>> ladies and gentlemen, presiding over theseexercises is dr. wallace loh, president of the university of maryland.(cheers and applause). >> dr. loh: good evening. welcome to the 2014winter commencement exercises of the university of maryland.(cheers and applause). commencement marks the start of a new chapterin the lives of our graduates, but this ceremony is also a wistful farewell, spoken in wordsof endearment by the university to our graduates and by our graduates to your alma mater. wewill begin with a moment of reflection led by mr. tarif shraim, the campus muslim chaplain.his remarks will be followed by the singing of the national anthem led by amy broadbent.she is a graduating senior in music and hails
from rockville, maryland, and led by the universityof maryland wind ensemble conducted by craig potter, a doctoral student in music. pleasestand and remain standing for the moment of reflection and for the singing of our nationalanthem. >> tarif shraim: today is not just anotherday. it's a gift, and a precious moment in which we need to celebrate with joy your accomplishments.the accomplishments of the 2014 graduating class of the university of maryland. todaywe come with hearts deeply thankful to all those who have helped us in our lives andin reaching this significant milestone. as we embark on the journeys ahead, may we recognizeour need to walk with humility so we may continue to learn and to grow, we may have the courageto look inside of ourselves and recognize
the enormous potential we have so we can beginto touch the seeds of greatness that lie within us and move with vigor to shape our destinies.may we understand that we may never become enlightened until we become occupied not withbeing right but with lifting the hearts of people around us and healing our familiesand communities. may we fully grasp the beautiful truth that our lives can't magically change,that in order to accomplish things we've never accomplished, to become people we've neverbeen, we must make sacrifices we've never made and do things we've never done. may werecognize that our lives will be measured not by the wealth we accumulate or the careerswe assume, but by the number of lives we touch and the smiles we create. may we find waysto an inspired life, absorbed the inspiration
of others and become an inspiration. may weenjoy where we are on the way to where we are going. may we become grateful for allthe gifts that we have and learn to let those gifts flow through us that anyone we meettoday on this day will be enriched by us, by our eyes, our smiles, our touch, just byour grateful presence. may we realize today before tomorrow that when we do so we willbegin to touch the seeds of joy within us and discover ourselves to be far greater thanwe ever imagined. amen. (applause).(music playing). (singing the national anthem).(applause). >> dr. loh: please be seated. thank you, mr.shraim for your thoughtful reflections, and
thank you, amy, for your energetic and inspiredrendition of the national anthem. you have a heavenly voice, and of course thank youto the university of maryland wind ensemble. now, seated on the front row are the studentswho are serving as marshals this evening, and they were selected on the basis of theiracademic accomplishments and contributions to campus life. would the student marshalsplease stand up and be recognized? (cheers and applause).>> dr. loh: thank you. and present also to honor our graduates this evening are the faculty,the emeriti faculty, the marshals and staff. would you all stand and be recognized andthank you for coming. (applause).so we are here to celebrate the graduation
of our students, and of course commencementmeans that there are many speakers, but i am reminded what a good friend and irish priestonce reminded me. he said, "just remember, a speaker at a commencement ceremony is like"-- "is like the body at an old-fashioned irish wake. people need the body to have a party,but nobody expects it to say very much. (laughter) so i know that everyone on this platform who'sspeaking, myself included, will be mercifully brief in our remarks. (laughter) because iwant to assure you that although words of wisdom will be spoken from the stage thisevening, those words are immortal but the speeches will not be eternal. (laughter).so our first speaker is raaheela ahmed and she's a student representative for the universitysystem of maryland board of regents, and she's
a senior in the robert h. smith school ofbusiness and she is from the board of regents. (applause).>> raaheela ahmed: president loh, distinguished guests, friends, family and my peers sittingbefore me. good evening and congratulations. (cheers and applause).you all did it! (laughter) you're here. you made it. you are graduating from the universityof maryland college park. whoa. i heard that finally. i'm here today to bring regards fromthe university system of maryland board of regents. for those who don't know, the boardof regents is the governing board for 12 institutions for higher education in maryland, and everyyear one student is chosen from among the 160,000 students at these colleges to be onthe board as a full voting member. this year
that student is me. but i'm here ultimatelybecause of you, and i'm here for you. my voice is your voice, your struggles are my motivationto fight for what's right. class of 2014. today i just want to say thank you. thankyou for inspiring me. thank you for catalyzing change. thank you for daring to speak againstinjustices and thank you for moving forward in the face of adversity.i'm here to assure you that you've left your imprint on this campus and in this systemif only by inspiring this one lone girl to do more and to do better. as a senior at thisinstitution myself i can only hope that when i'm in your shoes next semester (laughter)i feel what i see here today: hope, dreams, smiles, and success. this is truly a beautifulmoment, and on behalf of the university system
of maryland, board of regents, i want to saywe are proud of you. so -- (cheers and applause).so do good, be kind, dream big, thank you and congratulations to the class of 2014.go terps! (cheers and applause).>> dr. loh: thank you, raaheela, we are indeed proud of our graduates and we are proud ofyou as our representative on the board of regents. now, i would like to introduce someof the members of the platform party who are seated behind me, and i would ask that wheni call your name, if you will please stand and remain standing until i have called everyone,introduced everyone, and i would ask the audience to please refrain from applauding until everyonehas been introduced so we're not here all
night. mary ann rankin, senior vice presidentand provost. she is a biologist. i hope i get this right, mary ann, an entomologistwho specializes in physiology and behavior. now, i get that right?>> yes. >> linda clement: thank you, i get a b. lindaclement, vice president for student affairs. she is a terp, got her ph.d. in counselinghere from the university of maryland and she has been a vice president here for 13 years.carlo colella, vice president for administration and finance. he's another terp. where is carlo?he is a civil engineer and a graduate of the university of maryland.patrick o'shea, he is the vice president for research, another terp. he got his ph.d. inphysics, and he works in electrical and computer
engineering.kevin anderson, director of athletics. and what i love about kevin is that he is alwaystrying to integrate the front porch of this university, athletics, with the rest of theacademic house of the university. patrick ronk. where is patrick? oh, thereyou are, patrick. he's the president of the undergraduate student government and he isa junior in government and politics, and i understand he's off to israel in a few days.well, have a wonderful visit there for the next two weeks.deborah hemingway. there you are, deborah, president of the graduate student governmentfrom athens, ohio, and she is a ph.d. candidate in biophysics. did i get that right? good.thank you.
