“SHOW UP, TAKE ACTION, CREATE RIPPLES OF HOPE” AMBASSADOR TIMOTHY ROEMER
COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS JUNE 15, 2014
“Show up, Take Action, Create Ripples of Hope” Chancellor Khosla, Dean Cowhey, distinguished faculty and staff from the University of California San Diego’s prestigious School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, respected colleges and programs, friends of UCSD, and classmates from the Class of 1979: I have for the moment reserved two very important groups from this traditional and honorable series of recognized guests. Every single graduation speech I have ever attended, watched on YouTube, or read in the periodicals, begins by stringing all these names together in a rapid and almost robotic fashion. Not today. Family members of the graduates, you deserve special recognition. You not only have “deep pockets” to help pay for this day and this degree, you have made years of sacrifices and investments to help accomplish this superb success. My father, who recently passed, taught my family the importance of “showing up” for these special occasions. Whether it was a middle school graduation ceremony, a high school diploma or a law degree earned by a family member, you flew across time zones, suffered through jet lag, and were even subjected to torture by monotonous and boring graduation speakers, in order to celebrate the accomplishment of scholarship and advancement of hard work. On Fathers’ Day weekend, as we recognize Dads (and Mothers’ Day last month) let’s give a thunderous and enthusiastic round of applause for those family and friends who have inspired, guided and assisted the Class of 2014. Remember, showing up for friends and family, whether it’s a graduation, a celebration, or a funeral, is a great lesson in life. I don’t remember who my college graduation speaker was in 1979, but I vividly recall my parents, family and friends who showed up to support me in La Jolla. Let me underscore this – texting, Facebook Messenger or Snapchat cannot replace physically showing up for the people you love. And now, I want to recognize the multi-‐skilled, highly talented, and very successful graduates of the School of international Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego, class of 2014! This is your day to shine. Despite having student loans to pay back, a headache from last night, planning job interviews for next week, you especially deserve heartfelt congratulations. You have something Steve Jobs never attained -‐ a college degree from a prestigious world-‐class university! And don’t forget what Stephen Colbert said in a graduation speech in 2006: Amb. Roemer commencement address, June 15, 2014 1
“The best advice I can give you is to get your own TV show. It pays well, the hours are good, and you are famous. And eventually, some very nice people will give you a doctorate in fine arts for doing jack squat.” This reminds me of a funny experience I had with my younger daughter, Grace, who was seven years old at the time. She is the youngest of four and shared a bedroom with her older sister, Sarah. I went to say goodnight to Sarah first and told her I loved her very much and said a prayer with her. Walking over to Grace’s bed, I repeated verbatim what I had said merely seconds before to her sister about how much I loved her and repeated the same prayer. Grace sized me up with focused, big hazel eyes and a confident voice, boldly asked: “So, Dad. Who do you love more, Sarah or me?” I mistakenly believed this was a parental teaching moment. I quickly replied: “We don’t ask questions like that, Grace. That would be like me asking you – Whom do you love more, Mommy or Daddy? Without hesitation and slightly smirking, she stated: “That’s easy – I love Mommy a lot more than you!” My experience at the University of California at San Diego, even more specifically at John Muir College and majoring in Political Science, was extraordinary. I am not sure whom or what I loved more – the rigorous and stimulating classes of Professors Susan Shirk, Gary Jacobson or Sam Kernell, the internship in Muir College Provost John Stewart’s office, grilling hamburgers and making sandwiches at a campus eatery, or helping referee at school intra-‐mural activities under the supervision of Director Mike Hipp: each job helped me pay for school, but more importantly, it was an “opportunity” to learn essential values of character, team work, collaboration and managing time. I was contributing to my college education costs, and learning skills that would help me in future jobs in my career. And of particular importance, I made lifelong and loyal friends at school. We still “show up” for each other, and ten of us joined together for dinner last year. While my GPA might have been a lot higher, my ability to construct meaning, happiness and purpose from UCSD is a solid 4.0! Our college institutions are sometimes referred to as ‘cathedrals of higher learning” and I was truly fortunate that UC San Diego motivated me to reach for the heights of my analytical abilities, my sense of community, and my desire to work in an honorable profession – public policy. There is a great deal of scholarship, research, and media attention these days dedicated to understanding two new trends in higher education. The first one: precisely how many times will millennials change jobs in their careers – will it be 15, 20, 25? Therefore, what meaningful skills will colleges provide in their curriculum, internships, and majors to prepare them for these multiple professional transitions? And the second trend, surveys are trying to identify what exactly are the so-‐called “best jobs” for immediate and secure employment today? All of the studies are confirming that the ideal jobs are in computer software, electrical engineering, Amb. Roemer commencement address, June 15, 2014 2
