Jonathan Kaplan: Good afternoon. At this time, I have the distinct honor of introducing our commencement speaker Ms. Paula Singer. This year marks Paula Singer's 10th year as chair of the Walden University Board of Directors. Paula is a woman whose leadership, conscience, and sheer will push this university forward every day. As chair, she has helped to set the vision and the values for our university and genuinely believes that those values make a profound difference in the world. During her 10 years as board chair, Paula has been and continues to be an inspiring leader, but Paula is more than a leader. She is a truly great teacher.
Let me start by telling you a brief story. Paula began her career years ago as an elementary school teacher. There's no doubt that she held her students to the highest possible standards and expected more from them than they expected from themselves. Legend has it that in her classroom when she was facing the blackboard and had her back to the class, she could tell who was acting up in the back rows. Although I'm not sure who exactly would dare to do that in a Paula Singer classroom. We all know she has great vision, but some of her students actually swore that she had eyes in the back of her head. I have to say I can certainly empathize with those students. By the end of the school year, that class was more attentive and performing better than ever before. Paula expects no less from all of us in the Walden leadership today. Paula teaches everyone with whom she comes into contact that values and high standards and discipline go a long, long way in this world.
I admire Paula and how she has been an uncompromising force for change and improvement in higher education. At Walden, she ensures we reach our greatest potential in academic excellence and technical innovation and she does this with an unwavering dedication to putting the needs of you, our students, first. As president and C.E.O. of Laureate Education's Global Products and Services group, which includes numerous universities across North America, Europe, and Asia, Paula is a great advocate for accessible, quality higher education around the world. She has integrated traditional views of education with new opportunities and new technologies and expanded educational access to those with diverse geographic, ethnic, and professional backgrounds. Paula's commitment to education began early in her career when she taught in elementary school and worked with struggling students from disadvantaged communities. It was there she witnessed firsthand how quality education can impact the lives of students, and she's used this experience to fuel her passion for promoting broader access.
Over the course of her career, Paula has held a range of leadership roles. She has also given generously of her time through a number of nonprofit board positions. For her leadership within both her business and local community, she has been named to Maryland's Top 100 Women three times and inducted into its circle of excellence for her great achievements. Paula is a teacher, a leader, and a role model for all of us. She's relentlessly committed to inspiring others, all others to dream big and achieve even bigger. I know she inspires me. Please join me in welcoming and thanking a visionary leader in global higher education, a great Walden board chair, and a woman on whose shoulders so many of us stand, Ms. Paula Singer.
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Paula Singer: Wow, it's nice to be introduced! Thank you, Jon. It's been an honor to celebrate so many graduations with you and our graduates, and I thank Jon for his leadership and service to the Walden community for many years. I'd also like to thank my fellow board members. It is your consistent commitment and vision that has made it possible for Walden to become the exceptional institution of higher learning that it is today. And thank you to our faculty. You saw them all come in. It takes a long time to bring a good faculty in. To our faculty and staff who have impressed me every day for the last 10 years, with their dedicated focus on supporting student learning. Your efforts have helped our graduates reach this important academic milestone and because of that, commencement is also a celebration for you. Would you please give a round of applause to our faculty and staff?
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Graduates, it's such a pleasure to look upon your smiling faces, and I know it's more than just that we finished the commencing in. Your smiling faces, you have much to smile about. I speak for all of our faculty and staff when I say it has been a privilege to be a part of your educational journey. You are the reason why we are here today, and we applaud your commitment and dedication, which culminated in your degree. I hope today is only one of many achievements on your path of lifelong learning. What brought you to us a curiosity for knowledge, a belief that education can positively impact your life, a desire to lead change in the world should remain with you always. Aim high and then aim higher. If you continue to challenge yourself—OK, you can applause for that, that's good.
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I'm going to say it again so be ready for that part. If you continue to challenge yourself you'll never stop growing. When I was invited to address this year's graduation my first reaction was I was really excited and it's really an honor to be asked. This excitement, however, was quickly dissipated by the realization that I was going to have to follow our last commencement speaker. You know who he is, the former leader of the free world, President William J. Clinton, and he's known to be quite a good public speaker. I thought no pressure. So I guess there's nothing else I can do but lean into the challenge like you all did and aim high. Let's see where that takes us. For those of you who missed President Clinton's commencement remarks in July, I would like to share an observation he made at the time. He said, and I quote, "You have more power than any generation before you both at work and as a citizen to change the world for the better." That's right. Your generation, all of you right here have the power to change the world for the better.