don webster, who is the chair of the universitysenate. he's a senior agricultural extension agent for the wye research education centerin queenstown, maryland. for those you who don't know queenstown, maryland it is on theeastern shore. someone from the eastern shore, don. (laughter)martha nell smith, our university marshal. there you are, where are you? okay. the onewho patrols -- when you walk in. she's a professor of english and an expert in the poetry ofemily dickinson. finally, i'm going to ask all the deans tostand. i'm not going to introduce them because later on in the program they will introducethemselves so that i don't mess up. will the deans, the academic leaders of this institutionplease stand up? and now we can all applaud
them.(cheers and applause). thank you. now, at each commencement we havea student come and address the graduating class. that student is selected by a committee,and that committee is headed by our provost, and today we have the pleasure of hearingfrom ms. kelsey hughes from abington, pennsylvania, and i'm told that that is a suburb of philadelphia.and -- but first before i introduce kelsey, i believe your family, your sister, your youngersister, your friend, your relatives are here somewhere. would the hughes family pleasestand up and be recognized? and wave so we can see you. oh, there you are.(applause). thank you. kelsey graduates this evening -- whydon't you stand up so people -- and -- so
they can see you. graduates this evening witha major in journalism and two minors. she has served in the baltimore sun as the firstmultimedia intern, paving the way for other students. she went on to do a similar internshipwith the federal reserve, and along the way she discovered her inner entrepreneur, winninga foundation grant to create a toolkit that launches citizen journalists. it is my greatpleasure to introduce our student speaker, kelsey hughes.(cheers and applause). >> kelsey hughes: i am the kind of personwho does not like uncertainty. i make weekend plans weeks in advance. i look for long-termproblems at the beginning of new relationships. i know the names of the next ten cats i willadopt over the course of my lifetime. (laughter)
so when i first came to the university ofmaryland i was excited, because here i would become adequately equipped for all that lifebrought me, and here i would be in control of my future. i would learn exactly what iwanted to do and how to get there. this is certainly what i thought at that timeof my life. barely 18, totally unsure of everything, how to navigate our enormous campus, whetheri had chosen the right major, if i would have any friends, but i clung to the hope thatenrolling in college would be the same as dropping myself into a funnel, where i wouldcircle around and around and then by graduation fall out the bottom of the funnel squarelyinto the job i would have for the rest of my life. one thing that i have learned atmaryland is that college does not work that
way. (laughter) but this is by no means abad thing. i started as a journalism major wanting to be a reporter. soon i picked upmy french minor and then a minor in lgbt studies, and by the way, i have no plans of being areporter on lgbt issues in france. (laughter) being at maryland has taught me that collegeis not about picking up the skills you need to get that one job. it is about becominga well-rounded student, one who is curious and passionate about learning and is resourcefuland able to apply those skills creatively. what i have learned is that the true markof a successful maryland graduate is to say yes to any opportunity that seems interesting,even if its connection to one's future isn't immediately apparent. this is why i joineda team writing a research proposal for a grant
despite never being on good terms with science.this is why i took an internship at the federal reserve while having no interest in economics,and this is why i joined a fun and totally weird group of people who shadow cast therocky horror picture show. these are among the things i never imagined myself doing beforecoming to college. even within my major my career interests switched, from music journalismto community reporting to news photographer, with many other detours in between. and thoughi have ultimately decided journalism is not my past going forward, i will take the lessonsi have learned in journalism into the field of information science hopefully into my futurecareer as a librarian. like journalism, libraries are in a constantstate of flux. the materials i will be working
with might no longer be tangible. in fact,it's entirely possible i won't even be working with books at all. i've read about librariesthat lend out gardening tools and children's toys to their customers, and i've learnedof libraries that serve more as information hubs and community centers than keepers ofbooks. as a librarian i will have a hand in shaping the future of library science muchlike my fellow graduates from the merrill college will have a hand in shaping the futureof journalism. in both areas new technology has completely changed the model of the profession.all of us will face similar challenges as our own fields innovate. maryland has preparedus to face these challenges head-on, not by giving us the right answers but by teachingus how to think so that we may find the answers
on our own. what i have learned is that asuccessful maryland graduate never limits him or herself but embraces new opportunities.as maryland graduates we are cognizant of the fact that the distant and even the immediatefutures are unknown, but that this university has prepared all of us to appreciate uncertainty,to take chances and to find excitement in that process.so, fellow graduates, i encourage to you take those chances, inevitably make some mistakesand learn from them. before i finish i'd like to share some wisdom from the great danielhandler, better known by his pen name lemony snicket. at times the world may seem an unfriendlyand sinister place, but believe there's much more good in it than bad. all you have todo is look hard enough, and what might seem
to be a series of unfortunate events may,in fact, be the first steps of a journey. class of 2014 i wish you the best of luckon the first steps of our new journey. (cheers and applause).>> dr. loh: that was great, and i really want a selfie with her that i will then tweet.(laughter) do you mind? >> no.>> dr. loh: okay. (laughter) thank you. (applause).what great remarks. thank you so much, kelsey. you make us proud. all of our students makeus proud. this is what the university of maryland produces. but it's not just about words, it'salso about music, and now the maryland wind ensemble conducted again by craig potter,a doctoral student in music, will perform.
