Written Remarks in PDF Format - Randolph-Macon College
Written Remarks in PDF Format - Randolph-Macon College
Written Remarks in PDF Format - Randolph-Macon College
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<strong>Remarks</strong> by<br />
L. Preston Bryant, Jr.<br />
Secretary of Natural Resources<br />
Commonwealth of Virg<strong>in</strong>ia<br />
<strong>Randolph</strong>-<strong>Macon</strong> <strong>College</strong><br />
Commencement Address<br />
June 2, 2007<br />
Members of the Board of Trustees, President L<strong>in</strong>dgren, Dr. Snow, Family and Friends of<br />
the Graduates and, most important, Graduates:<br />
I was excited to receive several months ago the <strong>in</strong>vitation to serve as this year’s<br />
commencement speaker, and I humbly accepted. To return to my alma mater <strong>in</strong> this<br />
capacity and on this occasion is a special moment for me personally, and I am grateful to<br />
you for it.<br />
We assemble on this warm June morn<strong>in</strong>g under these grand and mighty oaks, and we<br />
know that this is yet another very special day <strong>in</strong> the 177-year history of <strong>Randolph</strong>-<strong>Macon</strong><br />
<strong>College</strong>.<br />
And it’s an extra-special day <strong>in</strong> the lives that make up this graduat<strong>in</strong>g class. You have<br />
come here by way of your own labors, but also with the faithful support of family and<br />
friends. I know, because I recall my own labors <strong>in</strong> these classrooms as well as the most<br />
extraord<strong>in</strong>ary support I received from my own parents dur<strong>in</strong>g the four wonderful years<br />
that I was privileged to attend this <strong>College</strong>. My mom is here today.<br />
Before speak<strong>in</strong>g directly to this spectacular graduat<strong>in</strong>g class, let us all acknowledge the<br />
parents and other family members here. Your pride <strong>in</strong> your daughter or son’s<br />
accomplishment is perhaps rivaled only by the relief of an end to tuition. Parents and<br />
family of graduates, we congratulate you, and we share your pride.<br />
It has been 25 years s<strong>in</strong>ce I arrived here and 21 years s<strong>in</strong>ce I left. And I can honestly say<br />
that my four years here were the most fun and cherished years of my adult life.<br />
We all tend to mark time by events that take place dur<strong>in</strong>g certa<strong>in</strong> periods of our lives.<br />
You will be able to frame these four years by both quirky and noteworthy national and<br />
world events that have taken place. Let’s review a few th<strong>in</strong>gs that have happened s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />
you unpacked your bags here <strong>in</strong> the summer of 2003.<br />
Laguna Beach and The O.C. premiered on television, but Friends and Buffy the<br />
Vampire Slayer went off the air.<br />
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Bush beat Kerry, Ka<strong>in</strong>e beat Kilgore, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected<br />
governor of California. Rush Limbaugh admitted that he was addicted to<br />
prescription drugs, and Vice President Cheney accidentally shot his hunt<strong>in</strong>g<br />
buddy.<br />
We also found out who Deep Throat was – some guy named Mark Felt.<br />
Two great men of old died: President Reagan and President Ford.<br />
Michael Jackson was arrested, tried, and eventually acquitted – and he actually<br />
wore pajamas to court one day. Saddam Husse<strong>in</strong> was captured, tried, and<br />
eventually convicted – and, oddly enough, he also wore pajamas to court one day.<br />
Martha Stewart was tried and convicted, and she went to prison, too – but there<br />
were no reported <strong>in</strong>cidents of pajama-wear<strong>in</strong>g to court.<br />
The Concorde made its last flight and the very last Oldsmobile came off the<br />
assembly l<strong>in</strong>e.<br />
The Chicago White Sox won the World Series for the first time s<strong>in</strong>ce 1917, and<br />
the Boston Red Sox won the World Series for the first time s<strong>in</strong>ce 1918.<br />
Lance Armstrong won his sixth and seventh Tour de France titles, and then<br />
retired. The great Andre Agassi also retired.<br />
Britney Spears married, divorced, married, divorced, and eventually shaved her<br />
head. She also had children. And co<strong>in</strong>cidentally, the U.S. population hit the 300<br />
million mark.<br />
Many serious th<strong>in</strong>gs of note also happened on our national stage over the four years that<br />
you have been at <strong>Randolph</strong>-<strong>Macon</strong>. We have had a fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g public dialogue on a<br />
number of fronts:<br />
Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage, sett<strong>in</strong>g off a state-by-state debate.<br />
The Terri Schiavo euthanasia issue was discussed <strong>in</strong> liv<strong>in</strong>g rooms and at d<strong>in</strong>ner<br />
tables all over America – and, I am sure, <strong>in</strong> your classrooms.<br />
The Kyoto Protocol went <strong>in</strong>to effect, though without U.S. participation, and<br />
policy discussions on global warm<strong>in</strong>g cont<strong>in</strong>ue to this day.<br />
We sent troops from all 50 states to Iraq. And later, the CIA admitted that there<br />
was no Iraqi WMD threat.<br />
And we, as a nation, commemorated the 400 th anniversary of Jamestown’s<br />
found<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
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On the <strong>in</strong>ternational stage, we also saw a few significant th<strong>in</strong>gs happen while you have<br />
been <strong>in</strong> Ashland:<br />
Afghanistan had its first modern democratic presidential election.<br />
