My congratulations to all of today's graduates. Your commitment, dedication, and scholarship are publicly recognized today. This is a landmark moment for you...a long walk from the first days at the Gresham Library or finding your room at White Hall. For some of you that first day was the beginning of 2500 campus meals.

I realize that you made a bold decision to attend college...there were risks, sacrifices, long days and longer nights, struggle, doubt, even pain. You explored the depths of knowledge.

The undergraduates sat through over 4,000 hours of lectures and labs. Many of you did a senior thesis, which one student told me was "like reading the encyclopedia while undergoing medieval torture."

And I don't have to talk to the graduate students about their thesis or dissertation. The looks of mortified anguish are still there.

But you made it...you did it!!! To quote a certain fight song, you were "here to win" and you "fought on to the end!!!" This is the day you join the community of scholars who proudly are alumni of Sam Houston State University.

I also congratulate the trustees, administration, faculty, and staff of Sam Houston State University. Another generation of graduates leaves to embark on a life's journey of learning, leadership, and humanity. You have well prepared these graduates for the journey ahead.

I have heard it said that "the scholars who teach the scholars" are graduates of Sam Houston State University, which has the distinction of being the first teacher-training school in the Southwest. I am pleased that the United States Department of Education has been your partner in efforts like the Ronald McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program. Two weeks ago, I was pleased to award this university a grant to conduct research on English immersion in the Aldine School District. The President and I recognize the outstanding level of scholarship and leadership here, as well as this institution's many, many contributions to Texas and our country.

I also want to congratulate the family and friends of each graduate. I know you made sacrifices, too. OK...many sacrifices. Remember when you were just parents, and not part of a financial aid package!!!

I know we can never thank parents enough. If graduates are looking for a full-time job, with endless challenges and long hours, become a parent. It's hard work -- just ask your own parents. They're tired!!! They've been shelling out cash for your college. And right now, they're probably thinking of Bill Cosby's words: "Commencement means to go forth. And 'forth' is not 'back home.'"

So I congratulate the parents. Each graduate is the product of your love, your dreams, and your diligence. I know you are proud...passionately proud. This is also your day, your moment, too.

We celebrate great achievements today. But tradition demands that I say a few words about the future to our graduates. You must use your learning, leadership, and humanity to foster peace, justice, and prosperity throughout the world.

One person can change the world. It happens every day. You can read about in the Houstonian and on the Internet. Sam Houston himself had a vision...it became the Republic of Texas. Mother Theresa brought hope to the destitute of Calcutta. Mother Hale took care of HIV-infected babies in Harlem. Ronald Reagan demanded that Mikhail Gorbachev tear down the Berlin Wall, and he did, freeing hundreds of millions of people. Nelson Mandela took the reins of power and brought a peaceful transition to South Africa after decades of apartheid.

Each of these people seized their moment. They didn't hesitate. They were equal to the task.

I have spoken of those well known, the famous, those remembered by history. But each day there are countless people who quietly seize the moment: teachers, nurses, doctors, clergy, law enforcement officials, fire fighters, and social workers. Each confronts a world of endless demands, infinite challenges. Yet, with each decision, each act of service, each moment of compassion or kindness, they change the world for the better. They fight for what is right, what is good, and what is just. They do so with little fanfare or applause. They act without hesitation. They also are equal to the task.

You must seize the moment!!! Each of you today has been prepared for a purpose. The sum total of your preparation is needed now. Your years at this wonderful center of learning are but prelude. Lifelong learning must follow. Never, ever stop the learning process. You will never know enough, or be wise enough.

Knowledge must lead to action. We must be willing to take up the responsibility of leadership, to step forward when needed, to answer the call. We must fight for the oppressed, the poor, the sick, the aged, and those without a voice, whether in this country or abroad. We must recognize that our personal and national leadership can create a world of care, consideration, respect, and security.

That is why I also mentioned our humanity. It matters. The kind of person you become -- that matters. The kind of world we create is a product of the kind of people we become and remain. This is a world in desperate need of tenderness, consideration, respect, understanding, and empathy. We have a duty to each other. As the Ancient Greeks said, we must "cultivate our humanity," and become brothers and sisters of all mankind.

Let us use this day, this moment of accomplishment, to stop and survey the horizon. Then, after our celebration, let us walk from this stage and into the future together. Orange and White...fight for what's right. "Fight on to the end."

Congratulations to all of the graduates and their families.

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