We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all of our exploring, shall be to return
to the place where we started, and know that place for the first time.
On behalf of the board of trustees, it is my privilege to welcome you to this ceremony
which recognizes and celebrates your graduation.It is one of those days that I call, that you're
going to have very few of them in your lifetime.
It is the end and the beginning at the same time.
The last time you probably remembered that was the day you first approached campus.
You came from home and you came here.
This is one of the days, celebrate it, savor it, try to understand it.
you graduate at a time of profound transformation in how we communicate and how we think.
I urge you not to fear this fast evolving world.
A world united by the Internet, is a world without boundaries.
And At the core of this new age will be people like you.
Your ability to think critically, your imagination, your compassion will be valued like never
before.
some of you may be bursting with excitement to receive your diploma, close this chapter
of your life and conquer the world.
Others, including myself, may be a little more apprehensive, but regardless of how you
may feel, remember the experiences we have had here: the painted tunnels your freshman
hall, your late nights in the stacks of the Rush Rhees periodical room, for these are
our roots.
But also feel empowered to move your life to the next level, for this is not the end,
but rather just the beginning.
Nearly 43 years ago I was here on this Quad.
The Quad had elm trees, not oak trees.
And those 43 years went by faster than I could ever have imagined.
In fact, indeed as one grows older and older, time begins to fly faster and faster.
It must have something to do with relativity.
So, I am supposed to give you some advice.
If you are not going to go to graduate school, go out and get a job.
Your parents probably agree with this advice.
They are clapping in agreement.
Second bit of advice: find a job you care about, that really matters.
You're going to spend a lot of time in your life on a set of jobs.
And if the first job or the second job don't work out, move on.
What compelled me to become secretary of energy and director of a national laboratory was
my concern about the risks of climate change.
This started about 15 years ago and I got more and more concerned and finally started
to give talks about it.
It's a real risk.
And I am reminded of an ancient American saying, and it goes like this: we do not inherit the
land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
And this is what, what we are doing, is about.
It's for you, and when you have children, if you have children, it's about those children.
It's ok to fail, as long as you give it your best, fail fast and move on quickly.
Now you ask: how do you do that?
How do you fail fast?
And efficiently.
You think about the problem and you work on the most critical and essential part of the
challenge first.
Don't do the easy stuff.
Over the course of my scientific career, I would say that roughly three quarters of the
things I tried either failed or morphed into something, often times better.
Now you, the class of 2013, are at the beginning of a life journey.
You have an opportunity to stretch your intellectual wings, to wonder, to think, to create, to
take risks.Your biggest failure will happen if you go through life and never fail, because
if you do that you will never know what you could have done.
Pretty soon, before you know it, you will be my age.
And no one can prepare you for how quickly time flies by.
But before it does, do something you love, do something that matters.
When you are old and gray and you look back on your life, you will want to be proud of
what you have done.
The source of that pride won't be the things you have acquired or the recognition you receive.
It will be the lives you have touched and the difference you have made.
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