they will perform the "march" and the "trepak"from "the nutcracker suite" by pyotr tchaikovsky. (music playing).(applause). >> dr. loh: thank you, maryland wind ensemble,for that rousing and poignant performance of the nutcracker suite. we are very fortunateindeed at this university to have such talented art students, music students in particular.you greatly enrich our cultural life and you touch us with your performance. at graduationwe have a committee of seniors to select the university's commencement speaker. so it ismy privilege to invite the chair of this committee, louis schiavone, who will introduce this year'scommencement speaker. (applause).>> louis schiavone: good evening. thank you,
dr. loh. my name is louis schiavone and i'ma member of this year's senior class council. it is my honor to introduce this evening'scommencement speaker mrs. eun yang. we are so pleased to have such an esteemed speakerwith a deep connection to this university and to our lives as graduates. born in southkorea, ms. yang received her degree from the philip merrill college of journalism hereat the university of maryland where she now serves on the board of visitors. ms. yangstarted her broadcast media career here on campus while working on the student tv newscastmaryland update, which is now known as maryland newsline. in her time since graduation shehas worked as part of several d.c. region news teams, namely wusa9, which is a cbs affiliate,and she was one of the first correspondents
for the national geographic channel. she joinednbc washington news4 in 2002 and she started anchoring weekends in 2004. as a result ms.yang is a face and voice that is instantly recognizable to many in the audience thisevening and especially to us terps as ms. yang has reported some of the stories thathave shaped our time as young adults. through our past four years as students atthe university of maryland, ms. yang has shared with us both of president obama's inaugurations,countless local and national stories, and one headline that we'll never forget fromour student years, the "snowpocalypse" of 2009. in true terp spirit ms. yang's careerhas been marked by commitment and loyalty in addition to her vibrant success. despitereceiving offers to work in the new york city
market, one of the biggest media markets inthe world, ms. yang has elected to stay in the d.c. metro area. as anchor of news4 todayon nbc washington, ms. yang goes on air at 4:26 a.m. each day. i'll let that sink inhow early that is. (laughter) you all thought that waking up for an occasional 8:00 a.m.class was kind of difficult. here she is, terps, i'm pleased and honored to welcomems. eun yang. (cheers and applause).>> eun yang: louis, thank you so much. good evening, president loh, faculty and staff,honored guests, family and friends and graduates. i am so honored to be here at my beloved universityof maryland to speak at your commencement tonight. congratulations!(cheers and applause).
the honor is not lost on me. i love the streamers.i really do. they're so festive. typically when at the xfinity center, i still want tocall it comcast, i'm usually screaming at a basketball game, i'm planning to do nextsaturday, i'll have my voice for that. i want to say how awesome it is our terps are rankedfor the first time in five years. right? that's great.(applause). and i think that is the beauty of being ahome town girl, is that i get object on campus all the time. i'm here for the board of visitorsmeetings, i'm here for games, i'm here for the ice cream at maryland dairy, let's behonest. (laughter) and i think that's one of the reasons why i was invited to speakhere is the proximity, no travel expenses,
right? (laughter) but really, this is sucha great honor for me, especially because i was chosen by the students. i think that wheni stand up here and president loh is talking about the accomplishments of the people standingup here, i mean, the provosts' work i can't even pronounce. i don't even what she does-- and then there's an expert on the poetry of emily dickinson. i don't even think i belongup here with these smart esteemed accomplished people but here i am, and even my childrenare a little bit confused. they've heard that cal ripken spoke? why would they choose you?cal ripken was here? (laughter) i am surprised as well. i'm not the visionary behind a technologicalgadget that has revolutionized the way -- can do everything. i'm not the top executive andauthor of a mantra for women on how to overcome
gender imbalance in the workplace. i am notthe creator of appointment tv shows, which have turned into huge weekly social mediaevents. i have yet to watch an episode of scandal, but i do consider -- i know, i'vegot to get on it. remember the 4:26 a.m.? that's why i don't watch tv. (laughter) buti do like to think that my newscast is must-see tv. so you should watch.(applause). thank you. i don't even have my own youtubestation but here i am tonight. when louis said i was chosen he said it was in part becausei cfo a large audience, which is true, but my typical viewers are watching from home.they are brushing their teeth. they are drinking their coffee, they are running on the treadmill.i can't see them (laughter) and i can hide
behind my camera and my lens so that i don'thave to see whether or not they're really laughing at my jokes or they're scratchingtheir heads in utter confusion as to what i'm saying. here i don't even have a teleprompter,for goodness sake. how am i supposed to move on? but i'm going to do my best here. thereis a lot of pressure for me to share some words of wisdom and inspiration with the graduatingclass to prove to the parents that your hard-earned tuition money was well spent, and i have notougher critics than my three young children over there. wave, guys. my son, my oldestson did say, break a leg, mommy. so thanks for that. at least my husband will laugh atmy jokes, though. so much has changed since i was at the universityof maryland. when i was a freshman here you
could walk into cole field house with yourstudent i.d. and get a ticket to any game. any game. then joe smith arrived and you hadto wait in long lines to get a ticket and if we were playing duke you had to skip classesand wait all day. not that i would ever skip classes, guys, no, no, (laughter) marylandbasketball has grown so much and i love to see the students organized at the games withtheir spirit, their love for the school, not just the sports but for the academics andthe relationships and the community that is built here at this wonderful school.the way we have communicated has changed. who would have thought the president of theuniversity would be taking selfies at graduation, really. he was going down the aisle high-fivingthe graduates. i love to see t the way we
communicate, my speech is currently beingstreamed live. it is going to be shown on the university of maryland's television station.i know you all are tweeting because i already have a tweet from joyce coe. i got your firsttweet. you've taken obligatory selfies yours and instagram is blowing up. let's get theuniversity of maryland trending, create a hashtag. and that's what happens now.when i was here, though, i was just getting the hang of email. true story. i rememberone of my classmates from journalism school asked me out via email. this was the firsttime this has ever happened to me. and texting didn't exist, as you know. i didn't have acell phone, and so by the time i got back into the computer lab to check my email hehad lost interest. (laughter) so as you can
imagine i didn't date much here at school.and it didn't matter anyway because at least that's what i told myself, because i was singularlyfocused on trying to do everything i could to get a job in tv news. i wanted to be atv reporter, but i will say that one thing that hasn't changed, besides bentleys (laughter)is that -- thank you -- and i think what never changes is the value of hard work, really.i can't emphasize enough the importance in the value of hard work. it comes from my family,from my roots. if you want to achieve your goals you have to work harder and you haveto work smarter than the next person. you will get ahead if you are prepared. make yourwork ethic a priority. i spent a lot of time in the journalism building,and now you have the beautiful knight hall,
