Good morning everyone.
Congratulations to all the graduates
of the Class of 2017
and may I say it is an honor to be your speaker today...
((applause))
Complacency will hold back your legacy.
My ancestors have been in this country
for 400 years, yet I am only a second generation college graduate.
But make no mistake, if it wasn't for their
dedication to not be complacent in their
circumstance, I wouldn't be standing on the stage before you today.
My ancestors were sharecroppers on a Mississippi plantation in 1921.
One fateful day the
landowner demanded my seven-year-old uncle drop out of the third grade in
order to work in the fields full-time.
Yet he was determined to learn to read
and to write, and that is exactly what he did. Set on starting a new life he
eventually moved to Chicago and started a family of his own.
He's now 103 years young and
is one of the most intelligent people that I know.
((applause))
Complacency will hold back your legacy.
My great-grandfather who was born and
raised in the Jim Crow South, was determined to fight for this nation in
Korea to show his fellow citizens that he indeed was a man with unalienable
rights. He was willing to sacrifice his life for a country that at the time did
not see him as an equal.
He was awarded a bronze medal in 1960.
((applause))
Complacency will hold back your legacy.
Hearing these stories growing up, I wanted to be just
like my ancestors - I want to persevere beyond the
expectations that people had of me. I wanted to leave a lasting legacy for my
great-great grandchildren to tell stories about.
But I didn't know where this journey was going to begin.
I just knew that I needed to attend a university
that would help cultivate my ambitions into decisions.
While reading Wisconsin home page one night while in high school,
I came across a powerful quote.
"Never be content until the beneficent influence of the university
reaches every family in the state."
These are the words of Charles R. Van Hise.
These words capture the essence of the Wisconsin idea -
and ladies and gentlemen these words are what
brought me to this university over all others.
((applause))
You see, what I learned from the Wisconsin idea from that day forward is
that Badgers are never just content with the world around them.
We are never just content with who we are in the moment. We strive for
excellence in our communities and in ourselves.
We would be remiss if we didn't show other Badgers the way up too.
Lifting others up as we climb, reaching forward to our
plans for the future - but reaching our hand back to pull others
along with us on this journey. The harder that my peers strove for success the
more I was inspired to do the same. It is a cycle you see. The more you carry the
torch and create positive change wherever you go, you will leave an
unshakable legacy for future Badgers to aspire to.
But complacency will hold back your legacy.
My sophomore year I had the dream of participating in a genomics
research internship at the birthplace of the human genome project.
The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. I know a fellow badger Leah Escalante that had
participated in the program. When I met her she was elated at my interest and
offered to read over my essays. Her drive is what inspired me to put in my
application, and then I was accepted. I immediately reached out to Leah
excitement and began to form a close relationship with her. She even advised
me of what classes to take at UW during my last couple of years and suggested
other internship opportunities.
Complacency will hold back your legacy.
Leah passed the torch of the Wisconsin Idea to me and left the legacy for me to
learn from, to grow in. She helped her my ambition into a decision.
So my charge to you today my fellow graduates is to be the change that you wish to see in
this world. Do not just dream, but affirm. Don't convince yourself what you are
trying to be, but tell yourself what you are going to be.
For Pete sakes, you're a Badger!
We are the presidents of clubs, we have published papers, build homes in
third world countries, started our own businesses...
Complacency is not in the bloodline of our badger family!
Reach out to the 400,000 alumni that have made
their mark, carrying the torch of the Wisconsin Idea with them all over the world.
I hope you find comfort in the fact
that there will always be a Badger somewhere willing to mentor you,
to inspire you. to help turn your dreams into a reality.
((applause))
Who would have thought that a man with only a third-grade education and a
country boy turned veteran, could inspire me to become a biology and political
science double-major at one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
But it was their legacy that influenced me nevertheless.
So what legacy will you leave for the next generation of Badgers?
And where will you take the torch of the Wisconsin idea?
Don't let this cap and gown fool you.
Your work is not done. Each and every one of you has so much talent to bring to
this world, it would be unfair to the world if you did not share it.
Because complacency will never hold back a Badger's legacy ! Thank you.
((applause))