First things first.
Congratulations to all of you in the Class of 2020
on your great achievement.
This is not how any of you imagined your graduation ceremony would take place
as you began your senior year last fall.
The one bit of good news is that you don't have to sit in the hot sun
for two hours listening to speeches.
Typically, a graduation speaker is expected to share some advice
on how to succeed in life.
My only words along those lines come from two great women.
First, from opera star Beverly Sills who said,
"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."
And actress Katharine Hepburn who wrote,
"Life is to be lived.
If you have to support yourself,
you had bloody well find some way that it's going to be interesting.
And you don't do that by sitting around wondering about yourself."
With that point, as you graduate,
I encourage you to discover for yourself what it is that drives you.
What path ahead engages your head, and your heart, and your passion,
and then pursue it with all your energy and commitment.
But I also want to ask you to consider one path in particular:
taking an active role in the life of your community and our country
by committing yourself
to spending at least part of your life in public service,
serving others.
Because the truth is, we really need you.
As you graduate, the question you must ask yourself
is how will your life be changed?
Not just how you will cope with the disruption of your plans
and unexpected hardships,
but also what you decide to do with your life
in a new and more challenging world.
In recent weeks,
you have looked into the heart of America through a new window.
You have seen indescribable sadness, and loss, and fear.
But you also have seen everyday heroes,
perhaps previously invisible to you.
Among first responders, doctors and nurses,
truckers and grocery workers,
custodians and scientists,
all striving in the face of danger to themselves
to help get us through this plague.
Through that new window, you have seen communities rally to help those in need.
You have seen countless acts of courage, kindness,
and generosity.
So as you consider your future,
have you thought about being one of those on the other side of that window?
Being one of those who are serving others.
Nearly 60 years ago, like many in my generation,
I was inspired by President Kennedy when he said,
"Ask not what your country can do for you,
ask what you can do for your country."
Over the ensuing decades,
I would work for eight presidents of both political parties.
As president of a great university
and as Secretary of Defense for both Presidents Bush and Obama,
I witnessed the goodness of America's young people,
their willingness to volunteer to help their communities,
but also to put on a uniform and risk their lives for our country.
Overcoming the challenges we now face,
overcoming pandemic disease,
economic hardship unlike any we have seen in 80 years
and destructive political divisiveness
will require the willingness of America's best and brightest young people
from all walks of life
to step forward and bring your talents and fresh perspectives to bear.
As you graduate, I ask you to consider spending some of your time
and at least part of your life
giving back to your community, your state, or our country.
I know today's often rancorous and even nasty political discourse
can be disheartening.
And I worry that too many of our brightest young Americans
so often public minded, so often engaged as students
when it comes to volunteerism in school and in their communities,
turn a side after graduation
when it comes to taking a path toward public service.
As someone who entered public service nearly 55 years ago,
I am more familiar than most with its frustrations and challenges.
Each person in public service has his or her own story and motives.
But I believe if you scratch deeply enough
you will find that those who serve,
no matter how outwardly tough or jaded,
are in their heart of hearts romantics and idealists,
and optimists.
We actually believe we can make a difference,
that we can improve the lives of others,
that we can better the future of this country and this world.
One of the great women of American history,
in a letter to her son and future president John Quincy Adams
during the Revolution,
wrote, "These are the times in which a genius would wish to live.
It is not in the still calm of life that great characters are formed.
Great necessities call out great virtues."
So I ask you, the Class of 2020,
will you accept the challenge of finding a personal path
to serve your fellow citizens?
As you graduate into a world of anxiety and fear and hardship for so many,
will you be one of those on the other side of the window?
Those helping to heal communities
and forge a better world.
Again, congratulations to you, the Class of 2020, and God bless you.