Commencement speakers offer advice to graduates

Commencement speakers at Grand Valley's two ceremonies on April 30 offered advice, humor and worldly stories to graduates.

Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, New York, spoke at the morning ceremony. She tied her thoughts to Grand Valley's founder L. William Seidman and asked graduates how hope factors into their lives. Jackson said Seidman’s quest to establish a college in West Michigan in the late 1950s was at that time "an unusual idea." But he had hope.

"Hope helps us attempt the seemingly impossible," Jackson said and later added, "as you are going through your lives, hope will enable you to take calculated risks instead of being satisfied with the status quo."

Jackson was appointed by President Obama in 2009 to serve on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. She serves on the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, and on the Board of the Council on Foreign Relations.

She gave graduates a list of three essential keys to success: optimism, commitment and high aspirations. "Those are the three ingredients, or as Mr. Seidman would have said, 'That's what gives us high hopes.'"

Former Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta was the afternoon speaker. Mineta serves as global vice chairman of Hill & Knowlton, a public relations consulting firm.

Mineta told graduates that they need a clear vision and a plan that requires constant focus in order to succeed. Then he joked and said, "Nobody who turns out to be interesting does any of that."

Mineta was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001 to be secretary of transportation and he served during the terrorists attacks of September 11. As he relayed stories of that day he reminded the audience that they can't chart the course of their lives, but it could turn out to be amazing.

During World War II, Mineta and his Japanese-American parents were detained at an internment camp in California. He served in the Army during the Korean War and then began a career in public service that included two decades in Congress. He was appointed by President Clinton as secretary of commerce in 2000.