Stephen F. Austin State University 2008 Commencement

Thank you, Baker [Patillo, SFASU President] for that kind introduction and congratulations to you and your team for preparing yet another class to go out and change the world. It is a real honor to be here at Stephen F. Austin, to celebrate this significant milestone in your life.

I remember the day I got my diploma like it was yesterday.  It was a bit of a close call, not because I was in danger of sinking below a 2 point 0- hey, I had a couple tenths of a point to spare- but because my dad had to do a little negotiating on my behalf. One fateful day, he took a phone call from the College Station area code and heard a voice from the Texas A&M Admin office.  It said, “Mr. Perry, we’re afraid to inform you that your son is at risk of not graduating.  That is, unless he pays $300 in parking tickets.” That was in 1972 dollars, so you might imagine my dad wasn’t too happy. Come to think of it, I wouldn’t be too happy today if my daughter racked up that kind of bill, but we worked it out in time for me to walk the stage and get the diploma that I still cherish today.

As you sit here today, you have one foot in the familiar world of college where your job has consisted of attending classes, hitting the books, and trying to push your number of Facebook friends over 500. Today, your other foot is just hitting the ground of a whole new world. Whether you call it adulthood, “the real world,” or graduate school, things are fixin’ to change just a little bit.

First and foremost, no matter what the salesman told you, you won’t have too many more chances to wear that gown you have on. It’s definitely not a good choice for a job interview unless you’re hoping to join a choir or somehow get elected judge. But that cap and gown are serving their purpose today: to identify you as part of a very fortunate group.

You are fortunate to be headed into a Texas economy that may very well be the strongest it has ever been. As you have gone through the process of deciding your next step, you may have gotten a little rattled by the stories of economic doom and social gloom that fill the media. It appears that our national economy is struggling a bit, but you need to know that things in Texas are actually going pretty strong. Since you, or most of you, entered this school four years ago, Texas has added more than one million net new jobs. Over the past year, while your basketball team was winning the Southland Conference and beating Sam Houston state on national television, we were creating jobs at three times the national average. While your cheerleading squad was winning their tenth national championship in the last fourteen years, Texas was named the nation’s top exporting state for the sixth year in a row.

Texas is consistently recognized by publications like Forbes and Chief Executive Magazine as the best state for doing business. Our economic strength comes from an economy that is diversified, generating revenues, investment and jobs from a variety of sectors, from technology to agriculture, from financial services to oil production.

However, the number one strength of our economy, the number one natural resource in our state is our people…people like you. And we need you to be an active part of our state’s future. Now, some of you may have decided to head beyond the borders of our state, to see the world and leave your mark on it. I celebrate that approach. I myself spent the first five years after my graduation flying Air Force C-130s all over the world. But there was never any doubt in my mind that I would ultimately end up back in Texas.

I can tell you from personal experience that there is no better place to live, no better place to raise a family and no better place to pursue your dreams than here in this state. Texas has always been about opportunity, a place where people of vision can work their heads off to achieve their goals. I believe the future of our state is brighter than ever and I hope that bright people like you will be part of it. And your participation is not just on the economic side: our state, our cities and our communities need the infusion of talent, energy and new ideas that you bring to the table. And, as you take your place at that table, you need to ask, what will my legacy be? You need to decide: will I chase success? Or pursue significance?

Here at Stephen F. Austin University, you have benefited from the efforts of a committed group of professors, administrators and regents who have done their best to help you grow. And their efforts built on the foundation laid by your parents as you grew up. Before this weekend draws to a close and Steen Hall disappears from your rear view mirror, I certainly encourage you to look those people in the eye and thank them, and remember that a thank you note is never a bad idea. However, the most meaningful way to thank these people is to carry on their legacy by investing in another person. You can’t avoid the fact that much is expected from those who have been given much.  While that diploma you will receive is important, it’s what you do with that diploma that matters most. A life of meaning and purpose is not guaranteed by a piece of paper.  It is not even guaranteed if you meet society’s definition of success: a good salary, a nice home and a large bank account. I hope you will leave here today inspired to not only live a successful life, but a significant life.

Before you take your first step in the great rat race that awaits you, I ask you to pause for a moment and fast-forward to the end of your life. When your work here on earth is done, what do you want said about your life? Because, like it or not, we are all headed for that final destination. And though we don’t choose the day or the hour of our arrival, we do have some choice as to the course we take. If one is not intentional about that direction, life becomes like a ship lost at sea, pushed in random directions by hidden currents, tossed about by waves and storms, never having a port to call home. And so, to discern your direction, I ask you: What accomplishments will you look back upon? To what causes will you have devoted your time and your soul? What will be your legacy? Will you have lived a life of meaning and purpose? And what will that purpose be?

As you sit here today, you may not be able to answer those questions, and that’s okay. Questions of great significance should not be answered on a whim; but we ignore them at our peril, because they don’t go away. I believe each and every one of us was put on this earth to make a difference. I encourage you to remember that your purpose is important and that your contribution is essential to mankind.

Look at a guy like your president, Baker Patillo. You’ve probably heard him speak from a podium more than once, but it’s even more likely that you met him on one of his evening walks on the campus with his faithful dog, Doches. This is a man who has dedicated himself to improving lives through education, all at the school that tapped his potential as an undergrad more than 40 years ago. He’s a difference maker, not unlike one of your regents, Melvin White. He took his SFA degree and put it to work helping underprivileged people develop work skills that give them independence from a life of poverty and underachievement.

These people are difference makers. These people are proud Lumberjacks. These people are examples of what happens when you decide to live a life of significance. Lives like theirs are what happen when you realize that people are what matter most. So, as you head off into your new jobs, begin a course of graduate study, walk the aisle at your wedding or head off to serve your country, I encourage you to focus on the relationships in your life. You are probably the most-connected generation in our world’s history, with email, text messaging, MySpace pages and blogs, but don’t ever think a few quickly-typed words can replace time spent together.

Think about it: as you look back over your time here, what do you remember more? That “A” on a term paper? Or the time you sat with a friend who just took a phone call about a family member’s passing? What memory from the past four years do you cherish more? Your high score on Scrabulous? Or that service project you did with the guys in your dorm. Those dynamics don’t change and the importance of personal relationships only increases over time. So make the effort to repair strained relationships in your family, tell someone you’re sorry, take those late night calls, make that trip to visit that friend in Dallas. Those times when you invest in others are what will yield the ultimate reward: a life of true connections and an impact far beyond your professional accomplishments. Investing in the lives of people should not be something we make time for, it should be what wakes us up in the morning. 

As you leave here today, I offer you my sincerest congratulations.  We are so proud of you, and we have such high hopes for you and your future.  May you find fulfillment in living a life of great purpose. May you persevere in the face of difficulty, knowing that nothing good ever comes easy. And may you live a life enriched by a love for your fellow man such that no person is ever the same after having known you.

Congratulations. You made it. I pray that God will bless you and that, through you, He will continue to bless the great state of Texas.
Thank you and Go Lumberjacks.