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今天很榮幸請到美國常駐聯合國代表薩曼莎.鮑爾大使擔任畢業演講嘉賓。如各位所見,她剛獲得本校榮譽博士學位。我要特別感謝Miro Weinberger,他與鮑爾大使是大學與研究所時期的密友,現在仍與大使夫婦保持密切的關係。他與夫人Stacy今天都來到現場。Miro,請起立接受我們的感謝。(歡呼聲)(掌聲)Stacy-(歡呼聲)(掌聲)非常感謝。(歡呼聲)(掌聲)我們今天能請到這位嘉賓全有賴兩位大力相助,請和我一起向薩曼莎.鮑爾大使展現佛蒙特大學式的熱情歡迎。(歡呼聲)(掌聲)
Sullivan校長、校董會委員、全體教職員、各位校友及家長,尤其是傑出的2014年畢業生,早安,哈利路亞!(歡呼聲)(掌聲)很榮幸能來到這裡,成為榮譽學位獲得者的一員。他們都是貢獻良多的傑出知識先驅,身處他們當中,以及與各位-我的新同學們分享這個榮耀時刻令我感到自慚形愧。今天是值得慶祝的一天,我們是否能再次給父母和繼父母們一個熱烈掌聲。他們不僅成就了今天,也成就了你們。(歡呼聲)(掌聲)我還要以熱烈掌聲感謝我親愛的朋友、前室友伯靈頓,史上最偉大的市長Miro Weinberger。(歡呼聲)(掌聲)我也要恭喜貴校全體同仁,你們順利度過了創校第213年,在聯合國跟俄羅斯爭論九個月的我感覺跟你們一樣老。(笑聲)最大不同點在於你們比安理會那些人賞心悅目多了。(笑聲)
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(Applause) President Sullivan, trustees, faculty, alumni, parents and especially the incredible members of the class of 2014 – Good morning and Hallelujah! (Applause)
I am most honored to be among you, to share the stage with my fellow honorees - such generous and brilliant trailblazers. I am truly humbled to be among them and to share this glorious day with you, my classmates. Today is a day of celebration. Can we get another rousing round of applause for the parents and step-parents who not only made this day possible, but made you possible. (Applause). And I also - I have to give another shout out - to my dear friend and former roommate and the greatest mayor that Burlington has ever known, Miro Weinberger. (Applause). I would also like to congratulate the entire university community, as you have successfully completed your two hundred and thirteenth year. This makes you just about as old as I feel after nine months of arguing with Russia at the UN. (Laughter) The big difference is that you all are a whole lot better looking than the average member of the Security Council. (Laughter)
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這座校園也是佛蒙特州的美景之一,難怪佛蒙特大學是少數能藉由自然景觀召喚學生主動離開寢室的學校。這是一所以傑出的學術成就及價值觀聞名的公立常春藤大學,你們是第一所公開支持宗教自由的美國大學。你們擁有打破種族與性別歧視的自豪傳統,你們全力支持氣候中立性與永續性倡議,你們最近顯示了食用食物活動家所謂「真正食物」的決心。理論上來說,畢業演講是年長者提供年輕人一些生活上的建議,這是基於年長者較有智慧的想法,但我尚未碰過任何贊同這個假設的大學生。我知道在座許多人擁有遠大的夢想,看見各位懷有雄心壯志確實令人鼓舞,改變世界的雄心壯志。但我也知道有些人心存疑惑,懷疑世界是否能夠改變。懷疑當我們處理國內問題已自顧不暇時,是否有能力幫助國外遭受苦難的人們。懷疑微不足道的個人力量是否能改變世界。因此我將利用今天的演講一一解答這些疑惑。
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This campus too is a gorgeous slice of a beautiful state. It’s no wonder that UVM is one of those rare universities where, with the wilderness beckoning, students actually leave their rooms voluntarily. This school, known as a public ivy for its academic excellence, is also renowned for its values. You were the first American university to declare public support for freedom of religion; you have a proud tradition of breaking down racial and gender barriers; you live and breathe climate neutrality and sustainability; and you have lately shown your determination to eat what food activists call “real food.” The theory behind a commencement address is that an older person imparts to younger people some advice about how to live – based on the idea that the elder generation is wiser. I have yet to meet a college student who agrees with this premise. (Laughter). I know a lot of you have big dreams, and it is completely inspiring to look out at you and see you bursting with ambition of the best kind – ambition to change the world around you. But I also know some of you have doubts – doubts about whether the world can be changed, doubts about whether we can afford to help people struggling abroad given all that needs to be done at home, and doubts about whether you personally, you as individuals, have what it takes to make an impact. So, I am going to use my remarks today to address each of these doubts in turn.
