Reverend Father, worthy recipients of the Father Josaphat Jean awards, ladies and gentlemen.

It is truly a privilege and honor for me to address you on the 44th annual awards night of the Father Jean Foundation. The Late Honourable Judge Basil Danchyshyn first introduced me to the Foundation some 43 years ago. At the time, I recall being somewhat overwhelmed by the enthusiasm with which the founders embraced the principle of recognizing the achievements of our Ukrainian youth. I soon discovered that this was fueled by the legacy of Father Jean. As most of you know, a French Canadian who adopted the Byzantine rite, the Ukrainian language, and served the community in many roles. Most of the people involved knew Father Jean, lived and worked with him, and benefited from his ceaseless devotion. Zonia Keywan in the biography of his life stated, "those who knew Jean remember him for his religious and nationalistic zeal, his devotion to duty, his tireless labour, and his obstinate tenacity".

The closing comment in the introduction sums it up with, "Father Jean touched the lives of a great many people and no one who met him is likely to forget him". The founding and continued existence of this Foundation is testimony to this. I congratulate the members and directors of the Foundation for the work they truly carry out in the spirit of their mentor. The extent and scope of the awards you grant is truly a milestone in the development of our community.

I extend my sincere congratulations to the recipients of this year's awards. Your selection is a tribute to your hard work, dedication to your studies, and an indication that you have grasped your responsibilities in this regard. You have proven that you are capable of serious effort and have the potential for yet greater achievements. I wish you continued success in your future endeavours.

I would also like to extend my congratulations to the two representatives from the community at large who are being recognized here tonight. Your continued involvement and contribution to the Ukrainian community and the community at large are worthy of emulation and accordingly most appropriately recognized.

I would like to share with you a few thoughts on the process of education. I am not going to talk about education philosophy and techniques of delivery as that has and is continuously debated by educators and philosophers with no conclusive result.

My focus will begin where the formal program leaves off. It was Einstein who defined education as "what remains when one has forgotten everything that you learned in school". So why do we bother with school? Well the biggest reason is that we have to begin somewhere. We are not born with life skills. We acquire them through experience, observation, interaction with people, and schooling. We need school because it is part of the process that provides us with the basic tools and skills, which facilitate and enhance our ability to learn after we graduate from school. School provides the basic curriculum and milestones against which our achievements are measured, such as grades, report cards, and diplomas. It provides an environment conducive to learning and practicing skills that are essential for life. And just as kindergarten is a prerequisite for grade school and high school for university, a graduate diploma is still the best prerequisite for the University of Life. This is life in a world that according to Einstein "each of us visits involuntarily and without an invitation", and spend our entire life in it. The message I want to relate to you is that Education is a life long process, which starts in the cradle and continues until we leave for our eternal resting place. So the more life tools you have at your disposal the better your chances of creating a rewarding and fulfilling life for yourself.

The essence of our mission in life is to create ourselves. No it is not to find ourselves, because if you do not know what you are looking for, you are unlikely to find it. On the other hand, how do you create yourself without knowing what you want to be? Well here is where we turn to the tools provided by our education, both formal and informal, to plan a course for what it is that we want to become. I believe it was Yogi Berra who was quoted as saying, "if you don't know where you are going, any road will do". Well if you choose any old road you may not like where it leads to so you had better plan a course that will get you to where you want to go. There are many things about life that are unreasonable. For example, you are expected to make a decision at age 17 that will guide your destiny for the rest of your life. Now how many mature adults in this room would allow their 17 year old son or daughter to lay a plan for the rest of their lives. In the average Ukrainian home this plan would be quashed with a "scho te znaech'. What do you know? Yet that is the reality and in its imperfect form it works with help from education. Your education will continue for the rest of your life, and the tools that you have in your bailiwick will be one of your greatest assets.

How do you learn in the school of life without a formal curriculum? How do you nurture this creation process that has been started for you at birth and nurtured by your parents and the society up until now? And perhaps just when you need it most, they abandon you. The answer to both questions is: by setting goals and objectives to guide you. What do you want to do, who and what do you want to become. These are the most important questions you have to answer. Once you have done all this, all that is left is choosing the road that leads there. Now, Yogi Berra's proverbial "any old road" will not do. It will be the one that leads you to your objective.

