Message to UC Graduates: Go Forth and Lead

Click here to see the archived Webcast of the December Commencement Ceremony.

“I will make a difference.” The graduating class attending UC’s December Commencement Ceremony made that pledge in unison, following the inspirational message of speaker Pamela E. Bridgewater, a UC alumna who exemplifies graduates who are making the world a better place.

UC President Nancy L. Zimpher opened the ceremony by asking the Class of 2006 to rise, reminding them that there were many people who helped make the day’s achievement a reality. She then called for family members and friends to stand and be recognized for their role in the graduates’ success.

“Class of 2006, whether it was through your incredible hard work, or plain good luck, or lots of both, today, you are graduating!” She told the graduates they’re joining the ranks of more than 200,000 living alumni around the world.

U.S. Ambassador Pamela E. Bridgewater opened her address by recalling her experience earning her graduate degree at UC more than 36 years ago. She said it was a time of political and social upheaval on campuses across the nation, and that UC’s campus was officially shut down when she defended her thesis. She praised UC’s transformation today in its architecture, infrastructure and information technology and the student body. She also praised the UC|21 Strategic Plan for making the university an “ideal place to pursue higher learning.”

Bridgewater, the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and the longest-serving diplomat in South Africa, told the graduates she wanted to share a few thoughts about leadership. She described her own experiences, such as working with Nelson Mandela as apartheid came to an end in South Africa, and described leading the U.S. Delegation to peace talks in Liberia at the height of that country’s civil war. She said those talks eventually led to a peace agreement, reconstruction and democratic elections.

She told the graduates that she was a small-town person who has traveled the world, meeting kings and queens and world leaders and living an amazing dream, far from her birthplace of Fredericksburg, Va. She said it had been a wonderful, exciting, sometimes frustrating but always challenging journey. “However, looking back, I’ve realized one important thing. The thinking and the learning are the foundations for the doing.” She credited the theory and practical knowledge she gained at UC with serving her well in circumstances that she would have never imagined experiencing at the time she was a new graduate.

Ambassador Bridgewater encouraged graduates to keep three C’s in their future pursuits – civility, compassion and commitment. “If there’s a problem, there’s an answer. Don’t throw up your hands in exasperation, find a solution.

“The truth never changes. Don’t get mad, get smart. If you do something wrong, make it right. Halfway there is nowhere. You must forgive all to get all. See the glass half full and not half empty. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Laughter is the best medicine. Life is simple; people complicate it. Never settle for mediocrity; excellent is always better,” she said.

“I ask you now to pledge to your university and to say to yourself, I can make a difference. I must make a difference. I will make a difference. You have responsibilities and miles to go before you sleep, and miles to go before you sleep.”

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