Persevere and Endure Class of 2021 overcomes unusual circumstances
ASMSA held commencement exercises for its Class of 2021 on May 22 at Bank OZK Arena at the Hot Springs Convention Center. The ceremony honored 96 graduates from 39 Arkansas counties. Heather R. Nelson, co-founder and president of Seal Solar, served as the keynote speaker for the event. The ceremony also featured several student speakers. Nelson co-founded Seal Solar, an energy solutions firm, in 2012. Prior to that, she served as a corporate lender for some of the nation’s largest banks for nearly two decades, according to her biography. Under her leadership, Seal Solar has completed more than 250, 12
or approximately one-in-five, solar projects in the state. Among the advice she shared with the graduates was to be prepared to fail and not let it become their biggest fear in life. She said when she was 40 that she had a devastating year of personal and professional loss. Over time, she embraced all of her failures, making peace with them and herself. “I will share today that what I learned is that failure isn’t as scary as we make it out to be, as we let others make it out to be,” Nelson said. “In fact, any success I have today can be tied back in some way to the failures of that year. “There is something to be said
for someone who knows what rock bottom feels like; they become fearless — they know what failure is, and they know they can rebound from it. So, they take more risks, they love bigger, they try more — mainly they embrace the fact that growth is a lifelong endeavor. You can do that too. Just remember there is beauty in the slow rise up.” She also told the graduates that it is OK if they have not found “your people” yet. She encouraged them to be proactive in seeking them out, including mentors. “I had no idea how valuable they would both end up being to my life,” Nelson said. Nelson briefly touched on other topics including courage and curi-
