DeGette Delivers Commencement Address at DU

The University of Denver has always had a special place in my family. My mother graduated from DU in the class of 1956. She was a theatre major and an education minor. She was very proud of her degree, and we were always proud of her education here.

I grew up near campus and took classes at the Lamont School of Music back in high school. It was an inspiring experience that gave me a life-long love of music.

So it is with a sense of commonality that I congratulate the Class of 2009. You did it.

And what an amazing, memorable, and intense journey.

Remember four years ago, when you came to campus and wondered what it was all about.

Remember the sense of wonder…those first few days figuring out the landscape, looking at University Hall and Evans Chapel, finding the classrooms, surprised that the professors really expected you to read all those books on the syllabus, and making new friendships that will now last a lifetime.

That was the beginning of innumerable hours in the library and on the Internet, conversations that went far into the night, and more than 1400 days of new books, hard work, formal lectures, informal laboratory work, sophisticated time management, and endless guilt.

There must have been moments of self doubt, dark despair, tough times. But now, at the end of this quest, there are meaningful rewards: a solid education, growth, maturity, confidence, and, yes, even wisdom.

You earned this moment. And this education enlarged your intellectual horizons. You were face to face in conversation with the "greats": Plato and Descartes, Einstein and Hawking, Washington and Lincoln, Shakespeare and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, not to mention Jay-Z and Shakira.

You now see farther, because, like Newton, you stood on the shoulders of giants. And you could even go up to the telescope on Mount Evans to gaze at the universe.

A few people still think college is only about reading and contemplating. But it is so much more. A university education is now about engagement with the world. Most of you took a full load (or overload) each semester, and then put your lives into overdrive by working one or two jobs, then spending time in community service, then filling your soul with music or art, and then enjoying the beautiful blessings of Colorado's mountains.

A large percentage of you did a semester of study abroad, or two, becoming ambassadors to the world. Many of you learned a second, third, or fourth language.

All of you tried to cram as much as possible into these four years. And all of that study and sacrifice and determination has somehow brought you to this moment, this milestone in your lives. We should congratulate you just for surviving...but you were actually thriving.

So today we celebrate your achievement. We celebrate you!

And let's be honest. This moment would not be possible without the care, love, assistance, and innumerable sacrifices of your families, your friends, your loved ones…those who beam with pride today. This is their moment too. I would like to ask the graduates to join me in applauding your parents, families, and friends for their constant love and support.

I also want to take a moment for the faculty. DU is known for its outstanding faculty…scholars and opinion-leaders. They invested themselves into each one of you. They gave their thoughts and experiences to you…a great gift of love and learning.

Over the coming years you will think about them, constantly using what you have learned. And some of the books from class will still be there, ready for action.

I know that there are two books I constantly use from my undergraduate days: Aristotle's Politics and a history of jazz. Somehow Aristotle understood 21st Century politics 2300 years ago. And Miles Davis will still speak through his music for centuries to come.

So I want to join you in thanking the faculty, this august community of scholars, who devoted themselves to your education.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela has said that a university must be "a custodian of tradition and (an) agent central to renewal." I believe that DU is such a university.

One aspect of DU I have always admired is the orientation to service. This is a campus that produces leaders in every field. DU grads turn knowledge into action. They find a way to give back to Colorado and the world.

I suppose graduates are always told about the need for their leadership. That is always true.

But now we need your leadership as never before. We are at a turning point in history. We are in a time of renewal and a time of change. The world is rapidly mutating around us, a whirlwind of motion, with wild fluctuations in global stock markets, and a crisis of confidence in our minds.

The London Economist recently said we live in a time of "fear." Economically we are told this is a "recession." Some have called this "the collapse of capitalism."

But, in fact, it is a "moment of truth." The events of the last few years force us to re-focus our thoughts, to re-prioritize, to rise to the challenges of change. We are not studying history; we are living it. Our actions now will determine our future.

There are some who say that your future is bleak…that you can't have it all…that your financial future has been diminished, that our globe is beyond repair, that your quality of life will be horrible, as if, somehow, the future were a cross between "Blade Runner" and "Terminator."

But The future is unwritten. You can make it nobler, better, safer, with a better, more complete, quality of life.

I believe that your generation just may be the next "great" generation. You have spent four years learning from us. But we have so much to learn from you. You have shown us how to balance school and public service, with many of you spending vacations in New Orleans rebuilding homes and providing services for those in need. Many of you have gone to Zambia or Ukraine to help combat the spread of HIV infection. Some of you worked in downtown Denver to promote literacy.

You have found time for jobs, internships, volunteerism, community service, family, and friends. In the past, many people talked about family or career, service or financial security, friends or networking. But you have shown that these are false alternatives.

You have taken the "or" and made these choices into an "and."

You have shown us how to make this country strong and to be good global citizens. You have shown that this country can provide world leadership and be respectful of our neighbor countries.

You have shown that students are ambassadors and universities good neighbors. And what you have learned here is just the beginning.

I would expect nothing less from a university that has been a world leader in global leadership: the school where Josef Korbel taught and his daughter Madeline Albright grew up, and where Condoleezza Rice was his student.

You can provide powerful, positive, inspiring leadership, both in this country and abroad.

And in doing so you will show the world how there must be mutual regard, understanding of different cultures, empowerment of people, freedom of choice, and unity of purpose. We must protect our environment. We must reduce the risk of a nuclear nightmare. We must stop terrorism and remove the causes, the roots, and the attractiveness of conflict.

This is a time for common cause. We cannot continue to allow ourselves to be defined by our differences. We must be a generation that rises to greatness in response to the challenges we confront.

And we have learned that the solution to a global crisis in a global village is a global partnership based on a vision of political freedom, protection of human rights, responsible business dealings, and transparent practices.

The United States must lead primarily through example and persuasion. That means the skills learned here are the skills we so desperately need: knowledge, partnership, commitment, and respect. We have also learned that it matters how we conduct our lives and how we do business, that ethics must be part of commerce, that we must care about each other.

We have watched long-standing companies implode because of mismanagement and sloth. There are some unprincipled people who have ruined the lives of millions of people. We have watched a gluttony of greed steal away millions of jobs, lead to millions of people losing their homes through foreclosures, and trillions of dollars in losses.

Now we must pick up the pieces and start again. It won't be easy. But we can do it. you can lead the way. This is a great country because of its people and its history. And it is up to you and me… up to all of us … to reject past practices, to say "No more…this is not how we will do business in the future…this is not how we will treat people…this gluttony of greed is not acceptable, not the way to live life or build a community or unite our world.

This is the time for renewal of principle, for remembering who we are. This is a time for service. We must now present a new vision, engage in a new form of world leadership. And each one of you can do your part, in politics, business, marketing, philosophy, physics, the arts, international relations, or government. We need every one of you…no one is expendable.

Again, I congratulate each and every member of the Class of 2009.

Well done. Godspeed.