so shiny and pretty, but in my day it wasjust a brick building, said journalism. that was it. this is where i holed up working onmy resumã© tape. this is where i also saw a flyer for the internship that i landed,which eventually landed me the job that i have now, a flyer, it's a piece of paper,they stapled it to the bulletin board. ask your parents. you'll get it. it's a flyer.so when i finally landed that internship it was my one and only one. i made an effortto learn everything i could, everything i could because i said, i really, really wanteda job out of college. i'm sure you smart kids probably have some jobs lined up already outthere. i know some of you. but i followed reporters around the news room. i pretty muchstopped them. i asked them questions driving
in the back of the crew cars. if they allowedme i sat next to them at their desk to find out what it is they really do to get theirwork done. i sat in the editing booths. i logged tons of video, anything i could doso i wouldn't have to sit and answer phones at work.my best move, though, i think was making friends with the production assistants. these areentry level workers who did anything and everything they needed to get the news on the air thenthey were nice enough, some of them anyway, nice enough to teach me how to do their jobso when a production assistant job opened up at the station i saw my ticket into thebusiness. i basically trained for the job already, so instead of a job after college,i took a job while i was in college. seemed
really crazy at the time, probably still iscrazy. so here i was a senior, trying to graduate,taking classes at 8:00 a.m., and then high tailing it from college park to northwestwashington to work until 11:30 p.m. don't ask me how i studied for class. i did. i madeit. but when i got to work the producers would yell at me, literally yell at me. do you knowwhat you're doing? and a lot of times i didn't know what i was doing. i didn't know whati was doing. and i should also mention that this job paid between 7 and $8 an hour, yes.and while i had the designs of working on some hard-hitting news stories, instead arolled a teleprompter and i ripped scripts. now, we had to do this back in the day. nowwe have separate printers that print scripts
on the different color papers and all youhave to do is take the scripts and bring them to different people who are part of the newsteam, but back in the day this is what i tell the pas, they have it so easy. all the paperwas printed in one like accordion, all the colors, accordion bundle, and it was any jobthen to rip the scripts, rip them and collate them. it was literally death by a thousandpaper cuts. one time i had to get dry ice for the weathercenter for halloween to make it spooky and one time i had to pick up dry cleaning. soobviously this was not the job in broadcast i had in mind for myself, but i really hadno choice but to get after it, get after it, because i knew that i wanted to move forward.i knew i wanted to get that next job, and
you have to work your butt off, have to workyour butt off, and you can't be above taking those lesser jobs in order to get to the greaterones, those entry-level positions or the stepping stones that will prepare you for the biggerand better jobs out there, if you are willing to work hard. they will give you, and theywill offer you the fortitude and the perseverance to put you on the right path for your careerand for your life. in order to get your dream job you have to be willing to do some nightmarishwork along the way. i put in a lot of extra work, put the band-aids on my fingers, seizedevery opportunity to practice my stand-ups, improve my writing, learn to produce stories.i was a production assistant for one year, just one year, and then i was selected tobe a reporter trainee and then i did that
for just another -- one year before i washired to be a reporter. i was doing my first live report in washington, d.c.i wish i could tell you that i was an instant star, that i had it from the start of my careerand that all the tv executives instantly recognized my on-camera presence and my charisma rightaway and they all fought to put me on the anchor desk. no, the truth is i kind of sucked.when i started. no, you can't say that word at home, guys. (laughter) i made a lot ofmistakes, and mercifully there was no youtube to record my bloopers in perpetuity back then.thank goodness. but this is why, though, i believe that hard work trumps talent.i want to tell you about one of the first breaking news stories i did as a budding reporter.it was about a missing 3-year-old boy. he
was eventually found safe. but i will neverforget this child's name, not because the story left such an impression on me. remember,i wasn't much older than you guys are now, and i wasn't a mom yet. missing toddler headlineshave whole new meaning for me now, of course, but the boy's name was lamar arnold. and hehappened to disappear during an election season. and during this time senator lamar alexanderwas running to be the republican nominee for president. so can you guess what i did onlive television? yes. in my live report i kept referring to 3-year-old missing lamaralexander. (laughter) again and again and again. it was a simple error, right? arnold-- they both even start with a. oh! but it was glaring one and it was one that taughtmy i would have to work hard at every point
in my career.i finally landed this job i wanted on the air in washington, d.c. but my work was justbeginning. i've come a lange way since that report on lamar arnold. i have made many mistakesin between, still make mistake and i know i will continue to make mistakes. i don'texpect that i will call anyone by the wrong name, knock on wood, this happens to be wood,thank you very much. but i'm still working hard to become a better journalist, a betterstoryteller, a better communicator, every morning for every show and for every story.i know that i can do better. there is always room for improvement and spaceto do more with what you have. your career will be better for it and so will the journeythat gets through. as you can see from my
own experience, just because you have thepassion to do something doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be good at it right away.remember, again, hard work trumps talent. build your talent. develop it. hone it throughhard work. i mean, really, because besides beyonce, who's born a star? maybe brian williams,but that's, you know -- i have a thing for brian williams, nbc.so in these next years while you are building your work experience and considering yourcareer paths, don't forget to work on your character. that is my next very importantpoint. we know you're all smart. we all know that you're resourceful. we know that youare marketable. you are from maryland. >> yeah!>> yeah. yeah. i love this, keeping my kids
entertained, but remember, don't be a jerk.remember to be kind, and i say this not just because you'll learn -- you'll learn thisworld is indeed small and maybe your intern will become your next boss. but i encourageyou to be introspective and to have gratitude and to give back and to check yourself soyou can become the best version of yourself possible. i love my job for so many reasonsbut when people asked me why i wanted to pursue journalism i always go back to the storytellingbecause i have the great pleasure of hearing compelling stories from people from all walksof life, jimmy fallon, and share them with others and maybe improve their lives in theprocess. but the interview that has stayed with meover the years with us with a woman who was
