Congratulations to all of you. In addition to the graduates, there are so many people deserving of special recognition today. Parents, id like to ask all the moms who are here celebrating their graduates to stand right now and be recognized. Moms, please stand up. And all the dads, please stand up. Grandparents, family members, friends of graduates, thank you for your effort in getting them to this point. [crowd booing] first lady jackson, chairman, members of the board. And members of the administrative staff and faculty. And the entire bethunecookman community. Thank you for the Important Role you play in making today possible for all these students. Mayor henry, thank you for those encouraging words. And you and state and local officials for being here today. Im grateful for the opportunity to speak with you. And particularly with those who have disagreed with the invitation for me to be here. [crowd booing] one of the hallmarks of Higher Education and of democracy is the ability to converse with and learn from those with whom we disagree. If this behavior continues, your degrees will be mailed to you. [crowd noise] choose which way you want to go. [crowd noise] [crowd cheering] will you please be seated. [crowd noise] graduates, would you please be seated. [crowd noise] ms. Devos as i said, im very grateful for the opportunity to be with you today. [crowd jeering] while we will undoubtedly disagree at times, i hope we can do so respectfully. Lets choose to hear one another out. I want to reaffirm this administrations commitment to and support for hbcus and the students they serve. [crowd jeering] please know this, we support you and we will continue to support you. [applause] that is one reason, one reason why we support restoring yearround pell grants. This commonsense solution will enable more students to further their education without taking on additional debt. [crowd jeering] i am at the table fighting on your behalf and on behalf of all students across the nation. I also want to acknowledge that we all arrive here today with different Life Experiences and different perspectives. I view that not as a negative, but as a gift. Any time we meet someone new, we have two options. We can focus on differences that might divide us or we can choose to listen, to be receptive and to learn from others experiences and perspectives. [crowd noise] in my life i have endeavored to do the latter. And as you leave this arena today, i hope you too will choose this posture as you set out on this new and exciting stage of your lifes adventure. I am here to celebrate you and all of your achievements. We are all here to applaud your perseverance and to encourage each of you to keep reaching working to reach your full potential. [crowd noise] and im here in the most tangible way i know how, to demonstrate that i and the entire administration are fully committed to your success and to the success of every student across this great country. [applause] [crowd jeering] that commitment to success is one i know i share with your president , dr. Edison jackson. Dr. Jackson has long focused on creating opportunities for students and is an authentic advocate for lifelong learning. Each of you who have had the occasion to interact with or work alongside dr. Jackson knows he has a profound, deepseeded belief and faith and an abiding belief in the transformation al power of character, moral courage and purpose. Dr. Jackson, thank you for your daily work to secure and make available a lifechanging education for the students you serve. [applause] your career is a personal inspiration to me. And the embodiment of b. C. U. s motto. Enter to learn, depart to serve. Graduates, you have heeded the first charge this that motto. And today you stand at the interval preceding the second. I challenge you to leave this arena faithful to completing this mission. The words are simple. Yet powerful. Depart to serve. It is good and right to pause today, to celebrate your individual successes. But after that reflection, i am confident you will find service more rewarding than anything else. In serving, you will always reap more than you sow. The degree conferred on you today is the culmination of time, energy and effort invested and knowledge, experience and skills gained. However, the sum of your education here involves far more than sleepless nights spent cramming for a big exam, hours invested putting the finishing touches on papers, and time devoted to clubs, organizations and causes. The whole of your time at bethunecookman university, your experiences, your relationships and your hard work, has laid a foundation for you to appreciate your responsibilities to your peers, your community, your country and the world. Today you transition from student to graduate. What may have seemed an eternity away the moment you walked onto campus is now standing before you. Youll leave this place the leaders who will transform the world. The tomorrow for which youve worked so hard to prepare has arrived and its yours to shape. Your actions will determine the type of world you create, enjoy and leave to your children and grandchildren. I posit that a fundamental component in that pursuit, to shape your world, can be found in personal service. You may choose to give back by mentoring or volunteering, you may pour your life into creating equal opportunities for all, pursuing justice, tackling the toughest medical challenges, educating the rising generation, donning our nations uniform to protect and defend our freedom, or making a discovery on the cutting edge of science, technology or engineering. I know that b. C. U. Has prepared each of you well for these tasks. The human heart is hard wired for service. And its imbedded in the d. N. A. Of this institution. No doubt you know dr. Mary mcleod bethunes story very well. But let me share some of it for those beyond this hall who dont. She was a visionary, a leader i admire and respect, and someone about whom all americans should know. As one of 17 children born to parents who knew firsthand the horrors and injustice of slavery, dr. Bethune was the only member of her family to be educated in a formal school setting. For her, education was a gift and an incredible privilege. [crowd jeering] she believed it was her sacred duty to use her education to uplift others. So in 1904, with burning determination in her soul and a meager 1. 