 |
|
See a video
by Tim Marsh, WSU Today, here |
More than 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students participated in the ceremonies, which marked WSU’s 114th spring commencement. WSU President Elson S. Floyd presided at all three ceremonies.
Entrepreneur, philanthropist and former University of Idaho Quarterback Craig Juntunen was the featured speaker at the morning ceremony for graduates of the College of Business and College of Education.
Juntunen, who founded and ran a human capital company in the Silicon Valley for 18 years before starting a private family foundation, told the audience that graduation from college is an achievement “unthinkable” to billions of people across the world trapped by the circumstances of abject poverty.
“Your experience at Washington State University and your achievement in successfully completing your coursework makes you very special,” he said. “And in terms relative to the 6.8 billion people who make up the world’s population, the fact that you have earned and now hold a college degree makes a statement that you are extraordinary.
“But that very good stroke of luck does not insure that any of us will find that greatness inside of us in the years ahead. If you are one of the few who does find the greatness inside, that will be a result of what you do to leverage your freedoms and how you manage the complexities of your life. What you will do with the wondrous circumstances you were born into is still the biggest variable that lies ahead of you.”
Juntunen introduced the graduates to his daughter Espie, who he said was born in Haiti, “a country that provides an entirely different set of circumstances to what we know. It is a place that offers very, very few choices to the people who were born and live there.
“There are 6.8 billion people in the world and only 300 million of us are in the United States,” he said. “The simple math says most of the world’s population may never even consider the experience you have just lived. So the point here is please never take what you have just experienced or achieved for granted. And most certainly don’t ever forget how lucky we are to first and foremost have a chance to dream – and then pursue those dreams.”
Mickey Urdea, co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Tethys Bioscience and a WSU alumnus who received his doctoral degree in biochemistry, addressed graduates of the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences; College of Engineering and Architecture; College of Nursing; College of Pharmacy; College of Sciences; and College of Veterinary Medicine at the mid-day ceremony.
“It took me years to realize what I wanted to contribute,” said Urdea, who became head of the nucleic acid diagnostics business unit at Chiron and joined Bayer Diagnostics as senior vice president of nucleic acid diagnostics before co-founding Tethys Bioscience in 2002.
“I want to save lives by enabling doctors to make better clinical decisions through new medical diagnostics,” he said. “That’s it.
“I wish I had taken the time to think through what I wanted to contribute earlier in my career. I could have contributed more; I have to make up for lost time. Think it through. What do you want to contribute?”
Then, quoting a character from a novel by Tom Wolfe, Urdea described the world as being made up of either “cake bakers or crumb takers.”
“I do not begrudge anyone an honest living, but we need more cake bakers in our world,” he said. “You can create something wonderful in so many lines of endeavor. I know that now. Bake something!”
At the afternoon ceremony, Lisa Cohen, executive director of Washington Global Health Alliance and a journalist with 25 years of experience with Seattle television affiliates and as a producer for CBS “60 Minutes” and “The Early Show,” also encouraged graduates of the College of Communication and the College of Liberal Arts to adopt a global focus and make a contribution.
“You leave here today ahead of the game. You are among the elite in this world – educated at a first class institution, blessed with good health and, despite its obvious flaws, a health system that you can rely on,” Cohen said.
“To whom much is given, much is expected,” she said. “Expect great things of yourselves. Tackle these issues. Help solve them. We – your parents and families, your professors, your mentors – we believe in your ability to effect great change.
“So, to the 2010 Class of Global Citizens of Washington State University, congratulations again. We are counting on you.”