Approximately 900 high school students from across Living Sky School Division were inducted into the Student Hall of Fame last Thursday at a banquet and awards celebration that filled the Battleford Arena.
The Hall of Fame induction is an annual event to honour students who have excelled in the areas of academics, athletics, arts and culture, special projects and leadership.
Special guest speaker was Sheldon Gardiner, a social entrepreneur and an alumnus of North Battleford Comprehensive High School Class of 1987.
The Kelowna, B.C. resident was born and raised in Battleford and lived on the same street as the Battleford Arena.
He played competitive sports including hockey, softball and football growing up. After high school he earned a commerce degree in finance and marketing.
Gardiner ultimately branched out into owning his own business. He has been involved in marketing, real estate development, technology and venture capital, and has given back to the community as a volunteer for Big Brothers, Calgary Food Bank, Junior Achievement, Enactus and Young Entrepreneurs. He is currently Chief Idea Officer ar Volinspire, a tech company focusing on connecting volunteers, non-profits and businesses.
Here are some of his remarks from his address Thursday, in which he reflected on his time growing up in the Battlefords:
“Life was great. I was a decent athlete, played for the North Stars, but there was only one problem. I had no idea what I wanted to do. So, before I graduated I remember filling out a survey and doing a personality test.
“… And it spit out a number of things I could do with my life. And I’m looking at this list going ‘I don’t think so.’ None of these things really appealed to me. My dad was an electrician, he still is today, my mom was a nurse. My dad used to make us crawl under cabins at the lake and pull wire. And while under the cabin we’d bump into these big scary animals with big yellow eyes. And I thought, ‘I don’t think I want to be an electrician.’ My mom used to bring home some needles, my sister would try to use them on me (laughter), I thought, ‘I don’t want to be a nurse, I don’t think being on the medical side appeals to me either.’
“So, what was I going to do? One of the things that helped me make my decision was talking to various people, and talking to other people about learning what to do with my life. I would really encourage you students to do the same thing. One of my mentors was Don Hodgins, who was our phys ed teacher and football coach, and just an all-around great guy.
“So, he was a guy I leaned on for advice. I remember going to Don in my graduating high school year. I was a decent hockey player and had been offered a scholarship to a U.S. school.
‘I said, ‘Don, what do you think, is this something I should do?’ Don said, ‘I think you should go to a really good school, and you should turn that down because it’s a good hockey school but it’s not a good academic school.’
“What he was really saying is ‘you’re never going to turn pro, so you had better have a plan B.’ And he was absolutely right…
“I decided to give up my hockey career, which was not a career anyway, and decided to go to university.”
Gardiner applied to the College of Commerce at the University of Saskatchewan, and got in.
“I barely made it into commerce. I think the average was 83, I think I made it in with 83.0001.
“My first year, I absolutely struggled. I think some of the students here have 95 averages. My first three exams didn’t amount to a 95 average. I think I got 32 on my calculus, 40 on my accounting. It was not good. So I decided to hunker down and work hard, and I knew it was going to take a lot of hard work to get through commerce. And I did — spent a little less time at the Pat and Louis’ — and I worked hard. In the second year of university I’d figured it out. It seemed a little easier for me.
“Upon graduation there were no jobs available in Saskatchewan. I would have loved to have stayed here, but there were no jobs here.”
Like 80 per cent of his classmates, he moved to Calgary to work in the oil industry.
Gardiner quickly became restless in the corporate world. He changed jobs after six months, and two years later changed jobs again. Finally, he went out on his own.
“I was a very bad employee,” Gardiner said. “So after four years, we opened our first company.”
Gardiner spoke about business and about social entrepreneurship, and also about finding happiness in what you do in life. Near the end of his remarks Gardiner offered some parting advice to the students heading out into the world.
“Lesson one, give and you will get. Volunteering and helping out others is not only good for your resume, you will make many friends. It’s good for your career, it’s good for your business and it’s actually good for your health.
“Two, under promise and over deliver. This is the golden rule that has served me well in life. Trust is not built by words, it is built by action. When you make a promise, deliver on it. Better yet, over deliver on it.
“Hard work does pay off, and that’s very simple. Tonight’s a proof of this … but you’re going to struggle. I did, you will.
“Four, believe and you will succeed. You know, I think everyone’s heard the quote ‘attitude determines altitude.’ It does. The biggest thing holding you back, students, is your mind.
“Five, find your purpose and passion and you will find happiness. The purpose of life is a life full of purpose. It took me a while to figure that out. Your generation of students, you guys have figured this out at a much earlier age. There are studies that show that students are aligning where they work with their social values. They’ll walk away from $13,000 in salary … to work for companies in line with their values. That is so cool, because then you’re going to be much happier where you work if the company you’re working for aligns with your values. Chasing money will not make you happy. Finding purpose in your work will.
“Lastly, and number six, is more of a mantra … start with the end in mind.
“… What does that mean? It means imagine yourself at your own funeral. And what would you want people to say about you? Just think about that for a little bit. Are you living that life? Will you live that life?
“Do you want people to say, yeah, he made a lot of money? He had a fancy car, a nice house? That doesn’t matter. What matters is you want people to say he cared about his community, cared about his friends, he under promised and over delivered, a strong family person. That you’re a leader, that you made impact on your community, the environment and other people’s lives. If you’re forgetting anything else I said tonight, if you just remember that one quote, it will serve you well in your careers.”
Gardiner concluded by saying “go out in this world, find your purpose. Be a leader. Help make the world a better place, and be happy.”
