“Caring is Our Greatest Strength” - A Franciscan Sister’s Graduation Speech and the Vocation of Caring

[Francis Coffee]

Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Sister Concepcion Medina was invited to speak on behalf of the undergraduates at the Green Bay Bellin College Graduation on Saturday, May 14, 2022. She herself graduated from the Bellin Nursing Program.

"To my fellow graduates, thank you for choosing to care. We live in a world that says caring for or about someone else is unnecessary and a huge inconvenience, but in reality, caring is our greatest strength. Hellen Keller said, “Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” We were not meant to exist on our own, alone and separate from each other. We are all part of a greater whole. Every person is necessary and important just like every puzzle piece is needed to complete an image..... Finding joy in what we do makes all the difference in the world. Whether we are nurses, sonographers, or radiographers we all have the power to help someone along the way. We can all comfort someone, listen to them, and let them know we care. Each one of us plays an integral role in the healing process. I know that this graduating class will put the ‘care’ back into healthcare and that you will change the world even if it is one person at a time."

Read her entire speech here:

https://fscc-calledtobe.org/2022/05/19/franciscan-sister-thanks-bellin-college-graduates-for-caring/