2018 Undergraduate Commencement - Captioned

The 2018 Undergraduate Commencement Speaker, Tim Schultz, is a "a baker, a banker, a rancher, a politician, a philanthropist. But ask Schultz, 69, who he is and he opts for “none of the above." "I'm a connector," he says. "I have been given a gift. My mind works in a way that puts people together that wouldn't normally meet because there's a commonality they may not know they have.” Though his career has changed course on many occasions, his guide has been an ability to form relationships and understand others. From the counter of his parents’ Grand Junction bakery to the corner office of the Boettcher Foundation, where he served as president and executive director, listening and giving have paved his way. That and, Schultz will tell you, being in the right place at the right time. How else, he reasons, could a new grad with a political science degree become the youngest vice president at United Bank? By age 24 he was his local school board, and by 25 he was the state’s youngest county commissioner — after the longtime incumbent bowed out and a charismatic and confident Schultz knocked on every door in the deeply divided Rio Blanco County. As for his Commencement speech themes, Schultz talked about how, in his view, “money, to some degree, can bring you happiness. Hard work can bring some people happiness. Family can bring you happiness. But I don't think anything brings you the same contentment and happiness as giving to others.” -- Lorne Fultonberg