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首先我想針對那些認為世界已被破壞到到難以改變的人說明,我聽得見你們的聲音。有時在擔任常駐聯合國代表的工作中,我感到自己就像進行一場沒有終點的馬拉松。以大家最關心的話題之一-氣候變化為例。除了本州的綠山之外,還有很多證據,但有些人依然爭辯早經科學證實的觀點。還有太多需要憂心的問題。國內外均存在的不平等現象,以性暴力作為戰爭武器,例如烏克蘭、南蘇丹、敘利亞。難怪社群媒體的受歡迎程度遠勝於傳統媒體,看自己的照片被按「讚」顯然令人舒服多了,相較於每天看見冰山消融的照片。上學途中被綁架的女學生,或敘利亞兒童被桶裝炸彈炸死,以某種程度來說,新聞一向是引發沮喪的罪魁禍首。最高法院首席大法官Earl Warren曾說:「我總是先翻開體育版,它記錄著人類的成就,頭版上只有人類的失敗。」但事實上,除了頭條新聞之外,依然存在美好而迅速的變化。過去25年當中,美國、聯合國及許多夥伴共同使全球赤貧人口減少超過50%,使因生產而死亡的女性人數及五歲以下夭折的兒童人數減少將近一半。在醫療領域,1995年以來肺結核的治療挽救了2千萬人的生命,過去十年當中感染愛滋病毒的兒童人數也減少了50%。以某些國家為例,在緬甸,我們看見翁山蘇姬遭軟禁15年後,目前任職於國會,領導反對黨,極可能成為下一屆總統。在阿富汗,將近40%女性得以入學就讀,這個比例在塔利班統治下只有3%。(歡呼聲)(掌聲)80萬人喪命於盧安達大屠殺,20年後,96%盧安達兒童得以入學就讀,這是非洲最高的入學率,僅僅4年間即增加一倍。(歡呼聲)(掌聲)同樣在盧安達還有一條令人矚目的消息。盧安達女性在下議院所佔席位超過60%。(掌聲)
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First, let me address those of you who think the world might be just a little too messed up to be changed. I hear you. Sometimes in my job as ambassador to the United Nations I feel I am in a marathon with no finish line. Take climate change, rightly one of your big concerns. There’s more evidence than the Green Mountain Range, and yet some people want to continue to debate the long-established science. And there is so much else to worry about -- inequality both at home and abroad, sexual violence as a weapon of war, Ukraine, South Sudan, Syria. No wonder many people prefer social media to traditional media. It’s much more soothing to see one’s photo “Favorited” than to be confronted daily by images of melting icebergs, girls kidnapped simply for attending school, or Syrian kids being struck down by barrel bombs. To some extent news has always been an infamous downer. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren once said, “I always turn to the sports pages first, which records people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man’s failures.” But the truth is, away from the headlines, change is happening for the good, and it is happening fast. In the past quarter century, the United States, the United Nations, and our many partners have helped to reduce extreme poverty worldwide by more than fifty percent and nearly cut in half both the number of women who die in childbirth and the number of children who perish before the age of five. In the field of medicine, tuberculosis treatments have saved 20 million lives since 1995; and the number of children infected with HIV has declined by 50 percent in the last decade. Taking a few country specific examples - In Burma, we see Aung San Suu Kyi, who lived under house arrest for 15 years, now serving in the parliament, leading the opposition and widely thought likely to be the next President. In Afghanistan nearly forty percent of girls there are enrolled in school, up from with three percent under the Taliban. (Applause). And twenty years after 800,000 people were slaughtered during the genocide in Rwanda, 96% of Rwandan kids go to primary school (the highest rate in Africa, and a number that doubled in just four years) (applause). In that same county, and this should be a message to us all, women comprise more than sixty percent of the lower house of parliament. (Applause).
