Think about the profession you will enter and how you will practice it. Think about democracy and how you will participate in it. Think about your parents and what you owe them. Think about yourselves and what you expect from your lives. Coming together to think, honestly and creatively, is what a university is all about.
Sharing is an essential part of thinking.
Because thought that remains isolated and unexpressed, and unchallenged and untested by others, is unproductive and sometimes dangerous. For each of us, of course, what claims our thought is different at different times in our lives. But what we have in common, and what unites us this afternoon in this Baccalaureate Service, is our mutual recognition of the continuing claim of thought upon some portion of our time, our energy, and our participation. And so as we share our thoughts and our reflections today, I want you to know that you shall be in my thoughts often, as I hope Penn will be in yours. Congratulations and God bless you all.