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LTU graduates get lesson on grit from former pro athlete, psychologist

May 4, 2024

SOUTHFIELD—More than 500 Lawrence Technological University students became the university’s newest alumni in two Commencement Exercises held on LTU’s Southfield campus Saturday.

A 10 a.m. ceremony honored graduates of LTU’s College of Business and Information Technology, while a 1:30 p.m. ceremony honored graduates of LTU’s College of Architecture and Design, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Health Sciences, and its Specs@LTU media and design programs.

Keynote speaker Danny Southwick, a psychologist and former professional athlete, treated the graduates, their families and friends to a lesson on grit, which he said is “a term psychologists use for passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long term goals.”

Throughout a football career that saw Southwick play for six different colleges in five years, and a professional career that saw him play briefly in the NFL and then for many arena and minor league teams, Southwick said he learned how to cultivate grit—and got interested enough in the topic to make it the basis of his acaemic research and career in psychology.

Southwick said he came from a family of athletes and looked up to an uncle just four years older than him who starred as a quarterback. “I tried to walk like Brett and dress like Brett and talk like him,” Southwick said. “I quickly learned I couldn’t be like Brett in everything but I had my target set. After working just as hard as Brett, maybe a little harder, I was just as successful as Brett.”

But he said that somewhere along the way, he became “hypnotized by the hype. I had so many good things said about me that I became vulnerable and weak mentally.” He said he learned that grit comes from “your beliefs about your ability to change. If you believe your intelligence, talent, skills, and personality can change, you have a growth mindset. If not, you have a fixed mindset. People with a growth mindset do better—and they have differeent brain responses to the experience of failure.”

Southwick said he learned he “had a growth mindset in high school, but not in college.” He said that growth mindset leads to grit and perseverance.

Southwick congratulated the graduates on their achievements: “Each of you has accomplished something very special in the last four years,” he said. “You’re here now, graduates of a fine university, about to embark on a new adventure.”

And, he told them, “no matter where you finished in your class, the future is not yet written. Whether you are first in your class or last, you have the chance to accomplish things that other people think are impossible…have the courage and conviction to follow your dreams.”

He added: “When you lose your conviction, you should probably be doing something else. And any one day does not define you. You have the ability to grow and become better.”

The graduates also received congratulatory remarks from LTU President Tarek M. Sobh and Provost Richard Heist, and a greeting as the newest members of the LTU Alumni Associaton.

Lawrence Technological University is one of only 13 private, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932 and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences, as well as Specs@LTU as part of its growing Center for Professional Development. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation’s top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report list it in the top tier of the best Midwest colleges. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.

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