President Weill, distinguished faculty and staff, honored guests and friends and about-to-be graduates, it is indeed a great honor to celebrate this most significant of days with you.
In preparing for my remarks today, I sought advice from my family and colleagues on an appropriate topic for this presentation.
Frankly, I had anticipated receiving various forms of exhortations to greatness in a number of areas to share with you.
However, the only consistent piece of advice I received was to keep my remarks brief.
That is, of course, consistent with my late father's advice on public speaking when he indicated to me that in order to be seen - stand up.
In order to be heard - speak loudly.
But, in order to be appreciated - sit down quickly.
Under the assumption that the longevity or half-life of my remarks will be about 30 minutes at best, I have decided to simply pass out a few congratulations.
I will also note some challenges that you as new graduates will face as you enter your chosen professions, and then, we can all get on with the rest of the program!
So, with that agenda, congratulations first - not to the honored guests, but to those who got our honored guests here ... parents, spouses, friends, significant others, relatives, associates, mentors, professors, advisors, and on and on - that whole panoply of intricate support relationships upon which so many of us depend.
To you I say well done and thanks.
You have helped to deliver to society 452 spanking brand new graduates.
Wish them well and challenge them to make you proud, to make us all proud, of their achievements and in all of their future endeavors and journeys.
Please join me in thanking this group of VIP's for their efforts.
Now, of course, I want to congratulate Gordon College's graduating class of 2009.
This is an historic day, for among you are the first group of baccalaureate degrees to be awarded by Gordon College - 28 bachelor's degrees in Early Childhood Education.
For these, you represent the first fruits of Gordon College's status as a state college!
In fact, all of you, in just a few short years - admittedly longer for some than others - have undergone an evolution - whether you are receiving an associate's or a bachelor's degree.
Yesterday the administration called you a Gordon College student.
Tonight they will be calling you Gordon College alumni.
And, if history is any guide, on Monday, they'll be calling you for contributions.
But, now, at this moment, celebrate!
Celebrate as you graduate and commence this next phase of your lives.
You have completed what you set out to do.
Most of you have either adeptly prepared for your first professional position or for advancement in an already established career.
Others will be using the knowledge gained at Gordon to transfer into a bachelor's or masters' program elsewhere.
For some, the process may have involved changing majors several times, for others it may have been an extraordinary effort to balance financial and personal issues with the ever-present priority of academic achievement.
But, in any case, you are now ready for all kinds of bigger and better things.
There are not many absolutes in life, but I am certain of one thing: Each of you is an achiever ... a survivor.
We all need real-life survival skills to exist in today's world.
It is a world far, far different and, in many ways, more challenging and complex than the world into which your parents and I entered.
It's a world where:
We are all crying out for politicians to discuss substantive issues, yet we seldom elect anyone who does.
A world where:
We are willing to pay people more to take care of our cars than our children. While, at the same time, we wonder why both are breaking down with increasing frequency.
A world where:
People are paid not to grow crops, yet most of the world goes to bed hungry every night.
A world where:
Some live in million-dollar homes and others live in subway stations.
We live in a country that is filled with irony and challenge.
A country where technology is moving us ahead quickly ... yet a place where far too many are being left behind.
A country where a surprising number of people in our workforces can't read.
A country where children think Brazil is a European country.
A country known as a melting pot, yet a place where we still can't seem to effectively mix.
Yet, we are so interconnected that we watch as that same technology that joins us globally, also allows a new flu virus to travel the world in a matter of days.
And, within the past year, we live in a world that economically has been turned upside down.
Most of us, of course, did not directly experience the Great Depression.
Today's world is vastly different from the 1930's - but it clearly is one in which we are still feeling our way, striving to sort out the economic and financial messes and to chart that elusive path to a sound recovery.
Right in the middle of this economic tumult, here you are - graduating.
Some of you may be thinking that you have the world's worst timing.
I would differ with that thought.
I believe your timing has never been better.
Given the somewhat downbeat examples I have provided, someone might say I'm a pessimist.
And I'm not.
I am, in fact, optimistic.
