Some 20 years ago, I faced the blank canvas of my life, just like you did, eager to make the best masterpiece I could inhumanly muster. Then I came across my first challenge: how?
The winding road to Escrivá Drive started with a get-together with Dr. Mariano. The lengthy discussion yielded this: “At UA&P, you will learn how to learn.” The immediate appeal of this mantra piqued my curiosity, but it was only after decades that its true value would manifest. I enrolled in UA&P, and that answered the “how.”
The first two years at the University had us inundated with all the arts and all the sciences that we could handle. Twenty-seven units was the norm, as the majority decried “Metaphysics isn’t needed for business!” or “I won’t need chemistry for IMC!”
Joining the ranks of IEP was an eye-opener for even the most math-savvy of A-sectioners, and I was not even one of them. I had joined the intellectual marines, so good luck to me. When we groaned about the workload, the only consolation afforded us was “If you wanted it easy, you should have gone to ___.” In addition, I had unwittingly signed up as a varsity member to the fledgling football team, tasked with not only playing but also with holding quarterly fundraisers to help augment our shoestring budget. I then ran into my second challenge: why?
None of it made sense back then. And then suddenly it all did as I remembered Dr. Mariano.
UA&P teaches us how to learn. This training breeds reading comprehension and communication prowess, allowing us to learn on the fly and impart this newfound knowledge because as Dr. Toralba used to say, “You cannot give what you do not have.” Liberal education allows us to “learn how to learn” as a solid foundation, paired with a master’s degree worthy of any international graduate school, the true product of a UA&P education.
Throughout my working career, I have displayed how that training has prepared me for any task. Colleagues were oftentimes surprised at how quickly I picked up the routine, how well I could communicate, how I had a grasp of history, and how I could speak a smattering of French. Then they would welcome how this graduate could converse and debate on economic concepts and learn techniques that they had been using at the firm for years. UA&P does not get us ready for our first, second, or third job; it gets us ready for life.
To the youth, know that you are beloved and gifted. Many times you will meet people who will try to tell you that you are not. They lie. Each of us is gifted and beloved, no matter how much or how limited; the task is not to paint on the largest canvas but to paint on the entire canvas that is given to you. This is the UA&P way: given much or given little, much is still expected in return. I am sure many of you are familiar with the words of Ben Parker: “With great power comes great responsibility,” which is, I guess, a modern superhero version to St. Luke’s “To whom much is given, much will be required.” The UA&P education empowers you to do just that: give back a hundredfold. So get out that paint brush, and paint your masterpiece, not for yourself, but to share with others. Unitas, UA&P!#
Leave a Reply