For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
May 18, 2003
Remarks by the Vice President at the University of Missouri at Columbia Agricultural School Commencement Ceremony
3:40 P.M. CDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you.
(Applause.) Thank you very much. President Floyd, Chancellor Wallace,
Dean Payne, distinguished guests, members of the faculty, parents, and
members of the class of 2003:
Let me thank you all for the warm welcome this afternoon. I am
pleased to be in the great city of Columbia, in the center of Missouri,
and to be a part of this commencement ceremony today. And it's an
honor to congratulate each and every one of you and to bring good
wishes to the entire class from President George W. Bush.
I also want to congratulate all the men and women who devote their
professional lives to this institution, year in and year out -- the
professors and the faculty members of the University of Missouri. And
I join the graduates in thanking the people who know you best, who
believe in you most, and whose sacrifices made this day possible -- the
parents of the class of 2003. (Applause.)
I know you leave today with indelible memories -- the tests and
term papers; the many days in the classrooms and labs; Shakespeare's
pizza ? (laughter) -- the comforts of Shurz Hall (laughter and
applause) -- and all those hours circling the campus, looking for a
place to park. (Laughter.) After these years of hard effort,
something tells me you're not all that excited to hear another lecture
before you leave, so we'll keep this short.
You're graduating from one of America's great universities. At its
founding in 1839, this was the only public institution of higher
learning west of the Mississippi River. From those early days to this
hour, alumni and scholars of the University of Missouri have made vital
contributions in commerce and science, in agriculture and in arts, and
in the defense of our country. I cannot let the occasion pass today
without noting that 28 Mizzou students serving in the National Guard
and Reserves were activated this year in support of Operation Iraqi
Freedom. (Applause.) They can always be proud of their role in a
great victory for America, for the civilized world, and for the cause
of freedom.
Many of this university's most accomplished alumni hold degrees
from the College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources. As a
Westerner, having grown up with a father who spent his entire career
with the Soil Conservation Service, I have a great respect for an
institution that takes seriously the responsibilities of environmental
stewardship. Many of you will go into fields that involve those
responsibilities very directly. Fellow citizens will look to you to
set a standard for how we should treat the land and life around us.
Armed with the skills and values taught here, I am confident that you
will keep that standard high. And I know that with your energy and
idealism and talent, your generation will do great things for America
and help change this world for the better.
I know that it's the custom for graduation speakers to draw from
their long experience and share some of the lessons they've learned
along the way. So as you begin this new chapter in life, let me offer
a few thoughts of my own. There is one very practical lesson that
comes immediately to mind. I learned it in the year 2000, when
President Bush called to ask if I would help him find a running mate
for Vice President. The lesson is: If you're ever asked to head up an
important search committee, say yes. (Laughter.)
That decision three years ago set me on a path I was not expecting
to take. I was certain that my time in public office had passed. And
looking back, this seems to be a pattern in my life -- the unexpected
turns, the opportunities that come suddenly and change one's plans
overnight.
On the day of my own graduation from the University of Wyoming, I
had no ambitions for public office. If you'd asked me then what I
planned on doing, I could have described in some detail the next 10
years. First there would have been graduate school, then a doctorate,
and down the road, with some luck, a faculty position at a university.
In the short version, it all worked out very differently. Within a few
years, my wife, Lynne, and I were living in Washington, D.C., beginning
a journey in government and public life that neither of us had ever
imagined.
Many of you will leave Columbia today with definite plans of your
own. And setting a plan for your life can be a good thing -- it keeps
you focused on the future and gives you a standard against which to
measure your progress. Yet I'll wager that 10 years from now, many of
you will find yourselves following a quite different course, all
because of an opportunity that came out of the blue.
Be on watch for those certain moments, and certain people, that
come along and point you in a new direction. Sometimes others know
better than we do just what our gifts are and how we can best use
them. For all the plans we make in life, sometimes life has other
plans for us.
Those of us who've been around a while can also recall a few times
when life took an unexpected turn, not always in a positive direction.
As I mentioned a moment ago, I received my undergraduate degree from
the University of Wyoming. My undergraduate experience, though, began
at a place called Yale -- but I didn't finish. I dropped out after a
few semesters. Well, actually, dropped out isn't quite accurate.
(Laughter.) Asked to leave would be more like it -- (laughter) --
twice. (Laughter.) The second time around, they said, don't come
back. (Laughter.)
You, too, may face some disappointing turns of your own -- times
when you fall short, knowing you could have done better. And when that
happens, don't let your doubts get the best of you. I have met some
very successful people in my day -- men and women of talent and
character who have risen to the tops of their fields. And it's the
rare one who hasn't had a taste of failure, or a false start along the
way. Setbacks in life can stop you dead in your tracks, or they can
inspire you forward. Either way, you will look back on them as turning
points. They are crucial days in your life, when you see the starkest
kind of choice, and know that it belongs to you alone.
One of the things I love most about our country is that we have
such opportunities. There are places in the world where failure is
final, and one early misstep will decide your fate forever. But
America is still the country of the second chance. Most of us end up
needing one. And when we've gone on to accomplish something, that we
can be far more grateful -- be that much more grateful for the chance.
Gratitude, in general, is a good habit. It is usually a correct
appraisal of our situation. Most of us are able to succeed and rise in
the world because someone helped out along the way -- whether it was a
memorable teacher, or a boss who handed us a great opportunity, or the
person who took a chance and gave us the first big break in our
career. A grateful heart is an honest understanding of all that we
have been given, and all that is expected of us in return.
There is always the temptation to forget this -- to carry ourselves
with an air of entitlement, as if good things come to us by right.
They rarely do. And life has a way of working out better when we don't
take things for granted -- when we have a long memory for what others
have given us, when we look for the blessings, great and small, that
come with every day that we're alive on this earth.
For all of you, this day will forever stand out -- as a marker of
gifts well used, aspirations fulfilled, and hard work rewarded. It's
been my privilege to share it with you and your families. And once
again, my congratulations to you all. Good luck and Godspeed to the
University of Missouri Class of 2003. Thank you. (Applause.)
END 3:50 P.M. CDT
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