not famous, but extraordinary in her own rightfor not what she accomplished but for more because of what she taught me about her character.at the age of 80 she received her degree from gallaudet university, and she spoke to methrough sign language, a sign language interpreter. but she spoke to me so freely that i reallydidn't feel like we had any boundaries between us, and she was so open and i could reallyread the joy in her eyes and her face. she told me that when she graduated from highschool her teachers told her she was one of the smartest kids in the school, but at thetime gallaudet was the only college for deaf students and it would not admit african-americans.she was crushed. she went to work on a farm instead.more than 60 years, 60 years later she received
her diploma, and i was fortunate enough tosit down with her that day to talk to her and hear her story. i asked her if she feltany anger or bitterness for the years that she could have spent learning in the classroominstead of working or for what she could have pursued if she had gone to college at an earlierage. she told me that she worked, she worked to let go of the hurt and sadness so thatshe could live her life fully without anything holding her back. it didn't happen right away.she was 80 after all, she told me. but instead of anger and fear and bitterness and regret,she chose gratitude. she chose love and selflessness and joy. she didn't go to college, so shehelped children in her small town with their schoolwork and encouraged them to go to college.she derived her joy from serving others. the
decades between her high school graduationand her eventual college graduation were sweet, she said, sweet, not because she accumulatedwealth or status but because she cultivated experiences and relationships. she told methat receiving her diploma was just the cherry on top of a good life she had already lived.i could see that she was truly happy that day. she was so beautiful.i always hoped that i could achieve that kind of inner light that would make me beam likeshe did that day. i wish that for you as well, to live a life full of gratitude and joy andto share that fulfillment with those around you. in the next leg of your journey workhard. get after that good life. work hard in every endeavor and work hard to build yourcharacter. your life's outcome will be determined
by what you put into it, and i am confidentthat as university of maryland graduates your hard work will produce meaningful results.thank you so much and congratulations. (cheers and applause).now we're going to take a selfie. (applause).we said we'd take a selfie. come on, louis. didn't happen if we didn't take a picture.>> dr. loh: thank you, eun. >> eun yang: thank you.(applause) >> dr. loh: thank you, again, ms. yang, forthat inspiring and entertaining address, even without a teleprompter that's very impressive.it was so good i may actually set my alarm for 4:15 on monday morning to catch when youcome on the air. i just finished final exams
and i doubt that's going to happen. to helpyou remember this occasion i would like to present to you with a gift on behalf of thegraduating class. >> eun yang: thank you so much. thank you.(applause). >> dr. loh: thank you for that wonderful address.would you like to hear what the gift is? >> eun yang: oh, sure! sure!>> dr. loh: i'd like to know. (laughter). >> eun yang: christmas early. you look likekids. i can see -- >> dr. loh: yes. open it.>> eun yang: woo! >> dr. loh: oh, wow, that's neat.>> eun yang: do you know red is my favorite color. (laughter).>> dr. loh: okay. well, thank you again for
--(applause). -- a wonderful commencement speech. now, i'dlike to call on ms. nicole pollard, president of the university of maryland alumni associationto welcome our graduates into the ranks of the alumni association. you should know thatunlike me nicole is a real lawyer. she serves as an attorney for the american federationof state, county and municipal employees. now, me, i am a public interest lawyer. itmeans that it is in the public interest that i do not practice law. (laughter).>> nicole pollard: hello, my sorority sisters. (laughter) thank you, president loh. goodevening. it is an honor for me to be here today on behalf of the alumni association'sboard of governors to officially welcome you,
the class of 2014 into the maryland alumnifamily. beginning today and for the rest of your life you will be part of an amazing networkof individuals, 340,000 strong. terps are fearless. we have gone on to launch hugelysuccessful companies, make ground-breaking discoveries and rise to the highest levelsof public service. we are making a difference around the world. michael armani and davidjones met in a biology class ten years ago. they are now bringing advanced technologyto the masses as designers of the micro, one of the first consumer friendly 3d printers.tiffany williams, who earned her master's in community planning in maryland in 2008is now the executive director for teach america in detroit, work to go rejuvenate that citythrough the power of education. and brooks
gabel, who received her ba in marketing lastspring, has launched justlikeyou.org, a free and anonymous social network for people lookingto talk about coming out as a sexual or gender minority. michael david tiffany and brooksare just a few examples of fearless university of maryland alumni who are making a differenceacross the country and around the world. you are about to go out into that world, whetherto join the workforce, obtain a advanced degree, create the next big idea, serve our countryin the armed services, you will be a living, breathing testament of a value of a marylanddegree. you can ensure that its value continues to appreciate by remaining engaged in marylandand serving as mentors, volunteers, philanthropists, advocates and, yes, big fans.your relationship with the university of maryland
does not end today. it's a lifelong when youbecome a member of the alumni association. the alumni association serves to enrich professionaland personal lives through continuous learning, networking, recreation and keeping you connectedto the university. you can receive the benefits of this amazing network by visiting us atalumni.umd.edu and joining as a member. as you leave here today you will carry with youthe proud legacy associated with being a terrapin. there is no doubt that we are fearless andthat we maintain the highest levels of excellence in everything that we do. go out into theworld, take it by charge and by let everyone know that you're a terp. congratulations,class of 2014. go terps! (cheers and applause).>> dr. loh: thank you, nicole, and thank you
for your service as president of the alumniassociation, all 300,000 strong, and correct me if i'm wrong, they get free -- the membershipis free the first year. is that correct? >> yes.>> dr. loh: yes. so please sign up to become a member of the alumni association and stayin touch. it doesn't cost you a penny the first year. (laughter) the late supreme courtjustice thurgood marshall said, quote, "none of us got to where we are solely by pullingourselves up by our own bootstraps." you graduates are talented, accomplished and dedicated,and we are very proud of you, but talented, accomplished and dedicated as you are, youare not alone in your accomplishments. somebody bent down. somebody helped you put on yourboots. somebody taught you how to tie them,
and somebody loved you, encouraged you, andbelieved in you. and because of that somebody, father, mother, spouse, relatives, friend,you are here today. so i would like to ask all these somebodies, parents, relatives,friends, to please stand. (cheers and applause).and when the bands plays a salute i want our graduates to stand and cheer them on. theband! (music playing)>> dr. loh: all right. so we have finally come to the moment you've been waiting for,the presentation of degrees, and i'm going to ask each of the deans to come forward oneat a time, introduce themselves and introduce your college. and of course i invite the graduatesto stand up and cheer when your college is
