Convocation Speech to the School of Public Programs December 2008

//note: I delivered the following address to the ASU School of Public Programs graduating class on 12/18/2008.//

Thank you. I’d like to thank Debra Friedman, the faculty and staff of the School of Public Programs, the parents and friends who have gathered here proudly to celebrate with you, and of course, you, the School of Public Programs graduation class.

I’m not even going to try to describe how honored and humbled I am to be standing in front of you this afternoon. I can only express that as a first generation American raised by a single mother in New York City, this is by far, the greatest honor and trust anyone has ever bestowed on me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this memorable opportunity. Now, let’s all join Dr. Friedman and cross our fingers that I actually say something worthwhile!

We are living in interesting times, to say the least. On the dawn of a historic transition of presidential power, and as we prepare to swear in this great nation’s first person of color, we face some of the most challenging issues our nation has ever faced. Make no mistake about it; even as we turn the page on this new chapter of American history with promise and hope, the road ahead is littered with uncertainty and doubt.

In the last few months, many American families have had the locks changed on what they though was the final chapter of their American dream. They were forced from their homes taking only with them meaningless material possessions, forced to leave behind their memories, their haven, their home.

In the last few months, millions of Americans have lost their jobs, adding to the record number of Americans who have been left out in the employee parking lot, not because of their performance, but simply because their organizations couldn’t keep them any longer.

In just the last few months, our once great American corporations had to go to the federal government and ask for a bailout, admitting to the world that maybe American business doesn’t always have the answer or the right way of doing things or were even mature enough to regulate themselves.


At the same time, nearly 47 Million Americans wake up everyday without health insurance.

The United States continues to fall in education standards, leaving our children at a considerable disadvantage in this global economy.

Our nation’s debt continues to climb at an astonishing rate of more than 3 Billion dollars a day, raising concerns for how we will pay for all the programs we so desperately need.

Yes, our nation faces critical issues and obstacles. In trying to find a summary that best describes the essence of what we face as a nation, I found the following take on our current situation. I quote:

“In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.

More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.”

Sums it up pretty good doesn’t it? Well it is from the speech made by Franklin D. Roosevelt in his Inaugural Address on March 4, 1933, more than 70 years ago.

The point is that we have been here before. We have faced fierce challenges as a nation before and we have prevailed before. So as we face the darkness of the current state of the nation, I know we will meet the challenges head on and I have no doubt that we will prevail.

Why so confident? Well, that’s easy. It is because I get to stand here, in front of you the graduating class of the School of Public Programs at Arizona State University. I know that the answers to many of the questions we face are in your heads. You are the difference in the world and the ones who will help us solve many of the problems we face. You are entering these troubling times with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to design, create, and implement the solutions we need today! You will do things differently. You will be innovative. You will be creative. You will use your passion and intelligence to change the world!

I was sitting in the same seat you are now when I graduated with my Master’s in Public Administration from ASU, oh so many years ago. I can tell you that as a 25 year old, I was ready to take on the world and I have yet to lose that passion. Since then, I went to New York and made an impact on welfare reform, I’ve consulted with government organizations, and although I now work in the “private sector,” I continue to be involved in the social sector, as part of advisory boards to a number of colleges, non profits, and social sector initiatives. I continue to teach in the School of Public Programs, as some of you had to suffer through, and I will continue to find ways to try to change the world! I have great plans for non-profits I want to start, international efforts I want to support, and political figures I want to advise. I know that many of you have that same passion and I’m excited to see where it takes you.

The first lesson I have learned and want to leave you with is simply this. Live your life with purpose.

I was born in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. I am the child of an immigrant. A single mom raised me. Statistically speaking, I shouldn’t be here talking to you today. According to these statistics, I was supposed to be a drug dealer, a prison inmate, a high school drop out, or dead at a young age, the fate of many people I knew.

The reason I am here today is because I have always believed I had a purpose. I believe I am here for a reason. I made decisions based on the belief that I had a purpose to fulfill, and I have never let anything, especially statistics; get in the way of that purpose.

Remember, there is no one like you. So I encourage you to forget statistics and believe in yourself! Nothing will ever stop you if you believe in yourself and your purpose in life.

So I ask you: What do you really want to do? What do you really want to be? Where do you really want to go?

And as you think about those questions remember, you have the same number of hours in a day that John Adams had, Mother Teresa had, Martin Luther King Jr. had, and anyone else you look up to had. What are you going to do with your 24?

In the same spirit of living your life with purpose, I encourage you to think big and never be satisfied.

So I survived the statistics, I never became a drug dealer or ended up in prison, but that wasn’t good enough for me. I wanted to create my own statistics. I wanted to be part of the number of people from Hell’s Kitchen who went to college, so I did that. I wanted to be part of the number of people who earned a Master’s degree, so I did that. I wanted to be part number of people who grew up the way I did and worked for Accenture, and Charles Schwab, and now Google and I did that. By no means am I done!

Use this mentality in your day-to-day work. Are you thinking big enough?

In my innovation class I ask the question, what do you think is the most important characteristic of being innovative? I always get back the same responses: brilliant, resilient, smart, energetic, etc.

Although all those are possible characteristics, the answer I am looking for is, someone who doesn’t care what you think. They are big thinkers and will not let negativity pull them down. Their passion and commitment to thinking big is stronger than that.

You will always face naysayers. They told the Wright brothers that a vehicle that was heavier than air couldn't fly. They said that no human could ever run a mile in under 4 minutes. They told Elvis Presley that he would never make it as a rock star, and they even told Michael Jordon he couldn’t play basketball.

What do they say about you? What will they say about your ideas? Are you thinking big enough?

In addition to living life with purpose, and thinking big, you have to change the world!

Change the world with your crazy ideas, by trusting your gut feeling.

From the time we are in grade school, we are taught to think that the best answers and ideas are in books or come from someone else. We all know that’s not true. We know the best answers are found on Google! Ok, that’s not true either, what the world needs from you is original thoughts and ideas. Those ideas are in each and every one of you!

I started this afternoon by describing all the terrible circumstances our country faces. I am not afraid, in fact, I am excited and full of hope to see how we can change and recreate our broken world. We are at a critical time, and we will prevail, we will prevail because of you.

The HOPE America has been talking about, the anticipation of CHANGE that is firing up the country and the world, is coming from you, from your crazy ideas, from your passion, from your actions. It is up to you to determine how the world will change; in your mind are solutions, the answers, and the new ideas that will shape the new era of America, ideas that will shape the world.

You know, the greatest day of your life isn’t your birthday, or the day you get married, or even when your children are born. The greatest day of your life is the day you realize that this is YOUR life that you own it and control it. The greatest day of your life is when you truly feel that life is an amazing journey and that YOU are responsible for setting it in motion, that you determine what your life’s journey will be like.

So I challenge you to look forward to that day. I challenge you to go places and have adventures. I challenge you to truly make a difference. I challenge you to do what you love and follow your dreams. I challenge you to realize that the only thing that will ever stop you is you.

Congratulations on this tremendous milestone. You should be as proud of yourself as we all are of you. I know you will change the world.

Thank you.