Paine College Commencement Address, May 13, 2012 President Bradley, members of the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff, proud families, friends, and Paine College Class of 2012. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this important and exciting day... A day which we celebrate and recognize motherhood... Congratulations Moms! And a day we celebrate the 100 students gathered here with us. As we praise their hard work and perseverance. As we bestow upon them the coveted title of graduate. A day in which I am honored to be with them as a colleague ... as a neighbor ... and as a friend of Paine College. Accepting an invitation to deliver a commencement address is tricky. You are honored that some may be interested in what you have to say. But you are also very aware that they don't want you to speak too long! With that in mind, I will strive to deliver remarks that I hope you will find meaningful. And that will be somewhat longer than George Washington's second inaugural address which, with only 134 words, could have been communicated in six tweets... with 76 characters to spare! And thankfully somewhat shorter than the 124 hour rambling dissertation by Frenchman Lluis Colet, the longest speech on record!
Paine College has served an essential purpose since its founding in 1882. Paine's mission, as you well know, is to provide a liberal arts education of the highest quality that emphasizes academic excellence, ethical and spiritual values, social responsibility, and personal development, to prepare men and women for positions of leadership and service in the African American community, the nation, and the world. " ...to prepare men and women for positions of leadership"... And that's what I would like to address today as you prepare to enter the next chapter of your personal and professional journeys... the concept of leadership. Leadership, in its most basic form, is the ability to inspire and influence others. To inspire in the face of many challenges. Historically, leaders were often those "born in the purple" – members of royal families or those born to high-ranking aristocrats. Think of the kings and queens throughout history who led nations ... like Charlemagne... and Tutenkhamen... and Elizabeth the First. Buy why purple? In ancient Phoenicia, present day Lebanon and the land of my ancestors, merchants and traders extracted pigment from a trumpet-shaped sea snail called a murex and used it to dye garments.
The dye was extraordinarily expensive – one gram was worth ten to twenty times its weight in gold. Only the very wealthy could afford it. And Tyrian purple, named after the city of Tyre where the mollusks were – and still are – found, became a symbol of royalty and power ... gracing the robes of Egyptian pharos, Roman emperors, and European monarchs. And so we stand here today, to celebrate each and every one of you, in a sea of PAINE PURPLE. And while there are probably few among us who where "born in the purple" you have already demonstrated that you have what it takes to be a leader. According to the most recent Census figures, only 28 percent of all Americans and 17 percent of Black Americans 25 and older had earned a four-year higher education degree. And while these low rates merit our attention and concern, you have already done something about them. You have successfully earned your degree in a country, and a culture, that continues to be marked by disturbing inequities in educational achievement. Through hard work, through perseverance, and through leadership, you have beaten the odds. Because LEADERSHIP is about... Dealing with obstacles. LEADERSHIP is about... Standing tall in the face of negativity and in challenging times. AND, LEADERSHIP... is a learned skill. The result of a rigorous and continuous process of selfdiscipline... and self-development.
Before I continue, I would like to share with you a few things about myself: I am an immigrant, born in Uruguay. I am a Hispanic. I worked throughout my adolescence land-surveying and in heavy construction to help my family obtain a home after we lost everything during Uruguay's military coup d'etat. I was fortunate to have dreams of what I wanted to be at 14... many of which I have been able to achieve since. I left home at 19 to go to medical school... and never looked back... enjoying the road getting there as much... or even more... than the achievements obtained. I am fortunate to have a strong family of parents, sibs, wife, children, and friends around me...who have supported me at every turn... each in his or her own unique way.