I know that as our problems grow, our commitment to solving them is growing as well.
We, as Americans, are heirs to a pioneering spirit.
We are a people of unbounded zeal and unlimited expectations.
And, those unlimited expectations are for you to fulfill.
And face them you will, equipped with an education from an institution that for many years has produced women and men who value community and are committed to the preservation of a civil society.
Your education should also enable you to participate wisely in society as a competent professional and as a knowledgeable citizen.
To the 28 early childhood education majors, you will face tremendous challenges.
You are the people who will make the most critical difference in any individual's education - because you will be shaping and molding children at that all important, early stage.
Our literacy rates must increase.
Our drop out rates must decline.
The solution will start with you.
You must light that spark at the right moment in a child's life.
I urge you, as teachers, to be committed enough to work in problem areas, yet be proud enough to demand that society acknowledge your value and worth.
If we are to move forward as a society, it is clear that this value must be recognized, and that you must be appropriately rewarded for the impact you have on future generations.
To those of you who have chosen to become teachers ... to enter this increasingly challenging profession, I commend you for this choice and wish you luck and success in the years ahead.
Those 95 of you graduating in the nursing professions are needed today - more than ever.
Despite the fact that you and your peers are on the cusp of what I hope is a long and exciting life, if you stop and look around, you will see an aging society.
The Baby Boomers are starting to phase out - both mentally and physically.
You will see a society battling a wide range of health issues.
Here in Georgia, the morbidity rates for a wide range of health care indices are the stark facts demonstrating just how needed each of you is.
Georgia's growing shortage of nurses means each of you is critically needed in clinics and hospitals across the state.
Now let me talk to the analytically gifted - those 167 of you graduating in the sciences clearly bright enough to see what sort of a future Bill Gates was able to envision and realize.
One of the enduring strengths of this nation has been the sheer genius of its inventors, scientists, engineers and mathematicians.
Yet in recent decades, we are losing our technical superiority, slowly but surely, to other countries.
According to Tom Freidman, today, in countries such as India, mathematicians are the equivalent of our music idols and sports stars.
It is your challenge to create that same aura around the sciences in this country.
Yes, it's you versus Brittany Spears in a battle for the hearts and minds - and resources - of our society.
Good luck!
For those 162 of you who have majored in the liberal arts, your opportunities are as limitless as our problems.
You have been trained as problem solvers ... and we've got a few for you.
You must never forget that you are the inheritors of the mantles of the great thinkers and scientists of our civilization - from Confucius to Aristotle, from Copernicus to George Washington Carver - from Adam Smith to Lester Thurow - you have learned.
You have learned to understand the forces that have shaped and molded great civilizations, and you must use that knowledge to create an even better society here in our time.
This is your challenge... to lead society to a better place ...to a higher ground ... to help us lead more purposeful and fulfilling lives.
This is your challenge.
Now, the time has come for me to stop and for you to go forth and make the contributions that society demands of you.
I want to close, however, by dwelling on the significance of this day.
Today is a significant day.
Not because you will party this evening.
And not because it marks the end of a journey ... but because it marks the beginning of your new or renewed professional career.
After today, you are no longer just a hope.
You are no longer just a potential.
After today, you are also an investment - an investment not only by your families, or by yourself, or in some cases by your banker.
You are an investment of our society.
You are our human capital ... our intellectual capital.
You are among our best and brightest ... society is now looking for its dividends ... its return on its investment in you.
And, you must give back, if we are to continue to remain a prosperous society.
Today, I pointed out a lot of problems that we have to work together to solve.
Sometimes they can seem overwhelming.
And, when problems start to look unmanageable and awesome, remember the words of the great Chinese philosopher, Lao-Tzu, who reminded us that:
"A 1,000-mile journey begins with a single step."
Today I urge you to take that first step ... go forth ... not so much to multiply, but to add.
To add value to all that you do.
May your years be filled with achievement.
May your lives be filled with joy.
May your acts reflect proudly upon this fine institution.
Congratulations.
God speed and good luck to you all.
Thank you.