Patricia’s Commencement Moment: March–April HVAC Workshop Completion

📈 Recognizing Progress

There has been a lot of progress with Yolani.

One of the things that Peter made mention of was the level of frustration —
and I told everybody from day one:

Don’t get mad at Robert. Don’t get mad at Andrew. Don’t get mad at Chris.
Get mad at me — because I asked them to make you frustrated.

🔥 Frustration with a Purpose

I believe in controlled frustration.
That’s how you learn. That’s how you grow.
I don’t want to give you the answer.

From the very first day, I held a capacitor in my hand — yeah —
and I made an analogy.

I said, “Have you ever seen Kung Fu? Remember Kung Fu with David Carradine?”
And the Zen master said:

“When you can take this pebble out of my hand, you’re ready.”

Well, I had a capacitor in my hand, and I told people:

“I’m not going to give you this capacitor.
You must take it from me.”

💪 Learning by Doing

Meaning — you must learn HVAC by doing —
not by me giving it to you,
not by Robert,
not by Andrew,
not by Chris.

That’s not how you learn.

There was a lot of frustration — especially in the first couple of weeks.
And I know that.
And I wanted that.
I strive for it.

I encourage people to become that way — for the sake of growth.

🤔 Looking Back with Understanding

And I think at this point in your life, you probably — hopefully — understand why I did that.

And like I always say:

“It’s not about your education…
it’s about my entertainment.”

So — and I appreciate that you’re here.
You’re here — and our entertainment.

🏆 A Little Tease for What’s Next

Speaking of entertainment…
The next person — I’m not going to mention any names yet —
but has a new world record when it comes to an exam.

I can’t say exactly what that is…
because this is being recorded —
and I’m not going to wink.

☕ Consistent, Committed, and Caffeinated

Completely, completely dedicated — every day — 8:00 a.m.
Mainly because she wanted the coffee… but nonetheless, here at 8:00 and always stayed.
Never complained — except when we were out of coffee. But that’s okay. I understand.
It’s been an honor and a privilege to have you here.
Without you, this program would have felt diminished.
So, come on up here, Patricia.
[Applause]

🌱 A Commitment to Growth

Here you go.
Yes, ’cause I’m trying to learn. I’m trying to rectify myself for 2025.
Everything that I feel scared to do… the things I don’t want to do — those are the things that are going to mold me into a better person.
They’ll help me build a better life — for myself, for whoever is in my family and friends — especially my mom.
She’s a very big motivator.

🙏 A Moment of Gratitude

And I just want to thank God.
Because it’s a lot — y’all don’t know. But I’m standing here today, and I’m proud of myself.
Right?
“That’s what this is.”
Me too.

💛 Appreciation for Support

Cliff — I thank you.
I appreciate you for supporting me when I didn’t even believe in myself.
For all you went through and advanced so you could get your money — I thank you.
And I thank everybody.
Thank you so much for all coming out. And… I just thank everybody.