Tracy O’Mara, raised on a Wisconsin  dairy farm, will serve as ‘14 spring commencement speaker

By Michael Riley

Tracy O’Mara graduated high school in a class of 68, but on May 17, 2014, she will speak in front of 2,000 UW-Whitewater graduates, where her commencement address  will focus more on the value of mistakes than success.

Daughter of Jay and Karla, O’Mara, Tracy was raised on a 360-acre farm with a mile-long gravel driveway among milk and beef cows in the southwestern corner of Wisconsin.

“I’m a small town country girl nobody who came into this college like a little fish in a big sea,” O’Mara said.  “I first came here, and this town was so big that I couldn’t sleep for three days because there are so many people and so much noise.”

No longer a little fish, the next commencement speaker said she has wanted this honor for a couple years.  O’Mara said this would be her special way to make her parents proud.

O’Mara grew up with the mentality that her work is never done.

This mindset has kept O’Mara  motivated her throughout her undergraduate career.  She said looking back on the past four years, all her accomplishments still surprise her.

“For me, I knew growing up on the farm meant working hard for everything we ever had,” she said.  “We grew our own crops and we ate our own beef.  I wanted to show my parents that it doesn’t necessarily need to be blood, sweat and tears. As a farmer, you can see your crops. Even thinking about it kind of makes me tear up. My parents worked so hard for me as a kid. I wanted to show them that I worked hard for myself and I could achieve things, too.”

O’Mara finds her place

Despite the differences compared to her childhood, the Corporate Health and Communication graduate began her freshman year, which she described as crazy.

O’Mara had the challenge of paying for her own education while still being involved in campus activities and academically successful.  While living in the Wells Towers, she worked 40 hours a week at Societies Assets, where she worked with individuals with physical and mental disabilities.

“For me, I was up every day at 6 in the morning and worked until about 12:45 a.m.,” O’Mara said.  “I would say my undergraduate career at Whitewater was rewarding because everything that I did, everyone that I met and every experience that I had helped develop me.”

Scholarships have allowed O’Mara to cut back to 30 hours per week.  The most inconvenient part of O’Mara’s day is finding a time to eat, she said jokingly when describing how she counteracts being overwhelmed.

“Everything that I do, I’m excited and passionate about,” she said.  “I love what I do.“

Four years of involvement 

In all of the organizations and jobs, O’Mara said she has been lucky enough to be surrounded by “good people who do good things.”

O’Mara said, albeit “super corney,” her biggest achievement is the lives she has touched and the people she has met.  Whether it be through Warhawk Ambassadors, finishing Top 3 in a sales competition out of 98 participants or traveling with the American Marketing Association, she said every experience was something she loved.

“Personal development is the best thing that has happened to me during my undergraduate career,” she said.

Mike Mifflin, who will pass the commencement speaker torch from last fall, has witnessed first-hand how O’Mara has grown.

“From working with her as a fellow ambassador and to now as her supervisor, Tracy has grown in her professionalism,” Mifflin said.  “She has a unique blend of professionalism while being able to connect with a variety of different people.”

O’Mara said her father always told her, ‘Do what other people want you to do before you’re asked’ and has continued to take advantage of the things around her.  Eventually, O’Mara said you end up even surprising yourself.

Despite all the surprises, she said two of the biggest regrets were positions on campus that she did not have enough time to dedicate.

“I wanted to be on the Hawk Squad more than anything,” she said.  “I held two internships during, so my summers were busy.  I would have loved to be that transition to motivate others and show them my passion.”

“The other thing I always wanted to do was to be a tour guide,” she said.  “I love the campus. It’s beautiful. It’s fun. I love talking to other people about what Whitewater has to offer.”

O’Mara’s final achievement 

The process in becoming the speaker has involved practice, application and interviews, O’Mara said.

“I’ve been thinking about the speech for years,” O’Mara said.  “My speech came from my heart.”

O’Mara said she wrote the speech for everyone, not just herself.

“I don’t want to give the cliché speech that tells everyone to follow your dreams,” she said.  “In my speech,  I say ‘sometimes our biggest successes come from our failures.’ We learn the most and we move forward and we move past it.”

Before coming to college, she said she felt so little.  Even though she admits she will be nervous, the moment  she speaks will be surreal.

“It’ll feel nice to say bye to the university one last time.” she said.  “To something that has completely changed my life and is a part of me for the rest of my life.  It’s a good goodbye.”