2019 Fall Commencement

Class Of 2019

It is such a pleasure to share in the intensity of emotions filling this (auditorium,
stadium) as you who are graduating close this chapter of your life’s story.

Parents, you are probably wondering where the years have gone. As you marvel
at your sons’ and daughters’ accomplishments, it doesn’t seem that long ago when
these young adults we honor today were toddling off to start kindergarten.
Of course, living through those years between kindergarten and graduation may
have seemed like an eternity for the students . . . and for some parents as well.
 You are the Class of 2019. You graduate in a century still in its
infancy . . . at a time in history when our world is dealing with enormous challenges
. . . but at a time when the opportunities created by those challenges have never been
greater.

You are technology natives . . . born and educated in a technological world that
was only found in science fiction stories when many of us in this room were in school.
You Twitter and tweet . . . read books and news online . . . and your electronic social
networking has shrunk the known world.

You are the generation that will take the technology of today to new and dizzying dimensions.                                You are the ones who will bring solutions to environmental concerns . . . global
warming . . . conservation of natural resources . . . and development of alternative
energy sources . . . the issues that my generation is only now identifying.
And who knows? There may come a time that some of you live in a space
station circling the earth.

Someone among you may find the cure for cancer . . . or other debilitating
afflictions. You are poised to start a new chapter of your life’s
story.

Source: cabe.org/graduationspeech