Grant Luedtke tells UWO classmates not to miss what's right in front of them

Grant Luedtke of Fond du Lac was selected as the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh student speaker for the afternoon ceremony May 16.

Good afternoon faculty, staff, family, friends, and most importantly, my fellow graduates in the Class of 2026. It is truly an honor to stand before you today.
When I first came to UW Oshkosh, I thought I knew exactly what success was supposed to look like. But looking back now, I realize this place taught me something very different.

I spent most of college trying to get through it as fast as possible…and somewhere along the way, I almost missed it entirely.

I thought I had life figured out.

Graduate early. Work harder. Get ahead.

Just keep moving.

I loaded up on 18 credit semesters, worked throughout college, and always had my eyes on what was next.

Next class.

Next opportunity.

Next step.

Because in my mind, success meant speed.

And for a while, that worked.

On paper, everything looked right.

But somewhere along the way… life had a different plan.

This past year forced me to slow down in ways I never expected.

I lost someone who meant a lot to me.

My grandpa, Rick, someone I looked up to my whole life.

A week before he passed away, I told him I would love to sing karaoke with him sometime because that was something he loved.

The morning he passed, he was picking out songs for us to sing together.

His favorite song was What a Wonderful World.

I never got to sing it with him.

And I don't think I will ever forget that.

All the things I thought mattered suddenly didn't feel as important anymore.

For the first time in a long time, I stopped thinking about what was next.

I was thinking about what was right in front of me, and what I wished I had appreciated while I still had the chance.

The conversations I rushed through.

The moments I thought could wait.

The people I saw every day but didn't always take the time to know: classmates, professors, custodians, and dining staff who helped make this place what it is.

And in that moment… it hit me.

I had been so focused on building a life…that I almost missed the people who made it worth living.

And I don't think I'm the only one.

Because if we're being honest, that's what we all do.

We chase grades.

We chase internships.

We chase jobs, titles, and the idea of "making it."

We get so good at building a future…that we forget how to live in the present.

We tell ourselves, "I'll slow down after this semester."

"After I graduate."

"After I get where I'm trying to go."

But the truth is… there's always another "next."

And if we're not careful, we can spend our entire lives chasing what's ahead…and miss what's right in front of us.

The people sitting next to you today.

The ones who showed up when things weren't easy.

The ones who made this experience what it was.

Because years from now, when we look back on this place, that's what we remember.

Not the assignments.

Not the deadlines.

Not even the achievements.

We remember the people.

We remember how they made us feel.

We remember the moments we didn't want to end.

So as we leave here today, stepping into whatever comes next…

Yes, work hard.

Be ambitious.

Chase your goals and build the life you want.

But don't do it at the cost of the people around you.

Don't get so focused on where you're going that you miss where you are.

Because life isn't something waiting for us after this moment.

It's already happening.

Right now.

And it's happening in the small things.

The conversations.

The relationships.

The memories we do not know we are making.

That's what makes it meaningful.

So as we go forward, let's not just be people who achieve things.

Let's be people who show up.

Who care.

Who take the time to appreciate what we have while we have it.

And if we don't slow down long enough to look around every once in a while…we might miss the very things that make life worth living.

The person sitting across from us.

The conversation we keep putting off.

The song we never got to sing.

And maybe, when we finally slow down enough to notice those things, we realize what my grandpa seemed to understand so well: even through the hard parts, it truly is a wonderful world.

Thank you, and congratulations, Class of 2026.