financial accounting, and cybersecurity. Are you starting to get nervous? Anyone want to change majors now? Today, speaking in front of scores of anxious parents and the excited graduates of the International Relations and Pacific Studies program, I would state that you are in the perfect major at the precise time in history with the requisite skills from a prestigious university to be professionally challenged, extremely happy and fulfilled by purpose in your career. You will find great jobs. You can be a part of making history. You can help directly impact people’s lives. And you can positively change the world. According to McKinsey and the United Nations Development Goals Report 2011, India’s poverty rate will fall from 51 percent in 1990 to about 22 percent in 2015. Subsequently, India’s middle class will potentially increase from 250 million people to 600 million by 2030. Let me repeat this – 600 million people in the middle class – twice the size of the entire U.S. population. China, starting under Deng Xiaoping’s economic expansion and reform elevated hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. ASEAN countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia will see similar trends of millions of people migrating from misery to middle class status and opportunity. Logically, several questions follow from this trajectory in social mobility. Who will assist these people in their journey of migration? What will these people think about America? What religion will they practice? What products will they purchase? What types of government will they support? What government will they seek to change? Will they have access to clean water? The answers to all these questions and the subsequent patterns will change the world. You are squarely in the middle of it all. Having lived in Asia from 2009 through 2011, I have directly experienced people who are making courageous choices, executing tough decisions, using their smart power to impact their communities and directly help their neighbors. Let me give you a few inspiring examples: We visited Irfan Alam, a young Indian Muslim who lives in the city of Patna, in the state of Bihar. He is a champion of social change, not because he holds a Harvard degree, but because he is a social entrepreneur. Maybe describing him as a serial entrepreneur is more precise. He helps rickshaw drivers of whom there are approximately 10 million in India. He is not afraid to fail. He manufactures rickshaws made of fiberglass, not steel frames, that are significantly lighter in weight and therefore much easier to manipulate and drive. He also assists the drivers with the purchase and affordability of the rickshaw by providing attractive financing with low rates for ownership. His organization, the SammaaN Foundation, provides education and training for rickshaw drivers and is a leading primary and emergency healthcare provider. Irfan was invited by President Obama to attend the White House Entrepreneurship Summit. Irfan has said: “If we Amb. Roemer commencement address, June 15, 2014 3
aspire to live in a happier world, we must empower those living on the margins of society.” He is sending ripples of hope and opportunity into his community and around the world. We witnessed from a country across the border, the astounding bravery of Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani schoolgirl who became an activist for human rights for women. Back in 2009, when she was not yet 12, she boldly asserted her views on education for girls, even as the Taliban tried to control the Swat Valley where she lived. On the afternoon of October 9, 2012, while riding her school bus, a gunman boarded and asked for her by name. “Who is Malala?” he screamed. He pointed a gun at her head and fired three times. One bullet entered her forehead, traveled down her face and penetrated her shoulder. She was unconscious and in critical condition. The assassination attempt sparked an outpouring of support and assistance for Malala. Today, Malala is 17, recognized worldwide for her fortitude and her views on women’s rights and education for girls. She was recently invited to address the United Nations. She has stated: “Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.” Malala dared the Taliban to deny her an education, fearlessly defied death, and is sending ripples of hope and opportunity into her community and around the world. We recently had dinner with my friend Muhammad Yunus, who was educated at Vanderbilt University in the United States and returned to Bangladesh in 1975 to start a bank, but not just any ordinary bank. Its mission is to lend to people too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. No one believed he would succeed with this microloan bank. Loans to poor people without any financial security had appeared to be an impossible idea. But by 2007, through his Grameen Bank (or Village Bank) he had loaned $6.38 billion to 7.4 million borrowers. In 