Goals do not have to be permanent and in life few are. Some are more distant than others. Armand Hammer, the American business tycoon, at age 89 said that he set his long range plans for only ten years in advance now because he want to be around to see them happen. To be rewarding they must be challenging, but not so low that they can be reached without serious effort. Once set, it will be essential to review and evaluate them regularly to see if you are still on the right path. The size and scope of Microsoft, as we see it today, was not spelled out in its original mission statement. An organization does not achieve this kind of success without a constant evaluation and revaluation of its goals and objectives. You will set and change many goals and objectives along the way of life. Your success is attaining your short term objectives will serve as an elixir to pursue the long term ones with great vigour. This establishment of a life plan gives purpose and provides structure for our lives and a landmark against which we can measure our progress along the path of self-realization.

The tools of life are learned in the classrooms by observation, experience, listening and interacting with other people. Life is with people, and all of life's greatest lessons come from them. The experience of other people and your interaction with them will be the greatest source of education for the rest of your life. People skills are not inherited, they are learned behaviour. The development of interpersonal skills should be very high on all your lists of goals and objectives. Your responsibility is to equip yourself with the knowledge required for the development of this skill. There are many things that you can and should be doing to prepare yourself for this. To this effect, I encourage you to choose options, wherever possible, in fields that are outside your focus of study, if they are not already included. More specifically, choose options in the humanities, sociology, psychology, philosophy, economics, political science, art, music, and physical education. These are the disciplines that will help you better understand yourself, your fellow man, human behaviour and the society you live in. This knowledge will serve you well in all your future life experiences.

The time you spend in school should not be all work and no play. Mark Twain said, "Never let school interfere with your education". Your time at university should be a fun experience as well as a learning one. Participate in as many extra curricular activities as possible, without jeopardizing the main thrust of your studies. Expand your circle of friends and acquaintances as much as possible. This is a good place to start practicing your people skills.

True understanding comes from reflecting on your experiences, and the broader they are the more fruitful the lesson will be. The academic environment is an ideal setting for this. It provides a forum for you to express yourself and get back from your peers. This will also broaden your opportunity to practice your communication skills, which in turn builds confidence. The biggest obstacle that stands in the way of promotion for many bright young and capable people is their inability to communicate effectively. The university is, to large extent, a sheltered environment. It was designed to be a practice field, so take full advantage of it and if you do, you will breeze through the school of life.

In summary, the process in the University of Life is not unlike the formal school process. There are milestones against which your performance is measured. They include excelling in your profession, getting a promotion, fulfilling what seemed like impossible dreams, marriage, divorce, successfully raising a family, and the realization of a myriad of other personal goals we set for ourselves. And yes there are exams and quizzes. Some of them are scheduled, but many are surprises, thrown at you without warning. You do not have time to prepare for them. You are forced to draw on the bank of knowledge you possess at the time. And that is perhaps the greatest reason for obtaining knowledge for the sake of knowledge. And yes there are report cards, and the grades are measured by how successful you have been in meeting the personal goals and objectives, which you have set for yourself to create you. You become the professor and the student. You will be free to mark your result as harshly as you thought your teachers did, or as generously as you thought they should have. Yes you have flexibility, but in the final analysis, be true to yourself. No matter how hard we try in life, most of the time, we only get pass marks. But there are exceptions! Above all learn to accept responsibility for yourself, blame no one, and be true to yourself. This is the birthplace of your integrity which is a fundamental cornerstone of the 'you' that is worth creating. And just like the formal university, the University of Life is meant to be a pleasant and enjoyable experience. Plan to balance this struggle with fun, games, or whatever else brings you joy and satisfaction. I can quite confidently say that no one has ever left this earth with the dying wish that he should have spent more time at work or at school for that matter. And based on your success to date, I am certain that all of you are destined to graduate cum laude from the University of Life.

I thank you for your indulgence.