Written Remarks in PDF Format - Randolph-Macon College

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