With passion and fervor, the Honorable Richard H. Bernstein delivered an inspirational speech to Schoolcraft College students, faculty and staff during an appearance on January 21 at Kerhl Auditorium.
The key message: Embrace all life experiences and understand how they shape you.
“It’s through your life experiences that you will have the opportunity to make tremendous and profound change in the lives of so many people,” said Bernstein, the first blind justice elected to the Michigan Supreme Court. “I believe we are given our experiences for a reason, for a purpose.
“I ask each of you to take those experiences, take them for good and take them for bad, but use those experiences as your impetus, your passion, your purpose and your mission. Allow those experiences to shape who you are, inspire, excite and give you a sense of meaning.”
Bernstein, the keynote commencement speaker in 2016, said he always welcomes the opportunity to return to Schoolcraft because he knows many of the students face a less-than-easy path to success.
“You’re the ones willing to do anything and everything to succeed,” he said. “You’re the ones, who through all of your effort, through all your work, through all your energy and all your commitment that will undoubtedly will have the greatest and most profound impact of the lives of those around you.”
Bernstein related some inspiring personal stories of perseverance, starting with his 2008 Ironman Triathlon in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. This grueling test of endurance starts with a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bike race and concludes with 26.2-mile run.
His first challenge was competitors inadvertently kicking him in the face (because he is blind, Bernstein could not anticipate and brace for the blows). As if that weren’t enough, some of them got tangled in his guide rope, pulling him under and leaving at the brink of panic as he feared he might drown.
Bernstein’s determination won out. He made all the necessary cutoffs and completed the event.
Endurance-type events are nothing new to him - Bernstein also is an avid marathoner. He had finished 17, but further competition was in doubt after a terrible accident.
Bernstein was severely injured when a bicyclist, traveling at an estimated 35 mph, struck him from behind while he was walking in the pedestrian lane in New York Central Park. The devastating injuries left him hospitalized for 10 weeks and taught him another lesson.
“Life can change in an instant, without warning,” he said. “But life is not about the big things. It’s always the little things.”
Bernstein explained how during his convalescence he began to celebrate mundane activities most people take for granted – like being able to shower or use the bathroom without assistance. He recovered – and has since finished seven more marathons to give him a total of 24.
Throughout his speech, Bernstein also stressed the need to adapt.
“At a certain point in life, you can’t spend your time and your energy and your effort focusing how you’re going to get over it. You come to realize there is no alternative but to get on with it,” he said.
Bernstein’s appearance was presented by Dr. JuJuan C. Taylor and the Department of Communication Arts.