announced.so we begin with dean cheng-i wei. >> cheng wei: i'm dean cheng wei and i'm proudto present the candidate from the college of agriculture and natural resources.(cheers and applause). this candidate will help us dealing with thenutrition and the food production for the population in year 2050. they will also helpus to protect our beautiful environment, and help us maintain the sustainability of thenature resources. congratulations. (cheers and applause).>> david cronrath: good evening. i'm dean david cronrath, dean of the school of architecture,planning and preservation. it gives me great privilege to introduce the candidates, thereal estate developers who see paradise even
in winter, the planners who protect the public'sinterest and also make sure that all reindeer flight paths are clear (laughter), the architectswho make every christmas look like a white christmas, and finally the preservationistswho know the true dimension of all chimneys so that old saint nick can come down and alsogo up. the graduates! (cheers and applause).>> bonnie thornton dill: good evening. i'm bonnie thornton dill, professor of women'sstudies and dean of the college of arts and humanities.(cheers and applause). graduates from the college of arts and humanities,affectionately known as arhu, are creative innovator and global problem solvers. theyhave the skills and talents employers in the
21st century seek. they write well, they readcritically, they listen actively, they communicate effectively and think creatively. they areculturally aware and linguistically adept. they are world-wise. so graduates, you maybe standing already but i don't know if you all are, so if you are arhu, please standand give yourself a big round of applause and congratulations.(applause). >> gregory ball: my name is gregory ball.i'm professor of psychology and the dean of the college of behavioral and social sciences-- (cheers and applause).-- for three whole months. i've been enjoying my new job immensely, and the best thing aboutmy job are the students. the students at bsos,
we call it, are addressing some of the mostdifficult problems facing science today. and you might wonder what those problems are.you're thinking, oh, rocket science, particle physics. why humans do what they do, how theydo it, and what are we going to do about it. so many of the challenges facing our worldtoday have to do with behavior and people's attitudes and their understanding of the worldand how they engage it. and in our college we have students attacking these problems,from the perspective of psychology, sociology, to criminology as well as economics and politicalscience. (cheers and applause).these students all have one thing in common: they pursue excellence in order to be thesolution. so graduates of bsos, please stand
and accept my applause.(applause). >> alex triantis: good evening. i'm alex triantis,dean of the robert h. smith school of business. (cheers and applause).will the graduates of the robert h. smith school of business stand up?(cheers and applause). these are graduates in majors including accounting,finance, marketing, information systems, international business, supply chain management and operationsmanagement. and throughout their years here they have learned a great deal about business,but they have also greatly honed their critical thinking skills and developed their entrepreneurialmind-set as well as a great global mind-set. they will be solving the unknown complex businessproblems of the future and in short order
will be leading businesses and other organizationsfor the greater good of society. congratulations, smith school graduates.(cheers and applause). >> jayanth banavar: good evening, everybody.i am jayanth banavar, a critical physicist and the dean of computer and mathematicalsciences. (cheers and applause).the home of ideas that matter. standing in front of us (laughter) are our graduates whowill change the world, our graduates will heal the sick and will save lives. they willhave a deep understanding of the physical world, of a planet earth and of our amazinguniverse, and they will be the drivers of the technological innovations of tomorrow.congratulations, graduates.
(cheers and applause).>> donna wiseman: good evening, everyone. i'm donna wiseman and i started my careeras an elementary teacher but i became a professor and researcher in children's literacy development,and now i am the proud dean of our college of education.(cheers and applause). our college of education's alumni, they'reteachers, counselors, psychologists, school administrators, human development specialistsand educational researchers. they positively motivate, support and encourage children,young people and adults to learn, innovate, create and contribute to our society in somany ways. i daresay there's not a one of you out here that hasn't been impacted byan educator. educators are the foundational
part of our future and the -- and contributeto the continued growth of our state and nation and indeed the world. that's why i am so proudto introduce to you the college of education's 2014 winter graduates.(cheers and applause). >> darryll pines: good evening, everyone.my name is darryll pines and i am a true rocket scientist. (laughter) and i'm also the prouddean of the a. james clark school of engineering. will the graduates of the a. james clark schoolof engineering rise? (cheers and applause).in the words of the great aerospace engineer, theodore von karman, scientists study theworld as it is, but engineers create a world that has never been. to the graduates of theclark school, go out there and create a school
that has never been, engineer a better world.thank you. congratulations. (cheers and applause).>> jane clark: i'm jane clark. i'm the dean --(cheers and applause). -- of the school of public health. i'm a professorof kinesiology. i leave you with one thought at the end of this day, besides the fact thatour graduates will help the world be a healthier place for all. we will prevent you from goingto the doctor because it's about the health of the population. we have community health.we have kinesiology, family science, environmental health, epidemiology, biostatistics and healthservices administration, all in the school. i leave you with one thought, especially aswe come to the close of this. sitting is the
new smoking. (laughter) the leading causeof death -- third leading cause used to be smoking. (laughter) it's now your sedentarylifestyle. go school of public health. we will change the world!(cheers and applause). >> jennifer preece: good evening, everybody.my name is jennifer preece. i'm a specialist in on-line communities and human computerinteraction and various other things concerned with information, and it's my pleasure tobe the dean of the college of information studies, maryland's information school orischool for short. and you've already heard a lot about libraries from kelsey hughes,and i hope kelsey has maryland's ischool on her list. she's nodding, of the places tocome and do her graduate work, because we're
a graduate-only school. we have a tremendousprogram in library science. (laughter) oh, what did i say. we also have a wonderful programin other information areas, particularly information management. and these are the graduates whowill interpret the world that is yet to be that the engineers will create and explainthe human behavior that happens there. they're already doing this with things like twitterand facebook and many other types of technology, and of course cybersecurity. so we're a graduate-onlyschool. there's only a few master's students compared with the huge sea of undergraduates,but you're very precious and congratulations to all of you. and please make a lot of noiseand wave. (laughter). (cheers and applause).>> lucy dalglish: good evening. i'm lucy dalglish.
