Delaware Congressman Mike Castle, a 1961 graduate of Hamilton College, delivered the College's commencement address on Sunday, May 23. His address was titled "You Can Fly, You Can Touch the Sky." The complete text follows:
President Stewart, Dean Paris, members of the faculty, board of trustees, distinguished guests, honorary degree recipients, my friend and classmate Chairman Stuart Scott, Professor Emeritus Sid Wertimer who was my adviser when I was at Hamilton and who still keeps going, Family and Friends, Greetings. And most of all to the Graduating Class of 2004, Greetings and Congratulations.
You made it to your graduation day and it is a time for celebration! Or more precisely, you are graduating from Hamilton College and that is reason for GREAT CELEBRATION. I would also like to specially recognize your valedictorian, salutatorian, Phi Beta Kappa graduates, those who are graduating Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude and Summa Cum Laude and those who like me graduated with the help of the "Laude"! Would each of you in the Class of 2004 join me in thanking those who made it possible for you to be here today -- your family and the Hamilton faculty and administration by rising and giving them a heartfelt ovation.
I am deeply honored to be with all of you today and so happy to be back at Hamilton. Now, let me read your minds a bit.....some are questioning what can some Congressman from Delaware say to help me? And then as an aside, you may be thinking, where is Delaware anyway or how long is this going to take.....the answer to the latter is about 15 minutes. Forty-three years ago, I sat in the Sage Ice Rink with similar thoughts. How could Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater know what I am thinking about my future and what will he say that might help me?
And trust me, I needed a little help as I looked to my future. When I was in your shoes, I hadn't decided if I wanted to attempt to go to law school --which I eventually did in the fall -- not to mention that I wasn't confident that I could even get in. Serving as Governor or Congressman wasn't even on my radar screen. Believe me, if you had queried my class, I would have been voted least likely to enter politics. Now you are faced with a similar decision, or range of decisions, from law school to travel to going to work. Or, you may have made your decisions.....but don't be surprised or consternated if you change your mind later. It's OK any which way. Because what you may not realize in the rapid pace of life decisions at graduation, is that you may be the best-prepared graduates in America to follow whatever paths you choose in life. Let me suggest a few reasons to each of you, why I believe a Hamilton education uniquely prepares you to navigate our world in a time of great change.
When I graduated in 1961, I couldn't imagine all the change that was to come and now looking back on those changes it's hard to imagine life without them. First, to set the stage, I'd like to give you a sense of what people made and what things cost in 1961. Hamilton College tuition was $2150; Minimum wage was $1.15; Average annual income was $5,315; A new house cost $12,550 -- that isn't even enough for a down payment for a house in 2004; A gallon of gas was 27 cents; and a first class stamp cost 4 cents. Oh and by the way, life expectancy was 69.7 years......which tells me I had better wrap up this speech pretty quickly!!!
When we were graduating from Hamilton in 1961, the United States had just retreated from the brink of nuclear war and was dealing with the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs Invasion. At the same time the Berlin Wall was being built dividing Germany -- into effectively 2 nations!
Now, not only is the Berlin Wall a distant memory, the Soviet Union is dismantled -- capitalism, free markets and personal freedom as Alexander Hamilton envisioned it are opening the world to a new economic independence. Yet, we are dealing with an entirely new enemy -- terrorism. The reality that our greatest threat in the 21st Century would be ill-defined enemies, organized by cells and not countries, could not even be perceived back then.
Something that was invented -- but never imagined for personal use in 1961-- was the computer. But back then a computer was the size of a room -- it was the supercomputer known as the "Cray Computer". Bill Gates was only six years old at the time -- seven years away from the beginning of his computer programming days, but many more years from desktops and laptops. Yet, there was a sense that we were heading in that direction. It was hard to imagine that tiny devices known as blackberries and blueberries (no not what you top your Cheerios ....) would be used to link all people and places through a real-time information superhighway called the World Wide Web and the Internet? Or how about E-mail and instant messaging? But you are so used to all of this, it's hard for you to imagine life without them.