The first free parliamentary elections were held <strong>in</strong> Iraq nearly half a century.<br />
For the first time ever, Kuwaiti women were granted the right to vote.<br />
And, of course, the war <strong>in</strong> Iraq cont<strong>in</strong>ues.<br />
And we, as Americans, have learned a lot about our limitless compassion over the past<br />
four years – and the world has seen our more compassionate side, too.<br />
A horrific tsunami hit Southeast Asia, and Hurricane Katr<strong>in</strong>a devastated our own<br />
Gulf Coast. Both events ignited the great American spirit of giv<strong>in</strong>g, and we<br />
opened our hearts through tremendous relief efforts to help our fellow human<br />
be<strong>in</strong>gs.<br />
And most recently, tragedy struck us here at home. While a bright light was<br />
sh<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g on Virg<strong>in</strong>ia as the world commemorated with us Jamestown’s found<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
that light dimmed momentarily when 32 Virg<strong>in</strong>ia Tech students and faculty<br />
members were killed. We all became Hokies. And we should pause to remember<br />
the victims and their families today.<br />
So, yes, s<strong>in</strong>ce you arrived here <strong>in</strong> 2003, a lot has happened. These events, and certa<strong>in</strong>ly<br />
many others, will frame the time you spent here as you th<strong>in</strong>k back on it over the decades<br />
ahead.<br />
As the Virg<strong>in</strong>ia Tech tragedy played out before our eyes for several days on television, I<br />
am sure a great, sympathetic discussion took place <strong>in</strong> classrooms all over this campus – <strong>in</strong><br />
Copley, Fox, Haley, and Thomas Branch.<br />
This is a campus – small enough, yet big enough – where special bonds are created from<br />
student to student as well as with faculty, staff, and adm<strong>in</strong>istrators. The closest friends I<br />
have today are those I met here as a student. A guy I did not know before arriv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
Ashland has become my best friend, and he was the Best Man <strong>in</strong> my wedd<strong>in</strong>g. He now<br />
lives <strong>in</strong> California, but for 20 years, nearly every weekend, one of us has telephoned the<br />
other for a quick, stay<strong>in</strong>g-<strong>in</strong>-touch chat. And we nearly always see each other at least<br />
once each year.<br />
You, too, I know, have developed tight bonds with<strong>in</strong> your class and among those who<br />
have taught you. Ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> those relationships. I know you will.<br />
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I do not pretend to be a wise sage who is capable of offer<strong>in</strong>g you life-chang<strong>in</strong>g advice as<br />
you go from this place. But I do want to encourage you to engage <strong>in</strong> community and<br />
public service. Do<strong>in</strong>g so is someth<strong>in</strong>g, quite frankly, that I believe is <strong>in</strong>cumbent upon<br />
you.<br />
Service to others is very much a part of this <strong>College</strong>’s history. For more than a centuryand-a-half,<br />
our <strong>College</strong> has graduated men and women who have served the church, our<br />
schools, our local, state, and national governments, and our military. They have done so<br />
<strong>in</strong> careers, and they have done so as volunteers.<br />
As you have been privileged to attend a place like <strong>Randolph</strong>-<strong>Macon</strong>, and receive the<br />
quality education that you have, you must stop to count the bless<strong>in</strong>gs and riches that have<br />
come your way.<br />
And as you do this, you also must stop and realize how those bless<strong>in</strong>gs and riches<br />
obligate you. We are rem<strong>in</strong>ded <strong>in</strong> Luke 12:48, <strong>in</strong> the “Parable of the Faithful Servant,”<br />
that “from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one<br />
to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” This well-know<br />
passage also was often cited by President Kennedy as he frequently and famously called<br />
Americans to service.<br />
And while I am no John F. Kennedy, I also ask you to consider ways <strong>in</strong> which you might<br />
leverage the treasures you have been given over the past four years, capitalize on them,<br />
and turn them to the benefit of others.<br />
I received the same quality <strong>Randolph</strong>-<strong>Macon</strong> education that you have. I remember very<br />
clearly the naïve young freshman that I was, and I know how different a person I was<br />
when I moved on from this place. I grew up, and I learned a lot.<br />
My professors did not lay the foundation for me. They enabled me to lay it for myself.<br />
And that, <strong>in</strong> turn, has taught me how to help others lay their own foundation.<br />
As service to others is a part of our <strong>College</strong>’s 177-year history, it is up to you to cont<strong>in</strong>ue<br />
the tradition. The viability, livability, and security of our communities and our nation<br />
depend on it.<br />
This is the first <strong>Randolph</strong>-<strong>Macon</strong> <strong>College</strong> graduation ceremony where I have been a<br />
participant. A few weeks prior to my own 1986 graduation, I fell seriously ill and was <strong>in</strong><br />
the hospital on graduation day. I missed it. So today is pretty neat for me, too – and I<br />
thank you, graduates, for allow<strong>in</strong>g me to be a small part of your special day.<br />
Congratulations. Go forth and make your <strong>College</strong> – our <strong>College</strong> – very proud.<br />
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