Graduation 2022

Dear Margaret,

It's graduation season and I’m proud to say we had some personal graduations within the Starner Group and some advice too.

Roger and I just returned from attending my granddaughter, Kendall’s high school graduation from Greenhill High School in Dallas. Kendall was a high performing student, lettering in 3 sports, playing varsity leader in each, all 4 years, with many other extra curricula activities, i.e editor of the school yearbook.  I’m excited that she’s chosen to attend University of Miami this Fall...which means she will be attending and living very near me and Roger for the next 4 years.

Kendall Hashimoto
Greenhill High School- Graduation 2022
Brother Kailee, Mom Dana, Kendall, Dad Kenji

Having graduated from a rural school in the MS Delta, going to college at Stanford was a huge leap for me and no one gave me any advice on what I should do when I got to college. While I loved my years at Stanford …I realized later how much more I could have benefited with a little bit of advice besides “study and make good grades!”

Generally, my graduation Musing has been about advice to college graduates and not to high school grads like Kendall. I’ve asked each of the more recent college grads on the Starner Team, looking back, what advice they would give Kendall and other high school grads who are entering college now. 

Stephanie Valdes
FIU - BA Finance 2018; MS Finance 2020

Learn from every moment, step out of your comfort zone, and ask for help.

Opportunities to learn surround you. Whether good or bad, they help mold us into the person we are meant to be. Stepping out of your comfort zone is essential for your personal growth and I encourage all to take calculated risks and make that leap of faith. When we step out of our comfort zone and overcome our fears, we discover new things about ourselves that we might not have learned otherwise. The leaps of faith that I have taken in my past have brought me to where I am today. Lastly, don't be afraid to ask for help. Asking for help when needed can ease your anxiety/stress that may have built up, and can also lead to connections and relationships with people. It is okay to not understand at first.

Krystine Pereda
American University – BA International Business; International Relations 2017; University of Miami – MBA 2020

Use your freedom wisely. Whether you’re going away for school or staying local, you will be faced with a new sense of independence. Choosing your own classes, your own study hours, making new friends, and starting new hobbies will open up an exciting chapter of your life. But with more freedom comes greater responsibility. No one expects an 18 year old to master the art of time-management. You’re going to make mistakes, you’re going to stress out and you’re going to cram like there’s no tomorrow. As you go through the motions to figure out what works best for you, keep in mind the difference between adolescence and adulthood is being able to learn from your mistakes.  

Adrian Tinoco
Savannah College of Art and Design - BFA Visual Effects 2014
FIU – MS Finance 2016

Explore the opportunity of moving away for college. Looking back, this really helped me become independent and not have to rely on my parents for anything. Also I would try to focus on investing early, even if only $100 a month. Last thing I'd say is to enjoy the experience, be involved, and get out of your comfort zone. 

Daniel Chapman
University of Miami School of Business
BS Economics; Business Technology 2016

My advice would be: study / gain exposure to varying subjects. Get involved in extra-curricular’s that are of interest, or that maybe you never knew about. Use college to learn what really interest you and discover at what you’re good.

Jessica Delgado
University of Florida - BA Anthropology 2008
UF Hough Business School - MS Management 2009

Continue to put forth effort into existing friendships, but do not grow complacent with them and pass up the opportunity to grow your circle. The last four years may have been great, but do your best to make the next four something different.

It is okay to fail. You can drop classes, change your major (more than once), and still not know what you want to do when graduation comes. Life will eventually put you where you were meant to be. The only person it is not okay to disappoint is yourself. You only have one shot at college in this time of your life so you should not rely on anyone else’s expectations for how you should spend it. That being said, go to as many sporting events as you can! Football was always my favorite, but to each their own.

Last but not least… congratulations to Scott’s son, Dylan, on graduating from University of Michigan. And now words from the proud dad, Scott Weingarden…

I spent the morning of Saturday, April 30^th in Michigan Stadium, aka the Big House. Now you may be wondering what I was doing in a college football stadium in late April. Well, it was the most fun I ever had in the Big House and the reason is I was there to attend my son, Dylan’s, college graduation from the University of Michigan.  Almost exactly 30 years to the day from my college graduation in the same stadium I had a magical and surreal experience that morning. Melissa and I sat with immense pride as we listened to keynote speaker, Maria Shriver, tell the new graduates to push through their fears and live their authentic lives. That society needs them to redefine how we work and how we live.

As I sat on the end zone bleachers that morning, I reflected on the fact that Dylan seems to be living my life, just 30 years later. He graduated from Palmetto High School, the same high school I attended, 30 years after I did. He has now graduated from Michigan 30 years after I did. And his next adventure will be attending the University of Miami law school in the fall. So likely he will graduate from there 30 years after I did, 3 years from now. It’s funny how life turns out when you don’t plan it!

Post-graduation, Dylan is on the go. He is currently on a Birthright Israel trip. This is a free, life-changing 10-day trip to Israel for young Jewish adults between the ages of 18 and 26 that aims to give every Jewish young adult around the world the opportunity to visit Israel on an educational trip. After Israel, Dylan and some friends from Michigan will be traveling around Europe for a few weeks. Are you jealous?? I know I am.  

Thanks for the advice from our team members and congratulations and good luck to Kendall and Dylan. I will end with my advice: regardless of your major, take a class in Coding and know the difference between knowledge and wisdom.

Sincerely,

Margaret C. Starner
Senior VP - Financial Planning
2333 Ponce de Leon Blvd. Suite 500
Coral Gables, FL 33134
www.starnergroup.com

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