by much too fast to spend it being idle, and it took me a year or so to learn that lesson. Make this experience exactly what you want it to be, and don't be reserved about chasing your dreams. Put yourself out there, try new things, and discover new interests you might never have known you had. You never know where each new opportunity might lead.

To my fellow graduates: I would argue that the same advice holds true. Your time here has provided you with the experience and education to explore your potential. Don't put yourself into a box or on some rigid career path so soon. Many of the happiest, most driven people I have ever meet in the professional world are in positions that they never anticipated, and it it is all because they took a leap of faith and tried something new. You've entered a new chapter of your life, and so just as with college I would repeat that it is important to put yourself out there and explore every opportunity given to you. Congratulations to all of you, and I wish you nothing but the best in everything that you do.

Finally, I must extend my sincerest thanks to the RPTA faculty and staff, both current and past, who've had an impact on my time here. You all have encouraged and inspired me in ways I never thought possible, and looking at where I've been and where I'm headed, I'm not convinced I would have had the same opportunities without you. I think my fellow students will join me in saying that you truly embody the Learn by Doing spirit of this university, and that we are incredibly grateful for the extent to which you have prepared us to succeed both here while in school and after graduation.

Family is not a term I use lightly, but that's really what RPTA is. The level of connectedness is unrivaled, and I am certainly going to miss it. No matter where we go in life as students and as professionals, this department will have been a critical part of getting there, and that is a notion that won't soon be forgotten.

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