1/6/2023 0 Comments Lil brave 2 string size![]() ![]() But if you will humor this old sailor for just a moment, I have a few suggestions that may help you on your way to a better a world. And while these lessons were learned during my time in the military, I can assure you that it matters not whether you ever served a day in uniform. It matters not your gender, your ethnic or religious background, your orientation or your social status. Well, I am confident that it will look much, much better. If you think it’s hard to change the lives of 10 people - change their lives forever - you’re wrong. I saw it happen every day in Iraq and Afghanistan: A young Army officer makes a decision to go left instead of right down a road in Baghdad and the 10 soldiers in his squad are saved from close-in ambush. In Kandahar province, Afghanistan, a non-commissioned officer from the Female Engagement Team senses something isn’t right and directs the infantry platoon away from a 500-pound IED, saving the lives of a dozen soldiers.īut, if you think about it, not only were these soldiers saved by the decisions of one person, but their children yet unborn were also saved. And their children’s children were saved. Generations were saved by one decision, by one person.īut changing the world can happen anywhere and anyone can do it. So, what starts here can indeed change the world, but the question is - what will the world look like after you change it? Tonight there are almost 8,000 students graduating from UT. That great paragon of analytical rigor, Ask.Com, says that the average American will meet 10,000 people in their lifetime. That’s a lot of folks. But, if every one of you changed the lives of just 10 people - and each one of those folks changed the lives of another 10 people - just 10 - then in five generations - 125 years - the class of 2014 will have changed the lives of 800 million people.Ĩ00 million people - think of it - over twice the population of the United States. Go one more generation and you can change the entire population of the world - eight billion people. The University’s slogan is, “What starts here changes the world.” I have to admit - I kinda like it. “What starts here changes the world.” It’s been almost 37 years to the day that I graduated from UT. I remember a lot of things about that day. I remember I had throbbing headache from a party the night before. I remember I had a serious girlfriend, whom I later married - that’s important to remember by the way - and I remember that I was getting commissioned in the Navy that day.īut of all the things I remember, I don’t have a clue who the commencement speaker was that evening, and I certainly don’t remember anything they said. So, acknowledging that fact, if I can’t make this commencement speech memorable, I will at least try to make it short. President Powers, Provost Fenves, Deans, members of the faculty, family and friends and most importantly, the class of 2014. Congratulations on your achievement. ![]() ![]() ![]() Special Operations Command, at the University-wide Commencement at The University of Texas at Austin on May 17: The following are the remarks by Naval Adm. ![]()
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