I believe that tenacity moves mountains... and that that each of us is placed on this earth for a greater purpose, for a greater good. And my worse day is not a day of great turmoil and stress. My worse day is the day I don't learn anything new. Because our ability to learn, and to assimilate that learning into new ideas and novel creations... is what makes us who we are... what gives us our value as humans. And so, in concluding my remarks today, I would like to leave with you a few thoughts that have helped me live my life and pursue my career. I determined very early... To have dreams and aspirations that seemed impossible to reach at the time... For our dreams should always be set high... to heights that today we cannot even imagine achieving. Well intended family, friends, and mentors will always caution us to keep our aspirations reasonable and doable... and they are right... But only in part... Because while we might not be able to achieve everything we set out to do in our lives... we should remember... That we don't have to achieve everything tomorrow... That the journey trying to get there is often sufficient reward... And... That we will never have dreams worthwhile pursuing... if we don't start out with future goals... that appear to be dreams today. I determined to... Measure success... not by how far I'd come, but by how far I still had to go to be excellent ... to be the Best. And as we develop and grow as individuals we should always make sure we compete with the absolute best. For it's our competitors who make us who we are... Ensuring that we always give our very best. I determined to... Beware of the 'Easy' ... If it is easy to achieve then we are not achieving our best, and likely its not even worth attaining in the first place. All things of value are hard to get. But therein lies the beauty of success...
For there is nothing as sweet... nothing as powerful... nothing as overwhelming... as succeeding despite the odds. I determined to... Always try to 'Do the Right Thing'. And doing 'the Right Thing' is not just about doing what's right for me, but doing what's right for others, for the greater good. For if we don't try to always do the right thing for others... then we are simply animals on earth. I determined to... Make sure I was always in tune with my internal compass, and that it was well aligned. The most dangerous thing that can happen to anybody is for that person to lose his or her sense of direction, of what's right... and what's wrong. For then we are truly lost... And despite what you may hear, getting back on the road to right is neither easy, nor guaranteed. I determined to... Value, even relish, my setbacks and mistakes. They have much to teach us, instructing us on... How to avoid the next mistake, or... How to correct a mistake, or... How to turn a mistake into a gain... or even... How to handle ourselves when we do make a mistake. I determined to... Always strive to recognize and admit to my weaknesses. We all have them. Our failings are part and parcel of our human fabric. And so overcoming our limitations requires us to be continuously vigilant... always working hard to correct them. The difference between winners and losers is often that winners endeavor to identify their weaknesses, and adjust or compensate for them. I determined to... Always celebrate my heritage... and do so with pride.... But to never, ever, allow race or ethnicity to be used for discrimination. Not to prevent us from gaining our dreams. Not by ourselves... and not by others.
And... Not to demand entitlement nor the unearned. Not by ourselves ... and not by others. For using race or ethnicity as a reason to deny... or demand.... privilege simply ensures that we are measured only by our race or ethnicity, and not as the individuals we are. And, lastly... I determined to... Never allow myself to say, or think the words, "I... Can't... Do... This...". Ever. Because if it's right, and it's our dream, and even better, it's been achieved by others, then... You... Can... Do... It! The principal reason for failure is not believing, believing we can do it.
You begin the next chapter of your journey at a time of great strain and discord in our nation and our world, but also in a time of great hope and promise. You and your generation will be responsible for leading and managing this nation, this earth, very soon... and ensuring that it is left to future generations in better shape than you found it. Your institution has amply prepared you for the path ahead, and whether you leave here with a degree in Business or Biology, in English or Early Childhood Education, in Mathematics or Music, go forth and know that your community your state, your country needs you. Your intellect and ideas, your energy and enthusiasm, your hopefulness about the future... your leadership. New adventures, new challenges, and, in many ways, a new life begins for you today. And if you think of it in that way, you are indeed "born in the purple"... PAINE PURPLE! Be proud of what you have accomplished. And be proud of your institution... from its roots in the late 1800s as a school to train teachers and preachers... to its vision to build on its achievements and legacy to be recognized as a premier liberal arts institution of higher education today. Be proud. Be productive. Be passionate about all that you do.
And be the leaders your community, your state, and country need you to be. Thank you and Godspeed.