Graduation Speech

As part of my graduation ceremony from the GL-CMA program at Columbia College Chicago, I was asked to speak on behalf of my classmates about our experience in the program. I wanted to share it here.  The reference to Rudolf Laban and his quotes came from Evelyn Doerr's "Rudolf Laban: The Dancer of the Crystal." Thanks for reading!


Good morning. For those of you I have not met, my name is Ashley Wint, and I'm honored to be standing here as a GL-CMA Graduate and speaking on behalf of my classmates about our experience in this program.

In all honesty, I had a difficult time just sitting down to reflect and prepare this speech. I realized that I still have not completely processed the experience our group went through in the past 14 months because it was so profound.

I actually took out my notebook and looked back at the notes I first took, and remembered how foreign but exciting all of this information was. And then remembering when a concept all of a sudden "clicked" to the extent I could actually feel neurons in my brain igniting. Then I knew, we are privy to some incredible information.

Yes, we have gained "knowledge," however, I believe we did more than that. I felt us start to grow together, question not only what we were learning, but also how it fit into our lives. We depended on each other for guidance and security as we traveled deeper into uncharted waters, and I believe we have transformed. I know I have.

In fact exactly one year ago, I wrote in my journal for class:

"I feel like right now I'm absorbing all of this information but anxious as to how it will play out in the future. I see glimpses of its infusion in my life eventually. Right now I'm along for the ride."

And now? Yes, Laban is infused in my life. But I've come to realize this "along for the ride" mentality will be an ongoing process with this kind of knowledge.

But even now, the FUTURE, post- program, out in the world with this certificate, what is that supposed to be?! This question is something we as a class have struggled with in the final months of our program. Well, I would like to turn to Rudolf Laban himself for some understanding. In 1912, directly after a "major life crisis" Laban wrote:

"My self-confidence wore away from the top down. Genius, strength, character? No trace! Persistence, talent, practical sense? Nothing, nothing! Can you think, talk? Can you stand, walk, speak, breathe? Feel, wish, want? Not to mention can? Can you do any of these things? No, I have to answer myself. No, you are a living sketch, a shadow. A shadow, that wants to have some kind of effect, that wants to fill space."


I think we can all see that Laban, the man we have come to admire, love, hate, be in awe of, and confused by,had insecurities and doubted his work and talent, but still knew there more out there for him to do and become.

20 years later in Nazi Germany, after a meteoric rise to fame and subsequent crash into failure, Laban reflected on his life up to this point and wrote:

"to the right and left lie the sacrifices, the mistakes, the moments of desperation; instead of friends, opponents  even enemies; instead of love, death. Persons, things, years, myself, shattered, broken...If I had not had my powerful intellect, that understands how to reconcile the most unbelievable things, I would have gone crazy or died long ago. But it is my lot to live, because I am one of those people who have something to accomplish and who stubbornly remain loyal to their ideals."

I wanted to share these sentiments today because I know how often we have expressed uncertainty, fear, and confusion as to how we will proceed with this work after we have left the bubble we created with each other once a month for 14 months. How can we hold this knowledge close, keep it fresh and relevant to ourselves, but also share it with the populations we work with and care for? I share Laban's words with you to remind us that even the man who gave us our foundation of knowledge, he too was human who faced fear and failure (often). But he stuck to his core beliefs and ideals. THAT is hat we need to remember as we begin our journeys as GL-CMAs. 

Thank you for sharing your lives for the past 14 months. Thank you to our incredible professors for also becoming a part of our lives and sharing their experiences with us. All the best of luck to us in our pursuit of education and healing people through movement. 

With my incredible parents who came to visit and support me.