You know, I think the chance to really like graduate with my friends, you know,
properly see my friends, because I haven't seen them since March of 2020.
It was a shame how we ended things but you know, I'm glad we're back on campus to finally walk.
I remember at the time when everything got shut down that was, like, I think, the
biggest disappointment, was we didn't get to do all of this, and we didn't get to do it with the
people that we wanted to do it with. So now I can do it again, and I would regret it if i didn't.
It's just been surreal getting to walk back to campus and getting to experience some of those
lasts that we didn't get to have. And getting to experience it with a lot of intentionality.
I really wanted to come back to get like some really concrete closure,
so I can move on in my mind. Even though my body has moved on, I need to move on mentally.
You told us you wanted to return to campus, and you did. You came from 46 states, representing
61 countries. You have moved on to the next phase of your life and professional career,
all with COVID-19 raging. And you have come back to campus today. I could not be more proud of you.
Folks, please bear with me today. I first wrote this speech in 2019,
and I've had to rewrite this thing like, four times. I want to start today with a quote from
someone with whom we are about to share an alma mater, the late great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
who said, and I quote, "Intelligence plus character. That is the goal of true education."
Intelligence plus character. My peers have certainly honed their intelligence here at BU
in classrooms, and office hours, in dorm rooms during late night debates, with friends,
and at 2 am in Mugar the night before a final.
I'm proud to report however that Boston University has not forgotten the second part of Dr. King's
formula. These students have character. Think for a moment what was your last class on this campus?
We all share the surreal experience of walking out of that class, not knowing it was our last
one, in many cases, leaving our dorm rooms not knowing we would never return. Consider this
another hard taught lesson in character. Cherish this experience because the next isn't promised.
Your research on serotonin led to breakthroughs in medications for depression
and obsessive compulsive disorder. As director of the National Institute for Mental Health,
you led the institute into the promising fields of neuroscience and genomics. Tom Insell,
we are proud to confer upon you the degree doctor of science honoris causa.
You coordinated some 5,000 NGOs for the United Nations 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,
and you became a truly global force as president of the International Union for
Conservation of Nature, and president of the World Wildlife Fund International. Yolanda Kakabadse,
we are proud to confer upon you the degree doctor of humane letters honoris causa.
Your resume speaks for itself: US Surgeon General and assistant secretary of health.
Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. President of Morehouse School of
Medicine and Meharry Medical College. And founder of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute.
You advocate and provide for the well-being of the most vulnerable. David Satcher,
we proudly honor your exemplary life by conferring upon you the degree doctor of law honoris causa.
You excelled in leadership roles at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra,
and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. But those were mere rehearsals for your virtuoso performance
23 years as managing director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Mark Volpe,
we are proud to confer upon your degree doctor of humane letters honoris causa.
Your seminal research in cardiovascular medicine
led to the development of ACE inhibitors that treat hypertension and congestive heart failure.
And in your leadership roles at Harvard, Stanford, and Duke Universities,
and now as president of the National Academy of Medicine, you have focused on creating a
global system of quality affordable health care. Victor Dzau, Boston University is proud to honor
your trailblazing career by conferring upon your degree doctor of science honoris causa.
I'm here today because like so many others, I too had to learn how to overcome obstacles
in my life's path. Indeed some of the twists and turns along my own path turned into incredible
opportunities. Maybe you heard this famous quote from Albert Einstein, "Life is like a bicycle:
to keep your balance, you've got to keep moving."
Whatever's thrown our way we have to keep going, even if it means taking some detours.
We stay flexible and resilient and adapt as best we can.
So Class of 2020, let me leave you with this. As we ride our bicycles through life, let us remember:
to keep our balance, we must keep going to get there. We need each other,
our families, our friends, and all our fellow human beings
near and far. And we should all work to make the world a better place. Congratulations again.