i am a journalist.(cheers and applause). i am a journalist and a lawyer and i'm proudto be the dean of the philip merrill college of journalism. our graduates major in eithermulti-platform or broadcast journalism. they go on to gather information that all of youneed to participate in our society and to be -- help everyone become citizens of theworld. this is the philip merrill college of maryland's graduates, and i have to saytonight we are just bursting with pride to have graduates kelsey hughes and eun yangon the stage as our commencement speakers. thank you.(applause). >> robert orr: good evening. i'm robert orr,the dean of the school of public policy. could
i ask our graduates to stand, please? publicpolicy graduates serve the public good. they do so by creating organizations to end hungerhere in pg county. they do so in annapolis. they do so in the halls of congress and theydo so on the front lines of fighting climate change. (laughter) we try to ensure that publicpolicy graduates work cooperatively, but we also get a little competitive sometimes. soi'm happy to say that we've recently had five of our graduates awarded the prestigious presidentialmanagement fellowship, which is more than any other school of public policy in the unitedstates. (cheers and applause).and in this cathedral of basketball let me say it's more than duke university has everproduced. (laughter).
(applause).graduates, go forth, do good and serve the public good. i salute you.(applause). >> charles caramello: good evening, my nameis charles caramello. i'm a literary scholar and dean of the graduate school. as a researchand land-grant university our mission is to produce both new and useful knowledge, andto prepare the next generation of knowledge producers. our doctoral graduates have allcreated original knowledge in their disciplines and are now the experts from whom other scholarsand researchers cite. our master's graduates as the name suggests have master the bodyof knowledge in their disciplines and now in many professional fields are now preparedto be leaders. would the doctoral graduates
of the university please stand? all of thecolleges. (cheers and applause).and would the master's graduates please join congratulations to all of you.>> donna hamilton: we're getting close to the end. i'm donna hamilton. my academic field-- i'm a scholar in shakespeare and 16th century english literature. but since -- since 2003i have had the great honor of being the dean for undergraduate studies and so i've hadthe opportunity to serve all the undergraduate students at the university of maryland. inmy -- in my portfolio -- (laughter) -- one of the very special things we have is a smallprogram that allows students to create their own majors. with about 130 majors possibleat the university of maryland, you would think
no one would have to create an individualmajor, but there are people here who have a great sense of unease and anxiety and dissatisfaction.their appetite is very large for something unique. they're very persistent and creative,and they want something else. and i congratulate those students. every year we have a smallbut strong cohort of students who create their own majors and go on to do extraordinary things.we have four this winter. are they here? if you are here, would you stand? and whetheryou are here or not we want to congratulate you.(cheers and applause). >> patricia steele: i think i must be theend. i'm pat steele, dean of libraries, and i'm pleased that libraries were so much ofa theme this evening. so on behalf of the
libraries i'm going to claim all of you foryour success, because we were part of that. so if you used the libraries, or knew youshould have, stand up. (laughter) (cheers and applause).thank you. (applause).>> dr. loh: thank you, and i'm mindful, dean clark, that sitting is the new smoking, andlooking at my watch we are making good time. (laughter) this will be perhaps the shortestgraduation in the four or five years i've been here. (cheering) so we take care of ourstudents' health and the health of all of their friends and family members. (laughter)so thank you, deans. it's great to see the energy and the enthusiasm of our graduates,and finally the most important moment has
arrived, the moment when you're officiallyauthorized to receive your degrees. so in a moment provost rankin will announcethe dozens of diplomas that will be awarded but for the benefit of friends and familywho are here, maybe i should just take a moment to tell you about the meaning of these diplomas.you see, when you're in high school and you think that you know everything that thereis to know, that's when the high school gives you a diploma. and then you come to college,and then you realize, it dawns upon you how much -- how little you know and how much moreyou need to learn. and when that realization arrives you have earned a bachelor's degree.but if you hang around a little bit longer, you go to graduate school, and it furtherdawns upon you that you know so little but
that your professors know so little as well.(laughter) that's when the university bestows upon you the ph.d. (laughter) because yousee, what is education but the progressive discovery of our own ignorance. as the poetyeats said, "education is not the filling of a pail, it's the igniting of a flame."it is the igniting of a passion for learning that will last a lifetime. if we have doneour jobs right and our wonderful faculty who are here, i know they have done their jobsright, you will be a learner for life. and so i'm about to call provost rankin tocome forward and present the candidates for the degrees, but i'm just curious, and i'maddressing this not just to the faculty and the students but to the parents, the friends,the families who are here, because i'm going
to summon the provost. how many of you hereknow what a provost is? raise your arms? there's a few hands. the provost is the chief academicofficer. but i thought you might be interested to know the historical origins of that term.i am told that the word "provost" first entered the english language around 1600 when williamshakespeare in measure for measure talked about a provost. back in those days a provostwas the chief guardian of a prison. (laughter) so somehow we have evolved over time so thatthe provost at the university is the chief academic officer. i don't know what's thesignificance of that, but i thought i would share with you that bit of historical information.(laughter) so provost rankin, would you please come forward?(applause).
