Dr. Benjamin Steimle, a member of Eldred Central School’s Class of 2009, went on to be a post-doctoral research fellow at Harvard, an adjunct professor, and a senior scientist at DuPont Electronics & Industrial. He returned to Eldred on June 28 to give this speech before the Class of 2024 upon their graduation:

Good evening to the Class of 2024!

This is truly a momentous achievement, and I would like to congratulate you all. A huge welcome and congratulations to the family and friends of the graduates here as well. Without your support, and the hard work and perseverance of these students, this day would not be possible. As Mr. Conklin mentioned, I gave a speech at my own graduation, somehow 15 years ago. My first thought after that speech? “Man, I’m really glad I won’t have to do that again.” And yet, life has a funny way of giving you opportunities that you would never expect. I could never have known after my own graduation where my life would lead or that I would have been asked to return to this wonderful school to give words of encouragement and praise to a new group of Eldred graduates. I am truly honored to be speaking to all of you today.

The focus of my speech to my graduating class was the individuality of the paths that we choose to take in life. In my speech, I read “The Road Not Taken,” a poem by Robert Frost. Now, I promise I will spare you any poetry from me today, but I do want to convey the heart of the message to you all. You will be faced with countless decisions in your life, countless paths to take. In some cases, the choices that lead down a path will be clear to you—whether college is the right route, which major to study, which job to take. In other cases, the path may not be as clear. You may not know you’ve made a choice that will open opportunities that may become very important to you until after you’ve made it. For me, one of those choices was taking a general chemistry course at community college. In fact, attending community college at all significantly impacted my path in life.

I faced questions from peers and mentors regarding my choice to start at a community college—many didn’t understand why I didn’t go directly into a four year bachelor’s program. And yet, it wound up being one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I say this because it reintroduced me to a love for chemistry that started at this school, but that I had forgotten about in the blur of my final years here. I took a class with an excited, quirky professor who wowed us one day by demonstrating a thermite reaction using a couple flower pots and some powders. For any non-chemistry folks out there, thermite is a reaction that reaches over 4000°F and aggressively produces molten iron and aluminum oxide. It was awesome. This renewed love of chemistry, and apparently pyrotechnics, propelled me into changing majors to focus in chemistry, which I continued as part of a Bachelor’s program at SUNY New Paltz. There, I was introduced to faculty members that encouraged me to start a path in academic research. This path, which I had never even considered before, eventually led me to a PhD program at Penn State. It introduced me to my now fiancée, who I met in an undergrad Chemistry lab and who also attended Penn State as a graduate student. It led me to my career as a research scientist today. All of these wonderful experiences were brought on by a single, innocuous choice. A choice that I knew was the right one for me, despite doubts and questions, and one that has since shaped a lot of my decisions.

Because of that choice, I had the pleasure of publishing scientific articles, collaborating with talented colleagues, and, after getting my PhD, got a position in research at Harvard University. Everything seemed like it was going perfectly. I was working to achieve a dream on a path that I didn’t even know was possible. Unfortunately, nothing in life is guaranteed. I wound up in a very different working environment than I expected and realized that it was not the path for me. I ultimately made a decision to move on from that Harvard dream. Despite how difficult that was, I have never second-guessed it. I made a positive change and chose a path that was a better fit for me and am much happier for it.

My point here is, even the best-laid plans, even things that look perfect, may not be, and that is okay. Life evolves and you will adapt to changes as you make the best choices given the situations you find yourselves in. My life now is not the life that I expected. Not when I graduated here 15 years ago, not even as I finished my PhD only three years ago. But it is a life that was built upon my choices and one that I am extremely happy with—it’s a path that is uniquely mine. So I encourage you today, whatever choices you make, please, make them for yourself. Take advice from your entire supporting cast of family, friends, teachers, and mentors, but please always make decisions that you are happy with. Know that it’s okay to change your mind, it’s okay to backtrack if you need to, and it’s okay to make a change from something that you thought would be perfect. So many of the paths that you choose will branch and change in unexpected and exciting ways, you just never know how a single choice may impact your future options. Use your best judgment, remember where you came from, and hold onto the successes in your lives, like what you all achieved here today. I have all the faith in the world that each of you will build your own unique and fulfilling paths.

As I conclude, I want to again offer congratulations to the Class of 2024. I know how equally exciting and intimidating the next steps may feel, but I want to tell you—you’ve got this. Whether you know it or not, the education that you received during your time within these walls has prepared you for anything that life can throw at you. You are all well-equipped to make choices and pursue paths that bring you joy, fulfillment, and success. But for now, enjoy the day, soak it all in, and best of luck as you all take that next step. Congratulations!