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科技是一把雙面刃,最近俄羅斯藉此散佈邪惡的思想,敘利亞藉此摧殘平民,但科技也是眾多正向改變的根源。幾世紀以來,女性用木柴燒飯,因煙霧進入眼睛和肺部而導致慢性死亡,使暴露在有害煙霧中成為某些國家第二大死亡原因。如今一項全球運動正在展開,就是在十年內裝設1億個安全爐。在肯亞,一名年輕創業者開發了能植入鞋底的超薄型電腦晶片,當承受壓力時晶片能產生足以為手機充電的能量,這在缺少傳統供電裝置的地區相當有用。我想表達的重點是,沒錯,這個世界存在許多有待改善的現象,但也存在許多美好的事物。如一位偉大的北方詩人所說:「任何事物都存在裂縫,因此光才能透入。」我想解說一下在座許多人可能擁有的第二項憂慮。有人認為國內存在的問題已經夠多了,無法顧慮到國外發生的問題。我部分贊同這個觀點。國內問題確實相當多,我們該處理的問題也確實相當多,在座有些人也曾參與其中。你們大二那年,颶風艾琳襲擊佛蒙特,數百棟民宅、公司和橋樑慘遭摧毀。在座許多人曾經幫助受災社區運送補給品,甚至替無法上學的孩子組織活動。貴校學生在校期間每年參與的社區服務總時數超過10萬小時,藉由對抗饑餓活動販售烤乳酪三明治,募集了數十萬美元的款項。為了癌症治療與阿茲海默症的研究表演舞蹈、馬拉松和接力賽。
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Technology, which is a mixed bag, has been used to spread vicious propaganda lately in Russia and used to track down civilians to be attacked in Syria, has been a source of positive change. For centuries, women have been cooking with wood and then slowly dying from the smoke that penetrated their eyes and lungs, making exposure to smoke the second leading cause of death in some countries. Today though, a global campaign is underway to install 100 million safe stoves before the decade’s end. In Kenya, a young entrepreneur has developed an ultra-thin computer chip that can be put in the sole of a shoe. When under pressure, the chip generates enough energy to re-charge a person’s phone. This can be a huge deal in areas that lack conventional sources of power. My point is, sure, there is a lot going wrong out there in the world, but there’s a lot going right as well. Or as the great poet from just north of here put it: “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” I would like to address a second concern that many of you have as well – the concern that we have enough problems here at home and can’t afford to pay attention to problems happening overseas. Let me agree with part of this – we have plenty of problems at home, and there is plenty that all of us should be doing about them. And some of you are already on the case. When Hurricane Irene struck Vermont your sophomore year and hundreds of homes and businesses and bridges were destroyed, many of you helped flooded communities, delivering supplies and even organizing events for kids who couldn’t go to school. Your student body has done more than 100,000 hours of community service each year you’ve been here, also raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight hunger (selling one grilled cheese at a time), to cure cancer (staging a dance marathon and relay races), and to research Alzheimer’s disease.