50 in her pocket, dr. Bethune built a school from the ground up. Over the course of her incredible 79year life span, she fought for one singular and invaluable goal. To provide africanamerican children access to a quality education, access they were otherwise unjustly denied. Her commitment to service is what has brought us together today. This inspired daughter of slaves refused to accept repulsive and systemic racism. She moved mountains, changing the lives and futures of countless students and families across generations. Just think about the impact of dr. Bethunes selfless, singular focus. Then consider the influence that you as a graduate could have on the lives of others. Both now and into the future. All that is required for worldshaking change is your conscious and courageous decision to serve. Your path here was shaped by others. Educators, parents, family members, neighbors and friends. Never forget that. Through serving others, you can extend that legacy. Later today i will have the honor of visiting dr. Bethunes home and paying my respects at her gravesite. \[crowd jeering] i am moved by words in her last will and testament. Where dr. Bethune describes what she hoped her legacy would be. The beautifully written testament by the love, hope and a thirst for education as the ideals she wanted people to embrace in her memory. She concluded with a section titled, a responsibility to our young people. And made clear her unshakable belief that the worlds fate belonged to the youth she dedicated her entire life to serving. In it she wrote, our children must never lose their zeal for building a better world. They must not be discouraged from aspiring toward greatness. For they are to be the leaders of tomorrow. Nor must they forget that the masses of our people are still underprivileged, illhoused, impoverished and victimized by discrimination. We have a powerful potential in our youth and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends. I note three core themes in her words. First, aim high. Aspire to greatness. Dr. Bethune believed without wavering that your potential is limitless. Second, take responsibility for your families and communities and never tolerate inequality or injustice. [crowd jeering] third, proceed with courage to change old ideas that hold others back. These are charges and encouragements i echo to each of you today. Dr. Bethune believed students, you, had an unlimited potential to affect positive change and with good reason. Shed done it herself. As you leave, each of you will be called to embody courage in different ways and to rise to different challenges. The way you answer those calls will determine not just the future of you and your homes, but of your communities, this great nation, and your world. Your university serves as a remind that are every student without exception deserves a highquality education. Some of you graduates are the first in your families to earn a college degree. And some of you have overcome incredible personal hardships to reach this day. De andrea jamal was the victim of an accidental shooting after his freshman year. His doctor told him he would never walk again. But deandre had different plans. Not only did he resume his studies, he poured himself into his rehabilitation and got back on his feet. Today deandre stands tall among you to receive his degree and hes already taking the next steps to pursue an m. B. A. [cheers and applause] one never thought about going to college before landing at b. C. U. As a nontraditional student. With help from the palm beach urban league, she found her passion for helping others through radio and television. This discovery fueled her confidence and her commitment to her studies. As her ambitions soared. Kaneta became involved with 14 organizations and numerous other campus activities and today is an accomplished Mass Communications graduate. [applause] jalil is graduating today with a bachelor of arts and liberal studies, with a concentration in marketing. Jalil was born to a single mother who struggled with drug addiction. At a very young age he entered the foster care system where he was subjected to a neverending cycle of neglect and abuse. Despite the extraordinary challenges he faced throughout his upbringing, he excelled at his studies at b. C. U. And went on to become mr. B. C. U. , mr. Sophomore, and he even developed a Motivational Program called from blocks to books, dedicated to inspiring and empowering young people. [applause] he writes and performs music as well. After graduation he is going to pursue his dream of starting a record label. Each of these students stories is one of courage. These stories speak to how b. C. U. Rises to meet the unique needs of every student it serves. We should aspire to make all of americas educational institutions mirror that model. A singular focus on the individual needs of students. Our nation has made remarkable progress since dr. Bethune founded this university. But addressing inequities in our Education System remains a very real challenge. Empowering students with the opportunity to pursue the best possible education has been my focus for the past three decades. America is simply too great a country to deny any child this equal opportunity. Your courage will be needed to confront this challenge as you raise