Allow me to get a little corny for a moment commencement day, after all, comes around only once or twice in your life. From where you sit, with the new century stretched before you like a blank canvas, you have every opportunity not just to do well, but to do good. The choices you make will influence the lives of many people, not only those of your friends and family, but also those around the world. What we do, what I do, what you do will make a difference. We eliminated smallpox from the face of the earth and polio is soon to follow.
More people live in free societies today than at any time in our history.
But these successes did not just happen on their own. They require commitment, vision and perseverance by men and women like you. I urge you to use that empathy Senator Fulbright spoke of to change what s wrong and to build on what s right. You will travel to other countries. Some of you will live there.