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許多美國人認為,經歷兩場長期戰爭後,美國民眾,尤其是軍人付出了難以估計的犧牲。許多人認為現在是「回家」的時候了。最新民調顯示,積極國外政策的公眾支持率再創新低,主張不過問國外事務的民眾逐漸增加。接受民調的美國人超過半數贊同以下議題:「美國在國際上應專注於自身事務,讓其它國家自行處理各自的問題。」我能理解。我理解為何民眾傾向於認為我們沒有時間資源和餘力解決國外的問題,當我們國內的問題已層出不窮時。但你們都知道,我們並非生存於一個能獨善其身、與外界脫節的世界,我們生存於一個與國外事務息息相關的世界,我們生存的世界不能缺乏美國賦予的道德聲音、清晰願景、希望的承諾及美國夢。我們不需要、也無法在國內與國外事務間做選擇。我們並非世界警察,也不該是世界警察。但即使世上資源有限,我們依然無法在教育美國兒童與協助解救奈及利亞被綁架的數百名女性之間做選擇,我們無法在打擊佛蒙特的海洛因成癮危機與阻止阿薩德政權將化學武器用於自己人民之間做選擇,我們無法在提供國內醫療保健與領導全球解決愛滋病問題之間做選擇。我們是美國,我們是行動者,也是領導者。我們的國家越強盛,對海外的影響力越大,世界越是和平繁榮,你們和所有美國人將擁有更美好的生活。
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In the United States today many believe – after two long wars, where Americans – particularly our men and women in uniform – have made untold sacrifices – many believe it is time to “come home.” The latest polls show an all-time low in public support for an active foreign policy, as well as a growing desire to turn away from the world. More than half of Americans polled agree with the following sentence: “the U.S. should mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along the best they can on their own.” I get it. I get why it is tempting to believe we do not have the time, the resources, or the bandwidth to address problems over there when we have so many right here. But you all know better -- we just don’t live in a world where we have the option of disconnecting or retrenching. We live in a world where what happens overseas has a direct impact on us here. We live in a world that cannot afford to do without the moral voice, the clarion vision, and hopeful promise of America and the American dream.
We do not have to choose – and we cannot afford to choose – between here and there. We are not the world's policemen and we should not be the world's policemen. But even in a world of limited resources, we cannot afford to choose between educating our children in America and supporting efforts to take on those who would kidnap hundreds of girls in Nigeria. We cannot afford to choose between fighting the scourge of heroin addiction here in Vermont and ending the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons against his own people. We cannot afford to choose between providing healthcare here at home and leading the global effort to rid the world of HIV/AIDS. We are America. We act and we lead. The stronger we are at home, the stronger will be leading abroad. And the more peaceful and prosperous the world is, the better off you and the rest American people will be over time.
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瞭解這個事實的其中一名美國人,正是綠山之州佛蒙特最年輕的美國民選參議員。你們可以看看尚普蘭湖,我迷失了方向,尚普蘭湖在哪?後面嗎?如各位所知,派屈克.萊希參議員募集了淨化湖水的資金,派屈克.萊希為綠山國家森林增加了125,000英畝的林地,保存了超過350座佛蒙特農場。你們知道那個派屈克.萊希。(掌聲)你們喜愛那個派屈克.萊希。(掌聲)但或許鮮有人知,萊希參議員對增進美國價值與海外利益所做的貢獻。感謝萊希參議員。僅憑這位佛蒙特人的力量,美國不再出口對人殺傷性地雷。(掌聲)感謝這位佛蒙特人,美國不再為違背人權的外國部隊提供軍事訓練及援助。(掌聲)在不屈不撓地提升美國價值的過程中,萊希參議員得知:美國越受尊敬,我們在世上扮演的角色越加重要,我們就越容易讓其它國家加入共同對抗威脅的行列,我們留給後代子孫的世界也會更加安全。
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One American who gets this is the youngest U.S. Senator ever to be elected from the Green Mountain State. You can look out at Lake Champlain - I've lost my sense of direction. Where is it? Back that way? - and know that it was Senator Patrick Leahy who found the funds to clean it up. And it was Pat Leahy who added 125,000 acres to the Green Mountain National Forest and preserved more than 350 Vermont farms. You know that Pat Leahy. (Applause). But less visible to you are all the things Senator Leahy has done to advance U.S. values and U.S. interests abroad. Thanks to Senator Leahy – just one man, one guy, one Vermonter -- the United States no longer exports antipersonnel landmines (applause). Thanks to one Vermonter, the US no longer provides military training and assistance to foreign troops who have committed gross violations of human rights. In tirelessly promoting our values, Senator Leahy knows that the more the United States is respected, the more we play by the rules of the road, the more easily we can get other countries to join with us in confronting threats and the safer the world will be for our children.