Fixed rotary phones were the norm; cell phones that allow you to take and transmit pictures and even the next iteration of phones, which will enable you to watch television in real time, were beyond the scope of even the most ingenious inventors.
On the healthcare front, a disease, which has been responsible for claiming millions of lives throughout the world, was not even heard of in 1961, but since then HIV-AIDS has been devastating. On the other hand, we are saving millions of lives with open-heart surgeries and valve replacements and miracle blockbuster drugs -- medical help which was undiscovered in 1961.
Fast food was just taking off back then, in fact I remember going to my first McDonald's in Utica, New York and reading the sign, "800,000 served". Now with "billions and billions served," fast food isn't the craze, but low carb diets, salads and bunless burgers are.
All of these things that seem so normal to you and so integrated into your everyday lives, were huge changes to my classmates and me. So, what will you experience over your working lifetimes, the next 43 years or so. These are the days of "Globalization," "Macroeconomics" and "24/7 Newscasts." Everyone is looking for the "next big thing" including many of you. Can you predict what that will be? I think that idea is still up for grabs.
We can't predict the world 10 years from now, let alone 43 years from now, but it's fun to try. Robert F. Kennedy said "Some men see things as they are and say, 'Why?' I dream of things that never were and say, 'Why Not?'" So why not look to the future?
In the more certain arena, you will live longer and healthier lives in a global economy with global friendships. Communications will be instantaneous, chronic disease will be substantially reduced or eliminated and America's population will more closely resemble a composite of the world's population.
Broadband will take us places we cannot even imagine. Will we have in person meetings or will telecommuting become the norm? Will we increase our communications efficiencies, but fail to develop deep personal relationships with each other? Your generation will be at the heart of that debate -- deciding whether personal connection or efficiency is more important. What will you choose?
Travel will also continue to take us across borders and continents like never before. Instead of a 20-hour plane ride to Tokyo, we will see planes that "skip" in and out of the atmosphere, significantly reducing the time associated with long flights perhaps to a few hours. For my generation, even going to Europe was somewhat of a stretch, but you will be trading in the Adirondacks and the Jersey Shore for Bali, Australia and the beaches off the southern coast of China.
Another major technological change is the vast miniaturization of technology known as nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is aimed at making goods smaller, faster, lighter, cleaner, more precise and efficient. For example, robots the size of insects will perform reconnaissance and rescue missions considered too dangerous for humans and armored vehicles will become fully automated. We could, in effect, have a war without troops.
Will one of you design these technologies; will one of you be a commander of a manless army? What would you do? What would be your game plan?
Or will one of you find the cure for cancer or Alzheimers' disease? It's quite possible. The debate we are having right now about stem cell research may well produce dramatic results. Researchers will harvest these cells and be able to use them for an infinite number of treatments and cures. Your generation will hold the keys to improved health and longevity. Of course then you may be faced with a new public health fight against a disease whose roots don't even exist, or aren't known, today.
Gone are the days of being locked into one career for the next 43 years. Remember I am from the old school of thought -- pick a career until they throw you out of it. But the jobs you will have in your lifetime will be based on who is hiring and who is not. Where will the jobs be? Healthcare, a service sector, construction? True many of you may still have one career, but you are far more likely to have a multi-faceted career. In your lifetime you could be a teacher, an actor, a pharmacist and a business owner. And of course that might not be in the United States or even Europe, it could be anywhere in the world.
One thing is certain -- some form of these changes I mentioned will occur; others I didn't mention will occur; and, others are beyond what we can possibly perceive on May 23, 2004. But clearly your "forty three years from now" are going to be vastly different than my "forty three years from then."
But you and I, and all of the Hamilton graduates who have come before us and will come after us, have a constant common denominator, which is the greatest preparation possible for whatever unfolds -- and I will give you a hint, its not just Sid Wertimer! It's Our Hamilton College Education. Most people cannot boast of such an outstanding credential. The education you receive at Hamilton is far different, far better and longer lasting than that of students at other schools. It prepares you for your career but it also prepares you for life.
What does every Hamilton graduating class receive that will help you and everyone around you adapt to and be an instigator of change?
A heck of a lot is the answer. I believe Ralph Waldo Emerson was correct when he said: "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." And what lies within us, is a good question to pose here.
