“I’m truly humbled by this honor,” said Damien Goddard, CEO of The Goddard Family of Companies. “This is surely a surprise to my former professors and classmates but sends a clear message to all – it is never too late!” Goddard told a packed winter recess crowd, gathered to celebrate what he proudly calls his ‘crowning achievement’.

Goddard, founder of LetsGoDU,  made his triumphant return to Denver from his hometown and corporate headquarters in Houston, Texas to receive his Doctor of Humane Letters in Education from his undergraduate alma mater. Among his numerous business enterprises, The Goddard School for Early Childhood Development.

“I grew up outside Sydney,  Australia – near the outback. Not that outback – the actual steakhouse. I’ll never forget the Bloomin‘ Onion®, just fantastic. That started my interest in America and American culture. We eventually followed my grandfather, a NASA aerospace engineer who founded the Goddard Space Center, in Houston along with grandma, LuLu, who started our silver polish line.”

“After high school, I matriculated to the University of Denver. Academics were never a priority. At one point, Chancellor Dwight Smith called me into his office and told me I was disruptive and at risk of expulsion. I was assigned to work 20 hours with a cleaning detail at Penrose Library – now the building is called the Anderson Academic Commons. While dusting the stacks one Saturday night, I started to read The Hardy Boys book, The Mystery of the Spiral Staircase. Suddenly, I remembered I was missing a big party – and I was supposed to pay the DJ.  I was torn in two directions – I went to the party. But, I went back to Penrose Library the next day to finish the book. That was the beginning – my unquenchable thirst for reading and learning.”

Said the newly anointed Dr. Goddard, “I wanted kids to learn about the real outback – not the steakhouse. I want them (kids) to learn that reading was just as important as going to a party and lining up a date with Chrissy, a cute sophomore from Chicago – even though she ended up with my best friend that Saturday night.”

“Ten years later, my dream became a reality when I opened the first Goddard School. Now we have 600 schools serving over 75,000 kids – and I have more money than I know what to do with (laughing).”

Goddard concluded his acceptance speech holding his diploma high above his head, “Oh, and Chrissy, now you know how to find me!” The standing ovation that followed was the capstone to a meteoric career and life lifting children and developing young minds.

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Goddard will be hosting a reception in the Magness Arena Gold Cub Saturday night at the DU-Minot State hockey game at 6 p.m. MT and acting as honorary coach at the Sunday, 3 p.m. MT DU-ORU basketball game.