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儘管你們能理解以上的觀點,2014年畢業生,我知道你們或許還有第三項疑惑。你們或許會想:「或許能改變世界的人確實存在,但我不屬於其中之一。」這是你們的選擇,別替自己訂立太高的目標。你不需要加入人權觀察組織、領導海豹部隊戰鬥、創辦特許學校,或整夜為流亡的難民進行緊急手術。不妨現在就從能力所及的小事做起。路易斯.布蘭代斯曾說:「民主中唯一高於總統的稱號就是公民。」我相信這一點。每天做一件微不足道的善舉就能改變某人的世界。你可以參與當地政治、在學校進行輔導、為喜愛的信念捐款,即使只是一小筆。甚至挺身而出,反抗周遭的不公,就能讓世界因你而改變。從這裡開始,但別在這裡終止。我知道這令人裹足不前。我最喜愛的一句話是:「別將自己的內在與他人的外在比較。」當我身為畢業生時,我以為其他畢業生都已釐清未來方向,我是唯一對下一步該怎麼走毫無頭緒的人。當我大學畢業後一年,開始在前南斯拉夫擔任記者時,在我眼中那些經驗豐富的戰地記者如此胸有成竹,我只能試著隱藏自己的恐懼,對人身安全的恐懼,以及對工作成果的恐懼。我想以一個小故事強調,為何別將自己內心的不安與他人外在的冷靜做比較。
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Even if you are with me up to this point, Class of 2014, I know that the third doubt may creep in. You may be thinking to yourself, “there are people out there who can change the world, but I’m not one of them.” That’s your choice to make. Don’t raise the bar too high on yourself. You don’t have to run Human Rights Watch, lead a Navy Seal unit into battle, found a Charter school, or perform emergency surgery on fleeing refugees overnight. Start by doing what it is in your power to do right here and now. Louis Brandeis once said, “The only title in our democracy superior to that of President is the title of citizen.” And I believe that. Every day you commit even a small act of kindness; you are changing someone’s world. Every day you involve yourself in local politics, tutor in a school, write a check - even a small check - for your favorite cause, or even just speak out against injustice you see around you, you are changing your slice of the world. Start there. But please don’t stop there. I know it all seems daunting. One of my favorite expressions is “never compare your insides to somebody else’s outsides.” When I sat where you sit, I was convinced everyone else had it all sorted out, and I was the only one who had no idea what would come next. When I showed up as a journalist in the former Yugoslavia a year after my college graduation, I watched the seasoned war correspondents who seemed so sure of themselves and tried to hide my fears – fears for my physical safety, but also fears of failing to do my job right. I will tell you one quick story that underscores why one should never compare the churn that one feels inside to the others’ outsides exterior calm.
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我於2009年1月開始任職於白宮,擔任歐巴馬總統的人權顧問。就職後不久,我第一次被叫到橢圓形辦公室與新總統一起參加會議。我十分激動,唯一的問題是,我找不到橢圓形辦公室,沒有人提供我白宮西翼的地圖,因此我上網搜尋,從《華盛頓郵報》網站列印了一張小地圖。不幸的是,這張地圖並未依比例繪製,因此我徹底迷路。我本應第一個上台做簡報,當我找到路時已經遲到,這是我第一次與美國總統一起開會。當時我懷有七個月身孕,氣喘吁吁、一片混亂。我進入辦公室,尷尬地坐在同事之間,他們不得不在我缺席的情況下展開會議。我把所有孕婦都會隨身攜帶的水瓶放下,不幸的是,當我將變形的波蘭泉水瓶-我知道在佛蒙特不該提波蘭泉,抱歉-但是當我剛把那個水瓶放在面前那張有幾世紀歷史的咖啡桌上,一隻手臂立刻從我肩後伸出,將這個不衛生的東西移出第44任美國總統的視線。當時我認為這實在是難堪至極的經歷,但某次我在眾人面前訴說這個故事時,我的同事們紛紛走近我身邊,那些熟門熟路、彷彿從出生起就待在白宮的同事告訴我,他們都經歷過同樣的事,他們都曾在第一次前往橢圓形辦公室時迷路,只是不曾對任何人說過。當你進入現實世界,很容易就認為自己-只有自己-是唯一格格不入的人,即使當你抵達事業巔峰時,你將比任何人更瞭解自己的弱點,你將對自己尚未掌握的事擁有獨特的洞察力。
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I went to work at the White House as President Obama’s human rights advisor in January 2009. Soon after arriving I was called to my first meeting with the new President in the Oval Office. I was thrilled. The only trouble was I couldn’t find the Oval. Nobody passed out maps of the West Wing, so I Googled, printed out a small map from the Washington Post website, which was unfortunately not drawn to scale and preceded to get completely lost. By the time I found my way, and I was to lead the briefing, I was late. To my first meeting with the President of the United States. I