families, pursue careers and lead in communities across our nation. I hope each a of us will leave here today challenged to ensure no child is denied the benefits of a quality education. Many of you have already shown courage in this regard by pursuing teaching as a vocation. I want to take a moment to highlight and honor each of who you are graduating from the college of education. [applause] not coincidentally, this is National Teacher appreciation week. I hope each of you will take a moment to reach out and thank a teacher who was impactful in your life. Many of them no doubt here with us today. I expect many of you are here in part because somewhere along the line a teacher went out of his or her way to make sure you succeeded. Please join me now in personally thanking and applauding each of you who have served, serve, or will serve as an educator. [applause] education broadens our horizons and enables us to confront realities we never before anticipated. We should welcome these opportunities with open arms. We should embrace the chance to grow and to serve. We should pursue these opportunities with humility, with perseverance, and with grace. That is my final challenge to you. To approach the unanticipated, the unexpected, the unforeseen with grace. Spend just a few minutes watching your favorite cable news channel and youll experience the startling polarization happening across the united states. On social media, groups and individuals pit themselves one against another. Not to discuss and debate the merits of deeply held beliefs, but to see who can yell the loudest, score the quickest political points, or best silence the others voice. The natural instinct is to join in the chorus of conflict. To make your voice louder. Your point bigger. And your position stronger. But we will not solve the significant and real problems our country faces if we cannot bring ourselves to embrace a mindset of grace. We must first listen, then speak, with humility, to genuinely hear the perspectives of those with whom we dont immediately or instinctively agree. These verses from the bible have been a guide for me. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders. Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation always be full of grace. Seasoned with salt. So that you may know how to answer everyone. These words are as relevant today as when they were first imparted. They are exertations with the power to transform our approach to life. Our commitment to our neighbors, and our discourse with one another. Elie wiesel who survived the horrors of auschwitz put it well. For me, every hour is grace. And i feel gratitude in my heart each time i can meet someone and look at his or her smile. I will admit, many in my generation havent done a great job when it comes to dealing with one another in grace. You have an opportunity to do better. To lead the way towards a new era of engagement in our communities. You leave this place today with many obligations, but i hope youll consider the three challenges ive presented. A call to service, a call to courage, and a call to grace. Years from now, when someone asks you, why do you serve, you can respond, because a great woman, a great leader, a great american, dr. Mary mcleod bethune, inspired me. When you face the challenges of your day, you can say, i was courageous, because dr. Bethune showed me the way. And when some pursue dissention, you can engage in debate with grace and poise, just as dr. Bethune did. Each of you has a story of your own. Waiting to be written. You make us proud. And more than that, you give us hope. You have achieved Something Special today. I am humbled by the opportunity to be with you, to share in this momentous occasion in your life, to cheer on your past and continued success. Congratulations and may god continue to bless our nation, bethunecookman university, and each of you, the class of 2017. [applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] in our journey through life, fate will be a constant partner, if you let it. I knew what i was getting into, but like any commitment you will make in life, it demanded some real soulsearching. In 2006 at had an opportunity to be elected majority leader. To 7 00 a. M. Mass that morning and the question kept tugging at me, and my sure i really want to do this . Am i ready to do this . This, anduggling with im asking the blessed mother for her guidance. Finding no answers. At breakfast my cell phone rang. Im standing on the corner of second and pennsylvania outside peak diner. I picked it up and it was old coach faust. Calling to wish me luck and telling me that you can do it. Ive never gotten a call from the blessed mother before and i dont think i ever will, but ive got to tell you, it was pretty darn close. A journalist once asked Mother Teresa about how she persevered in the face of all the despair she had seen. , god hasresa replied not called me to be successful, god has called me to be faithful. Ive carried in code that mymilar parents taught me. Its real simple. If you do the right things for the right reasons, good things will happen. So there you have it. Faith. Y, patience, and and always a few tears from me. [laughter] now another commencement address, this one from eileen drake, president and ceo of Aerojet Rocketdyne holdings, which manufactures arrows ace and defense auto. She spoke of beginners the of alabama in huntsville about her background as an aviator and the importance of being open to new experiences and challenges. This is 20 minutes. [applause] afternoon, and thank you for that great introduction, and especially a thank you for letting me be here today to serve as your commencement speaker. I dont have to tell anybody out there in the audience that this is a powerhouse that every time i tore this campus or talk to alumni, i have always been very