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This December, Leeds hosted its Winter Commencement ceremony to honor the most recent class of graduates from Leeds. Those students are now part of 41,000 alumni across the world and serve as ambassadors of the University of Colorado and the Leeds School of Business. Receiving a degree is a great accomplishment, as only about a third of the adult population has a bachelor’s degree and even less attaining an advanced degree. The knowledge attained is transformational to a student’s lifelong success as it solidifies the foundation to empower them forward.

Clark Jones is one such former Leeds student who has found success throughout his career. Clark spoke to his transformational experiences in life as he served as the keynote speaker for this year’s graduation ceremony. As the Vice President of Revenue Management and Analytics and Disney California Adventures, Clark leads a team of cast members at Disney in financial responsibilities for the company. Clark turned a Leeds education into a lifetime career working for his dream job at Disney for more than 20 years.

In his speech, Clark spoke about his upbringing and the lifelong lessons he learned from his father as a paperboy and maintaining high standards and professionalism from a young age. He spoke about his love for the university and giving back and hearing from students who are genuinely excited about their education. Ensuring future generations of students receive the benefits to help them achieve their dreams is something Clark tries to instill in everyone he meets by sharing his passion in creating opportunities to give back – whether it’s through money, time, or experience. Clark also reminded the graduates not to get too bogged down in the routine of life. He touched on the fact that it can sometimes be easy to lose sight of the journey as people get busy, but by reminding themselves of the path they were leading, it can rekindle that excitement that motivated someone to pursue their dreams in the first place.

Clark congratulated the graduates, signifying the accomplishment. As a reflection of his pride for the University of Colorado and its students, Clark imparted three important lessons to help the graduates in the next chapters of their lives. With a reminder of the importance of rising to meet self-expectations in all aspects of life, listening to others as a reward that can be paid forward, and finding ways to keep up momentum to pursue your goals, Clark made sure his message was reflective of a Buff experience.