提姆．史考特為2015年南卡羅來納州立大學畢業生演講

Well good evening to everyone; thank you president Evans for such a kind introduction. Let me say first and foremost without any questions that my prayers are with South Carolina State for financial success and for peace and for the position of significance that you currently hold. For my days on the County Council, Mr. President, through my days in the State House I have been a supporter of South Carolina State. As your United States Senator I will continue to be a supporter of South Carolina State University.

Now to the Parents, I know today is a day of joy and happiness. It is a joyful day because you get to see yours kids graduate from college. How many of you parents would say thank God for that? Hallelujah! And it is also a very happy day; it is a happy day because as you know and you have been thinking about it as your kids graduate it almost feels like a raise and that brings a tear to your eyes. Now let me speak to the graduates themselves.Graduates please take just a moment to look around, look to your left, look to your right. Hear the voices screaming your name out there. All the people… I don’t think they heard me. I don’t think they heard me, I don’t think they heard me. I said all the people screaming your names out there today. That’s what I thought I heard! I would be happy too, I would be happy too. Well now that we try to restore a little order because I would be excited myself if I were sitting in the stands and I would be even more excited if was sitting in the seats but if I was sitting in the seats getting ready to get my degree I would ask the speaker to do just a few things. Give me a little piece of the puzzle and then go sit down and shut up. I knew it, so let me just get on and give you my three pieces to the life puzzle.

The first piece is applicable to all of us is simply, failure is not final if you refuse to quit. I am going to say it one more time. Because I think it is absolutely, unequivocally, important to emphasize the simple fact that failure is not final if you refuse to quit. I was thinking back when President Evan’s introduction of how I have basically flunked out of high school as a freshman. I remember those days growing up in a single parent household, struggling, hopelessly drifting in the wrong direction. I failed World Geography! I think I am the only United States Senator to ever fail Civics, the study of politics. Then I went to the United States Senate and I realized I had plenty of company. They take a little time to get that one. Then I also failed Spanish and English. Now when you fail Spanish and English they don’t call you bi-lingual they call you bi-ignate because you can’t speak in any language. That’s where I found my unhappy self. I had two blessings, a mentor that believed in me in a way that I did not and a mother who believed all that all things were truly possible with faith in God and the power of a switch. Now a switch is a southern apparatus of encouragement. It was applied from my belt to my ankles as often as necessary. And I thank God because of the strength of my mother literally and figuratively I finished high school on time. I went to college and continued on the journey of life.

I believe the best days of this class, the class of 2015 is ahead of you. That the things you will do for this country and for this world has not been imagined before. I believe that the cure to cancer may be sitting in these seats in front of me. I believe that the next technological discovery can be found in the hearts and in the minds of the students who are getting ready to work in the work force. I believe in you, I believe in you.The second piece to the puzzle is simply if you wanna stand out in life stand up for someone who cannot stand up for themselves. If you wanna stand out in life stand up for someone who cannot stand up for themselves. One classic example of this is a friend of mine, a couple named Molly and George Green. They owned a very successful engineering company called engineering labs. They spent a lot of years making profit and then they started traveling the world and through their travels they discovered that many of the challenges and sicknesses in Africa comes from the fact that clean water is simply hard to find. So they sold their business and decided to go full time into the mission of providing clean water in Africa. And over the last several years they have provided millions of gallons of water all over the continent, in the poorest areas of Africa. I met last week a young lady she is about 15 years old and she was diagnosed with brain cancer that impacted her optical nerves and she is now legally blind at 14 or 15 years old. But she decided that she would dedicate the rest of her life to serving kids like her and so she started a prom for kids with cancer. She has decided not to sit on the sidelines but to being engaged in life and changing lives for other people.

My third piece to the life puzzle is simply to hold onto your dreams. I hope and I pray that you have dreams consistent with Ephesians 3:20; 21, “That God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that you think.” And if you hold on to God’s unshaken hand all things, all things, I said all things are possible! Are possible where you sit, it is possible for you to change the world. I am standing here as a living example that even a knucklehead from North Charleston, South Kakilacki, with a brain grandma and a brain momma can see a dream come true. One of my dreams and I will tell you that there are several dreamers that had to first taste defeat before they experienced the amazing taste of success and freedom. I think of Walt Disney! Has anyone heard of Walt Disney? Walt Disney was fired from his first job simply because he was not creative enough. I know we have heard of Oprah Winfrey! Oprah Winfrey was fired from a local because she was simply not fit for TV. And some people have written off South Carolina State University but I am here to tell you. The best is yet to come! I look around at all the graduates sitting in front of me and I know the best is yet to come. This is the universe that has graduated more General Officers in our military, African American General Officers, 19 United States military Generals than any other schools of its size. You see the best is yet to come.

I’ll close because my dreams have taken me all over the world and I have been on my singing lessons. My ultimate dream is to sing in front of thousands of people and hear the roar and the applause as I mesmerize folks with my singing voice. And back in 1983 when I was graduating from high school the song that has stuck with me with the last 32 years is hold on to your dreams, by a group called Wee gee. Ya’ll are too young but maybe somebody….oh yall don’t know Wee gee either….Anyways I will go back to ya’ll. Alright will you go ahead and start the music president? Oh he said he forgot the music. How would you forget the music? Never mind, I’ll just sing it a Capella. Will ya’ll just help me out here? Thank you very much! Hold on to your dreams. Believe…Ya’ll don’t know good music. I am just going to tell you the words. The song simply says; hold on to your dreams.Believe in love and let love be the light to show you the way. Because life is going to be hard and sometimes it is even going to feel unfair, except for those who really care. Who are there rain and shine sharing your dreams your heart and your mind.Congratulations!