Commencement Inspiration

When Shane Skinner ’95, founder and CEO of Record360, a leading global mobile digital forms technology company, and owner of the Seattle Seawolves began his December commencement speech with an energetic chant of “We are York!” it was plain to see that the College has a special place in his heart. 

After capturing everyone’s attention, he described some painful family circumstances growing up, including his father’s alcoholism and job loss. Going from those tough times to success, he said, mainly came down to five decisions, the first of which was to attend YCP, where he made friends for life. The second decision was he “always did the right thing – I was ethical.” Thirdly, he was selfless. “The more time I spent helping other people, the more time other people spent helping me.” He cited his longtime involvement with Special Olympics. His fourth decision was to work hard but try to maintain a work/life balance. “You don’t want to have any regrets.” His fifth decision was that he was okay making mistakes. But he cautioned graduates not to keep making the same mistakes and not to let mistakes get them down. He said these five decisions were not advice, but reminders. He ended with this advice: “To have fun, watch each other’s backs, and do your best!”