Don't Wait to Make a Difference!

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Make a Difference

Commencement Address
DeVry University, North Brunswick, NJ

LTC Michael J. Devine III

June 2009

     Thank you Dr. Greveson, Dr. Donaldson, for allowing me the absolute privilege of being able to speak to these outstanding graduates, their family and friends, and the faculty and staff of your university.

     I’m excited to be here because today is the culminating event in a team sport that is, without question, one of our nation’s greatest strategic advantages – the ability to produce thinkers and problem solvers who are capable of truly making a difference.

     Graduates - today is your day and I hope you really excited about that. So let me ask you, are you excited about that?

(Cheering)

     I suspected that was the case.

     So let me start by saying Good Morning to the Faculty and staff of DeVry University. Today is also your day. I hope you are looking closely at this tremendous group of graduates and that you see the same thing that I do – the immense potential of our nation’s future. Because of your hard work, mentorship and commitment to making a difference in the development of your students you have delivered a piece of that future. Thank you for what you have delivered.

(Applause)

Youth Leadership Experiences Shape our Potential

     It is an inescapable fact that every person is simply a product of their experience, first guided by family and friends, but later by life and personal choice. 

     Our character, our values, even our basic decision making processes were indelibly marked by the leaders who passed through the early course of our lives.  These individuals served as beacons during our journey towards independence, responsibility and establishment of our role and place in life.   They were parents, teachers, coaches, older siblings, Boy Scout troop leaders and many others who may not have even realized that they were serving such an essential role.

     It is easy enough to search through the archives of our memory to find those individuals whose personal light has left a lasting impression on our future.  Some deserve accolades for their impact while others may have left fingerprints we prefer to forget, but their influence on our lives remains nonetheless, and hopefully we learned from both.