Today I will be enjoying one of my favorite days of the year. . . .  Convocation Day at the University of Minnesota.  It is the day we welcome the new students to the University of Minnesota and as one of the 12 people appointed by the State Legislature to serve on the governing board of the University, I get to play a small part.

For me the day will start with the Convocation whereby all 5,000+ Freshmen will take a seat in our hockey arena and for the next hour or so the University President will welcome them, the marching band will be introduced, and all the students will get a chance to learn our school songs — the athletic “Rouser” and the official school song, Hail Minnesota.  The energy of all these new students, preparing for a new journey in their lives is electric!

The day will end with the opening football game for our Golden Gophers as we take on South Dakota State.  It looks like great weather and I’ll enjoy wandering around the tailgating activities prior to watching the game – and at least a part of it from my favorite vantage point on the sidelines.

In between those two activities, because the University of Minnesota offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Mortuary Science, I am also lucky enough to be invited to participate in a panel discussion among industry people for our first year Mortuary Science students.  It is a small department at this Big Ten university, but as I like to remind the president, it is the quality, not the quantity that matters in Mortuary Science!!  I’m also very honored in that the University of Minnesota which was founded in 1851, seven years before Minnesota became a state. . . .and I am the first graduate of the school’s Mortuary Science program appointed to the governing board — that is an honor that I feel so blessed to receive for our profession.

With that as a lead-in, here is an article that I came across from Nashville Public Radio about that community’s John A. Gupton College that offers an associate degree and state license in Mortuary Science.  They are going back to school at this time too.

I would suggest that you read the article as it follows the fact that mortuary schools once catered almost exclusively to children of people who owned funeral homes but now prepare very few members of funeral home families for eventual work in the family business.  The “new” student is not a family member, but someone who has found the “passion” to make funeral service a career.  As a matter of fact, the article states that, as of 2018, only about 17% of mortuary college graduates had family in the industry.

That trend of fewer and fewer family members in the business, coupled with corporate America’s increasing ownership of funeral and cemetery businesses bodes well for these graduates who may want to “work their way” up the ladder into management at some point in their career.

Best of luck to all of our new students — you have chosen an exciting career where your actions will make a definite impact on those you serve.

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