was also seven months pregnant at the time and was also breathless and discombobulated. When I walked in, I sat down awkwardly among my colleagues who had no choice but to start the meeting without me, and I set down the water bottle that every pregnant woman keeps nearby. Unfortunately, as soon as my battered Poland springs bottle - I know I shouldn't say that, I'm in Vermont. Sorry. But as soon as that bottle touched the surface of the centuries-old coffee table in front of me, an arm reached over my shoulder and removed the unsanitary item from view of the 44th President of the United States. Now at the time I thought this was a truly exceptional – and exceptionally mortifying – experience. But it turns out that and I told this story once before publicly, my colleagues each approached me. The same colleagues who strode around as if they White House from the beginning of time -- later told me some version of this story. They had all gotten lost on the way to the Oval Office. They just hadn’t told anybody. When you get out into the real world, it is easy to believe that you – and only you – are the one who doesn’t belong. Even when you reach the pinnacle of your career, you will know your own weaknesses better than anyone – you will have unique insight into all you haven't mastered.
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我和朋友-人權倡導者John Prendergast-總是將人腦比喻為「蝙蝠洞」,其中的蝙蝠-也就是疑惑-四處飛舞,傳播著「我們或許無法依自己的理想改變世界」的恐懼。但隨著年齡增長,儘管蝙蝠不會真的離開你,將開始意識到每個人都有屬於自己的蝙蝠洞。成功改變世界的人並非殺死蝙蝠的人,而是對自己無法掌控之事有所認知且依然勇往直前的人。不怕失敗,只是默默地下定決心,做出正確的決定和正確的事。這就是我想對你們-2014年畢業生-所說的話。世界相當混亂,但你們能改變它,我們需要你們的參與。無論是國內或國外事務,無論你們的內心有何想法,無論他人的外表看起來多麼自信。你-你們每一個人-只要下定決心,就能產生深遠影響。你們在佛蒙特山峰的陰影下生活了四年,我鼓勵你們越過這些他人眼中高聳得難以翻越的山峰。我確信你們未來能成就偉大事業,但你們現在也擁有做善事的能力。關注身邊發生的事,勿以善小而不為,這將能改變某些人的世界。感謝你們邀請我共享這個光輝燦爛的日子,我希望你們能達成個人理想,並在未來的日子裡對周遭的世界產生深遠影響。最重要的是,恭喜你們,2014年畢業生,謝謝。(歡呼聲)(掌聲)
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My friend the human rights advocate John Prendergast and I have long referred to our heads as “bat caves,” where doubts – the bats – fly around, sowing the fear that we may not be able to make the change we seek. But as you get older, although the bats don’t ever really go away, you begin to realize, everyone has his or her own version of the bat cave. And the people who succeed in changing the world are not those that slay the bats – they are those who simply acknowledge their insecurities and forge ahead, unafraid to fall flat, but quietly determined to land right – and to do right.
So that’s what I have got for you Class of 2014. The world is plenty messed up, but you can help change it. We need you to stay engaged both at home and abroad. And no matter what your “insides” are telling you or how assured others seem on the outside, you - as in you personally, each of you - can make a profound difference if you set your mind to it. You have lived in the shadow of the Vermont peaks for four years, and I urge you to make it your task to overcome mountains that others have found too high to scale.
I am confident that you will do great things in the years ahead. But you also have it in your power right now to do good things. To notice what is going on around you, and to undertake small acts of kindness that will change someone's world in the years ahead.
And I thank you for letting me share this glorious day with you. And I wish you satisfaction personally, and great impact on the world around you in the years ahead.
And above all, I congratulate you, the class of 2014. Thank you. (Applause)