>> provost rankin: thank you, president loh.i want to congratulate all you inmates (laughter) now that you're about to be released. (laughter)so, mr. president, in accordance with the recommendation of the faculties of the schoolsand colleges, and in recognition of the successful completion of all degree requirements, i requestthat you confer upon these inmates -- candidates (laughter) the degrees of bachelor of arts,bachelor of landscape architecture, bachelor of music, bachelor of music education, bachelorof science, master of applied anthropology, master of architecture, master of art, masterof business administration, master of chemical and life sciences, master of community planning,master of education, master of engineering, master of engineering and public policy, masterof finance, master of fine arts, master of
health administration, master of historicpreservation, master of information management, master of journalism, master of landscapearchitecture, master of library science, master of music, master of professional studies,master of public health, master of public management, master of public policy, masterof real estate development, master of science, doctor of audiology, doctor of education,doctor of musical arts, and doctor of philosophy, as appropriate in each case. will all candidatesfor degrees please stand. congratulations, graduates.(applause). >> dr. loh: i am pleased to accept the faculty'srecommendation under the authority granted by the state of maryland to the board of regentsof the university system of maryland, and
by the authority the board has delegated tome, i am delighted to confer upon you the candidates the degrees as appropriate in eachcase. please join me in one more rounds of applause for our graduates.(cheers and applause). now i would like to ask all the graduatingseniors on the platform to please come here and lead our graduates in the long-standingtradition that recognizes your receipt of degrees.>> all right. please join us as we move our tassels from the right to the left. can iget a drum roll, please? (music playing).(drum roll) on the count of three please follow me and the tassels switch from the right tothe left. one, two, three!
(cheers and applause).>> dr. loh: thank you. you may be seated. now, so that everybody can share in the celebration,i've got to ask this question to the family and relatives and friends who are here. howmany of you attended the university of maryland? raise your arms.(cheers and applause). oh! i would estimate, what, about 20, 25%?well, what do we do about the rest of you? (laughter) well, by the authority delegatedto me, i hereby confer upon you today the title of honorary terp. congratulations. (laughter).(cheers and applause). (laughter).>> dr. loh: in a moment amy broadbent and craig potter and the wind ensemble will leadus all in the singing of the alma mater and
the words can be found on page 5 of your program.but before we do so, i thought i might walk you through the words of the alma mater inmy own fashion, which means that when i raise my arm, i want you all to yell so loudly thatyou'll raise the roof of xfinity center. i want you to yell maryland! all right? heregoes. hail alma mater, hail to thee. >> maryland!>>> steadfast in loyalty, we stand for -- >> maryland!>> dr. loh: love for the black and gold, deep in our hearts we hold.>> maryland! >> dr. loh: singing thy praise forever, throughout-- >> maryland!>> dr. loh: go terps, go!
(cheers and applause).>> dr. loh: please stand for the singing of the alma mater.(music playing). (singing).hail alma mater, hail to thee maryland. (singing).steadfast in loyalty, we for thee we stand. love for the black and gold.deep in our hearts we hold. singing thy praise forever.throughout the land. (cheers and applause).>> go terps! >> dr. loh: please be seated. so we come tothe end of the 2014 december commencement exercises, making record time, an hour and30 minutes, shorter than a regular feature
movie. (laughter) i will ask the audienceto please remain seated until the faculty and the platform party have recessed. andof course you know that the smaller, the more intimate commencement exercises held by differentdepartments and colleges will take place, i believe tomorrow, at which time you willhave your opportunity to walk across the stage, shake hands with the dean, the departmentchair, and receive your diploma -- actually it's a piece of paper. it's not the actualdiploma until you get your final grades. (laughter) but it's a wonderful event, and -- and unfortunatelybecause of the size of commencement, when the whole university is here we cannot dothat. so i thought -- and i'm reminded, when i was a dean, that was my favorite part, youknow, to stand there and shake the hands of
each graduate. so i was an alumni event afew years ago, and this graduate comes up to me and says, "dean loh, do you rememberme? you shook my hand and gave me my diploma and you whispered some words in my ear wheni was walking across that stage. and those words have been the secret to my success inlife." "wow," i said. (laughter) "what did i say?"(laughter). "move along, move along." (laughter).well, so what i'd like to offer you is at the pavilion, that's the small gym where youassembled. i'm going to be there, and i'll be honored to shake your hand, take a selfie,if you want, and -- and i don't know if you can see this, give you a little baby turtlepen.
(cheers and applause).what is special about this 93-cent -- 93-cent pen is that you cannot buy it anywhere. youcan only get it from me. (laughter) which means it is priceless. (laughter) and i urgeyou, please keep it. don't do what some enterprising students have done since i started givingthem away about two months ago or three months ago. you may have seen them on ebay. (laughter)last time i looked they were going for $18. (laughter) but if you save them, in 20, 30years just think how much they will be worth. (laughter).and i know some of you have commented favorably on my bow tie. i just want to let you know,i never wear bow ties, but i just got this as a present three days ago, from a student.i was visiting prince frederick hall, and
she came up to me and gave me this bow tie.so i'm a walking commercial for this bow tie because in her spare time she has recruitedfour other undergraduate students to work for her to make bow ties. (laughter) and youcan find her on umd bows. (laughter) so this is my walking commercial for her.so your graduation then marks the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new chapter.you are going into the future. you are the future. you are the best hope our societyhas for tomorrow. and i want to bid you farewell, in part by quoting the immortal words of thatvenerable philosopher dr. seuss, who wrote for children of all ages. "you have brainsin your head. you have feet in your shoes. you can steer yourself in any direction youchoose. you are now on your own. you know
what you know. you decide where to go."sadly it's true, hangups can happen to you. there will be times when you mix up your rightfoot with your left and your arms get sore and your sneakers leak. but always remember,you are a terp. (laughter) for those of who don't know, the terrapin is that unique creaturethat lives in chesapeake bay, and that little adorable turtle has a rather unique habit:it can only go forward. it doesn't go back. and how does that turtle go forward? by stickingits neck out and taking one step at a time. that is the terp attitude.(applause). that's the terp can-do mind-set. it's calledhutzpah. it's called moxy, it's called audacity. you are a terp. you think big, you aim high,you never give up, you never give in. you
move forward, sticking your neck out one stepat a time. this is why generations of terps lead lives of accomplishment, success andservice. will you succeed? dr. seuss says you will indeed, 98 3/4 percentage guaranteed.(laughter) in my opinion you have already, you are a terp.so go forth. your mountain is waiting. get on your way. god bless you and godspeed.(cheers and applause). (music playing).