Advice from Flrida's Transportation Leader |
|
Secretary Denver Stutler UCF Commencement Speech May 6, 2006
Good Afternoon Graduates, Parents, Families, Friends and Faculty. Thank you, Dr. Hitt, for that kind introduction. I recall a time when I heard Dr. Hitt tell a story, at the kickoff luncheon for football, about a conversation he had had with the university football coach at the time. He let him know that winning wasn’t everything. Win or lose, we would love him. So the coach clarified, “If I win every game, it’s OK.” Dr. Hitt said, “Yes. We’ll love you.” The coach then said, “If I lose every game, it’s OK.” Dr. Hitt said, “We’ll miss you, but we’ll always love you.” UCF taught me the importance of performance, and I appreciate that. I’m honored to be with you today. Almost twenty years ago I graduated from the College of Engineering at UCF. It was an important day for my folks. I was the first person in my family to graduate from college. It was an important day for my teachers … they thought … finally! And it reminds me of this quip from speech writer Robert Orben. “A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that ‘individuality’ is the key to success.” I’d like to share my keys to success that have shaped the last 20 years of my life – and they have nothing to do with dressing alike. They are: have big dreams for yourself and recognize that things change. Author and poet Carl Sandburg said “Nothing happens unless first we dream.” Today, I want to share what it means to me to have dreams. More importantly, I hope that it inspires you to dream big. Dreams are our hopes for ourselves. They change; they evolve. Our dreams inspire us to be the best we can be. In pursuing our dreams, we create opportunities for ourselves. Our dreams are shaped by the people in our lives, the principles we live by and our experiences. I would have never dreamed one day that I would be the chief of staff to the Governor of the state of Florida, Jeb Bush. A man I admire and am honored to serve - a man who gave me the best guidance ever for giving a speech – be brief and be seated! Advice he got from his mother. Good advice I plan to follow today, but not quite yet! I learned many important principles from the Governor…things like commitments made are commitments kept …the importance of following up and know what your role is and what it is not. As a young person, I hoped my role would be to play football at UCF. When I got here I had to choose a degree. I remember my tenth grade geometry teacher, Mr. Miller, who taught geometry, told me that if we liked what we were doing in class then we should consider being a civil engineer. And so when it came time to choose a degree – I picked civil engineering. My dream of playing football faded. Mr. Miller taught me to enjoy what you do ... and the power of being aware of your strengths and weaknesses. But my desire of being a civil engineer drove me through graduate school… while Dr. Wanielista, my advisor dragged me to the end. Thank you Dr. Wanielista. I learned a lot of important values from you like ... do your own work …be on time … set goals … and ask good questions. And when I graduated, I hoped to become a great engineer. Some dreams create opportunities … Now, I’m the Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation – a goal I never imagined for myself. To the graduates here today, my UCF professors prepared me well for my career … as I know they have prepared you. My engineering training was first rate. It taught me how to think and gave me the technical underpinnings on which my career has been built. I learned there are three types of people in the world. Those who can count and those who cannot…some of you will get that on your way home. I know you have the same foundation on which to build. But that foundation will get shaky at times - the journey in our lives changes course often. Mine has. Yours will. Each of your lives, sooner or later, will face unexpected challenges and opportunities. One of life’s lessons I’ve learned is that we cannot control all of the circumstances in our lives but we can control how we react to circumstances in our lives. Over the next few years, you will define the approach that will guide your life as you face change. So I wanted to suggest an approach that has worked for me. I must give credit for the specific wording to Ed Easton, a Miami businessman. It is quite simply, for us to apply: “Maximum Attitude, Maximum Effort” to everything that we do. No matter what the future holds for each of you, applying maximum attitude and maximum effort will serve you well. If you bring the best possible attitude and the best possible effort to all you do then the outcome will not be as important. That’s because you have given it your best … and you will find that the journey becomes the destination in your life. In conclusion, US Senator Orrin Hatch said it best, “There is a good reason they call these ceremonies ‘commencement exercises.’ Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning.” As you begin your journey, I leave you with some additional advice that has served me well over the years… Something I learned as a student at UCF:
It is my hope that some of you will leave here inspired and the rest will at least wake up refreshed. Thank you for this great honor. I hope your dreams take you to places you can’t even imagine today. Good luck, graduates. |
|