Commencement Address to Georgia Tech December 15, 2007
I am honored to be able to join you all today and to help you celebrate this monumental achievement in your lives. It is truly a privilege to address a group of young people with such promise, who have already achieved great success and for whom the best is still yet to come.
As you celebrate today, I hope you will take a moment to reflect on all those present and unseen who have guided you on your journey. Because you certainly did not walk this path alone. The proud parents and families in the audience, as well as teachers, coaches and countless others have all walked this path with you. No one achieves success alone, and I would encourage you to start the next chapter of your life by remembering and thanking those who have helped you.
It was no small feat for you to get to this point and you should be very proud of your accomplishment. But by now you are a group of students who should be accustomed to success. As the thousands of alumni that came before you can attest…a degree from Georgia Tech does not come easy. You are graduating today from one of the top universities in the entire nation. To earn this degree you have had to overcome many challenges. Endure hours and hours of research and lab work. Courses with names like Quantum Mechanics and Organic Chemistry. Even the Liberal Arts majors had to take Calculus.
But you took on each of these challenges and emerged victorious every time. So by now success is second nature to you. And now you stand here today ready to enter the next phase of your lives. To step into the unknown and face a new set of challenges. To once again find success.
As you prepare for whatever the future holds, I encourage you to Dream Big – to raise your bar for success higher than ever before. You can be confident that the talents and skills that you have acquired at Tech will enable each of you to excel at whatever you do
As Georgia Tech graduates, you have the opportunity to fulfill dreams in ways that few others can. For while your backgrounds may be diverse, there is one tie that binds you all…one common language among all Tech students. It is the understanding and the deep appreciation for technology and the promise technology holds for our future.
From your first day on campus, Georgia Tech has taught you to embrace technology, to make it a part of your daily lives and to use it to help you achieve your goals. You have been immersed in this scientific culture, taught that through understanding technology you can become better students. Most of you chose this school for that very reason, and now that your college careers are coming to a close, I hope you will take that knowledge forward and use it to do something truly great.
Our culture is full of stories of people who have fulfilled big dreams through technology. We do not have to look any further than Tech’s own Chris Klaus to find a hometown story of that kind of success. Chris enrolled at Tech in the early 1990’s for the same reasons many of you did…he believed in the promises that technology held for the future. Chris was not afraid to dream big, and he left Tech after two years to pursue the future of internet technology. His big dream led him to become the world leader in internet security and one of the youngest technology pioneers.
Like Chris, you have a tremendous opportunity to start today down a path to make lasting contributions to our society. Technology has already shaped our lives in ways we never thought possible. Innovation is happening as fast as the imagination can keep up. Google, Blackberries, and wireless internet serve as more than just conveniences or distractions from a busy day. They allow us to obtain and share information faster than ever before. Sharing information leads to better technology and new discoveries that will improve our lives in ways that we have yet to comprehend.
The problems of the 21st century are going to be solved through technology. From developing drugs that cure disease to solving transportation and water issues, society is going to rely on the research and discoveries that technology brings. And that can only come from the people who are willing to apply their knowledge and understanding towards doing something good.
And so with these new opportunities comes new responsibility. As you Dream Big…Don’t forget to Dream Responsibly as well. It is not enough simply to have a great idea or to achieve success in this world. Our success comes from using our talents and blessings to help others. There are not many people who can accomplish what you can…who speak the common language you all speak. Georgia Tech has made a tremendous investment in you to build your educational foundation. It is your duty to carry it forward, to give that foundation meaning. So as you use the tools in your quest to become better architects, scientists and doctors, seek also to become better citizens.
We have an obligation to help others, to guide them on their journey just as we have been guided along our own. Albert Einstein once said “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”
When we can advance the cause of science, we can advance the cause of humanity. What makes Chris Klaus’s story great is not the financial success that he achieved but the way he has been able to channel that success back into something good for his community. Not only has his success allowed him to make generous financial investments to the future of this school and its mission but he is using his talents and understanding of technology to make a meaningful contribution to society. He is already helping to make
Now I know I have not had to spend all this time convincing you of the benefits of technology. You all get it. You are the elite class of your generation’s leaders. You know that it is the people just like you who will be at the forefront of the truly great discoveries, those discoveries that will have the lasting impact on our society.
The question is: will it be you? Will you channel your big dreams into something meaningful? Whether it is through computers or biochemistry or some way we have not yet thought of, will you be the ones to take technology wherever it leads you and do something extraordinary?
Someone has to do it. Someone has to take the lead.
You are the talented few with the ability to harness the potential of technology into something meaningful, and I hope you will.
The opportunities are there for you now. I encourage you to seize them.
If this sounds like a challenge – it is. But in this challenge lies the highest level of success. And you are now graduates of Georgia Tech. Success is second nature to you.
Congratulations and best of luck for the future.
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