This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ogden • Corporate attorney Karla Bergeson challenged graduating Weber State University students Friday to embrace three lessons she said shaped her life and career.
Never underestimate the power of hard work, Bergeson said in her commencement address. Always open the doors of opportunity and, above all, she said, diversity is power.
"It's my high honor to share this amazing occasion with you," the Ogden native told graduates, friends and family members gathered at the Dee Events Center. "This is your day. This is your time. You all are such an inspirational sight as you prepare to graduate from this prestigious university."
Nearly 3,200 students received more than 5,500 degrees in 2017, according to university data, and the majority of graduates were from Utah.
Bergeson shared stories about her law school experience at Brigham Young University, her first job hunt in New York City and the early days of her legal career. The former executive vice president and deputy general counsel for Citigroup said experiences right after college underscored the vital role education played in preparing her for the real world.
The daughter of the first college graduates in her family, Bergeson and her cousins have created the Shirley Livingston Bergeson and Colleen Livingston Knowles Scholarship Endowment, offered to WSU students pursuing teaching careers.
Bergeson described struggling, soul-searching and at times feeling isolated in her career, especially as she sought to accept and embrace her Utah background while pursuing her first job with Citigroup in New York.
"Regardless of your gender, what you look like, what geographic region you come from, what schools you attended, or what your cultural history is like, there may come a time when you are facing the same challenge that I did," Bergeson told the graduates. "And when that happens, remember life lesson No. 3 — diversity is power — a concept that helped make my career such a success."
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