2006, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his ground-‐breaking work and the Norwegian Nobel Committee said: “Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways to break out of poverty.” Muhammad is sending ripples of hope and opportunity into his community and around the world. People in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, America and all over the world are boldly stepping forward and redesigning rickshaws, advocating for women’s education, expanding access to loans for the poor and countless other issues. As the Obama Administration executes on their legacy foreign policy issue of rebalancing to Asia, this focus will only increase in the decades to come. Yes, there will be jobs in electrical engineering, accounting and cybersecurity. However, jobs in the Pacific, international affairs, and foreign policy will be plentiful. You can even invent your next job, just as Malala, Muhammad and Irfan have done. We have talked about Asia. America will also need many skilled private and public sector entrepreneurs helping the United States with its renaissance, passing immigration reform, Amb. Roemer commencement address, June 15, 2014 4
creating education reform, making colleges more affordable, sharing technology to help preserve precious water resources. There are numerous opportunities here at home. If politicians cannot or will not lead change and reform, you must. This is an area of enormous growth, whether you are marketing business goods in Asia, working as a social entrepreneur, or serving as a policy advisor in Washington DC, South Bend, or Sacramento – there will be open doors and open minds. There are reasons why people succeed in life. Moreover, there are specific common threads of character, tenacity, and values in the personal success stories of Irfan, Malala, and Muhammad. First, as my Dad taught us so well, especially by his actions, we must live with a purpose and meaning in life. Maybe Bhutan located to the north of India has it right – they have developed a Gross National Happiness index/GNH. My Dad stressed that we should not be striving for material success but building a life of values, for those surely will endure throughout time. Build your professional career on core values and economic results will certainly follow. Second, we are all people of hopes and dreams for our children. I see that unique spark in a parent’s eye when they see their children do something successfully. Look into your parents’ expressions when you receive your degree today. The poet Emily Dickinson wrote: “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.” Nurture it. Grow strong wings. Build it. Give hope the strength to fly off that perch. And third, even if you have the values, education and hopes, you must have the aspiration. You must have the hunger. Inspiration without energy often fails. You need to fuel this with a risk-‐ embracing spirit. Every big decision Sally and I have made in our lives – getting married, running for Congress, having four children, and moving to India to represent the United States – has involved great risk, potential failure, and undefined obstacles. Still, each one of those decisions was the right one that resulted in enormous personal growth, bringing our family closer together, and teaching us wonderful lessons about the world… and maybe even creating small ripples of hope and opportunity for others. Change demands direction, risk, and courage. I know your parents constantly admonished you while you were growing up with sayings like: “Look before you leap.” But they had it backwards. W.H. Auden wrote in this insightful poem, “Leap Before You Look”: “A solitude ten thousand fathoms deep Sustains the bed on which we lie, my dear: Although I love you, you will have to leap; Our dream of safety has to disappear”. You will “have to leap,” you will be required to lead and be leaders so “dreams of safety” will disappear. Leave these “safe dreams” for the electrical engineers, the accountants, the finance Amb. Roemer commencement address, June 15, 2014 5
experts. Your dreams entail new thoughts, new journeys, and new adventures. After all, America is founded on this unique principle… “anything is possible.” You need to show up – leap – take action – and create these ripples of hope and opportunity in your community. Now you are all anxious to take some action and leap across this stage to receive your hard-‐ earned and, might I say, extremely employable degrees. Let me conclude with this simple parable. A man was walking on a white beach the morning after a turbulent storm stirred up the ocean. He encountered thousands and thousands of starfish washed up and stranded on the sand and immediately began to pick them up one by one and throw them back into the water. A young girl, watching this arduous process curiously for several minutes, finally blurted out: “How can your efforts make any difference?” The man raised his head, gave her a friendly and generous glance and pitched another starfish over the waves back into the ocean. “It makes a big difference to that starfish,” he said. Show up in life, leap before you look, take action – and start small – one starfish at a time. I am confident the IR/PS Class of 2014 will create ripples of hope and change the world. I wish you luck. You will be great ambassadors for the University of California, San Diego. Thank you.
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