Let me start with the obvious and that is the academic excellence, which has filled the last four years of your life. Inquisitive students, challenging classes, professors whose real passion is teaching, families who care -- indeed, a very potent mix!
Within the academic framework, another Hamilton hallmark is communication -- whether pre med, pre law, pre ministry or pre-anything, we are taught how to communicate effectively, efficiently and persuasively to a variety of audiences -- peers, teachers and the community at large. Communication is the root of the work all of you will do, no matter your profession. Of course I probably could have lived without the four-year public speaking requirement, what a frightening experience. But with all of these compounded together its no wonder that US News and World Report ranks our liberal arts program so highly.
Hand in hand with a rigorous academic program is learning the value of old-fashioned hard work -- how you won't be let down if you put your heart and mind to something. It's instilled in us as soon as we step on this campus. I mean what sort of SANE person would deal with these Hamilton winters if they were not committed to old-fashioned hard work? Whether it is work or play, you will plan well, strive hard and succeed. Hard work has solved more problems and produced more inventions than innovation in this world. The demands of Hamilton will sustain you in all facets of life.
But through all this hard work, we Continentals have a real capacity to enjoy life. And I think it's a critical part of living a happy and fulfilled life. At Hamilton we are taught the importance of working hard, being well-rounded AND enjoying life. Yes, you will read more than your peers, have a greater appreciation of music and art, explore the true depths of movies and theater and of course, be involved and probably stay involved in athletics...maybe even politics.... throughout your lives.
But even through all of our fun, we have a strong sense of ethics that guides us. There is great purpose to the Honor Code, which all of us uphold while we are in school, and you will carry that over to your daily personal and professional life. It is a basic sense of fairness and justice. That seems pretty simple, right? Well it's not necessarily that easy. When you get into the real world you will be put into situations and face difficult choices that may be tempting and lucrative and they may even be legal, but they also may be unethical.
We can easily look to the corporate governance problems experienced by WorldCom, Enron and even Martha Stewart. Would a Hamilton graduate mislead investors, misreport corporate earnings or cheat stockholders, I should hope not. In fact, I would hope it would be a Hamilton graduate who brings those people to justice.
Through all of the challenges Hamilton presented to us, we developed the relationships which are as close or closer than family. While most schools have intro classes with hundreds of students, we might have had 20 students. Hamilton truly is a family. You go through 4 years of intense work - and intense fun -- together, as almost brothers and sisters. I have a number of close friendships still -- 43 years later -- that began when I was at Hamilton. I am not sure you can say the same about larger schools like Penn State or Ohio State. And yeah, they may have better football, basketball, tennis and other teams, but at Hamilton you got to participate in these sports and know the athletes representing you. And how about the other areas of activities you participated in such as the Hamilton Choir, the Buffers, Special K, the Spectator, study abroad, HAVOC, working on science research projects, CAB, student assembly or any of some 80 organizations. Hamilton life is participatory and rich and rewarding.
And from that sense of family grows a sense of community later in life. You have the qualities it takes to be a real leader in your community -- whether that is your neighborhood, your social circle, with colleagues at work, or even the PTA at your children's school or government. People will flock to you because of your natural ability to form consensus and put a game plan in motion. And you know what, that is something to be proud of, to embrace fully and to enjoy the rewards of improving the lives of others.
In a few short minutes now you will be Hamilton alumni. All your promise and preparation will now bloom beyond this place. You, my friends, are the best positioned of your generation to be the masters of your destiny -- to control your future and the future of this nation. Limits exist only in your mind.
These lyrics summarize the potential you have best, "I believe I can fly; I believe I can touch the sky." Your generation will instigate future changes. Some graduates will make it happen, some will watch it happen and others will ask "what happened," but not Hamilton graduates you will lead this change. You may not recall your graduation speaker, nor what he said, but you will realize time and time again how this place named Hamilton College has so well prepared you for life. Be proud of that, spread the word of the "College on the Hill" and most of all believe in yourself. Rejoice today, rejoice in life and good luck.
-- by Delaware Congressman Mike Castle '61