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Many of you are already on the path of causing social change even before you have your diploma in hand today, and you lead such change despite real challenges and obstacles. I think back to my past 10 years with Walden, and I am constantly impressed by the caliber and character of our students and how committed you are to pursuing your education. So many of you are juggling, that's a word Walden students know, juggling so many things. You've got work, you've got home, and still you're trying to advance your education. Individuals like Dr. Michael Miller who joins us today after completing his Ph.D. in Management while serving in the United States Air Force.
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As many of our students, it was Dr. Miller's lifelong dream to get his doctorate and sure enough just a year into the program, Dr. Miller was called to Biloxi, Mississippi to manage a field hospital in the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and although he would need to take a break from his program, many of you have had to do that, to perform his duties, he didn't lose sight of his dream.
Dr. Miller currently holds the rank of brigadier general and serves as assistant surgeon general and chief of Medical Service Corps in the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General making him the senior healthcare administrator for the Air Force. He credits the support of his wife, Susie, and the rest of his family in helping him to reach his academic goals. Dr. Miller, will you and all of your family members here today please stand so we could recognize you and applaud you.
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Like Dr. Miller, Divia Forbes also credits the support of her family and in particular her parents for her academic success. Although neither her mother nor her father had more than an eighth-grade education, they were strong champions of learning for their children. Growing up in her native country, the Republic of Panama, Divia's mother, a preacher, would help her siblings set their goals high by asking them, "What's next on the horizon? What's next on the horizon?" Unfortunately, Divia's parents passed away during her time at Walden, yet she persevered in spite of her loss. Surely, they would be celebrating today knowing that not only did their daughter earn a master's degree in public health but that her own children now continue the family legacy and are earning advanced degrees themselves.
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Divia has truly lived up to the meaning of her name. Get this, this is tough. Divia has truly lived up to the meaning of her name which translates into "divine brilliance." I love it. And will put her degree to good use as a public health analyst with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Divia, will you, your family, and friends, please stand so that we can give you a round of applause?
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You go girl. And like Divia, Dr. Patrick Burtch is using his experience in our Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration program to make a difference in his community. For more than 20 years, Dr. Burtch served as city manager in Dundee, Michigan. Then after being diagnosed with cancer, he decided to do something he always wanted to do: return to school to earn his doctoral degree. He has truly embraced our scholar-practitioner model and has put research into action by conducting a study for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He hopes that the data he collects will impact federal policy and generate grant money to help stabilize the local economy of Jackson, Michigan. Dr. Burtch, family and friends, please stand. Congratulations.
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There are so many other stories I could share and do share when I'm asked what makes Walden unique. I can say with great pride that Walden is here to help students fulfill their academic goals and dreams and more often than not as we've seen over and over again, those dreams change not only our students' lives but also the lives of those around them. What's more, your collective stories illustrate an even larger picture of what it means to be a student in the 21st century.
Perhaps a decade ago your determination, strength, resilience, creativity, and—after watching you for the 30 minutes that we had to do the process in—patience, would have labeled you a nontraditional student with the general public. Yet after seismic shifts in our economy both domestic and abroad and the evolving face of the job market, I would say you now set the standard of what it means to be an adult learner aiming high to achieve your goals.
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Your journey to Walden may have been long and winding, but you made it. Your schedule may have included juggling work and family and school and volunteering, but you did it. Others may have questioned your dream, but you achieved it.
And now you join a remarkable network of Walden alum. Today we confer close to 5,000 degrees for Walden students. That may be a little bit surprising the room, we didn't have actually 5,000 march in. We'd need a much bigger venue than that probably the Sun Life Stadium or so. Yet, this is the very nature of how we live and learn in the 21st century bound not by geography but by shared ideals, aspirations, and a common belief that we can achieve our goals regardless of the challenges put in front of us.
"Resilient" and "strong" are words I would use to describe the Walden student and by extension the 21st century student. More than three-quarters of our students work full time while pursuing their studies, three-quarters work full time while pursuing their studies. Another 10% worked part-time or are self-employed. More than 40% of our current student body is over the age of 40. I'm just glad that's the new 30. I'd like it to be the new 40 personally myself but anyway, and more than half of Walden's students are parents to children under the age of 18. That will keep you young.
And that brings me back to President Clinton's earlier thoughts: "You have more power than any generation before you to change the world for the better." Wow, those are big expectations, even more pressure than me doing this speech. All of you have arrived at this day after months and even years of intensive work and as you bask in the glow of your achievements, ah, I'm afraid I have to say "enough of that basking." There is still more work to be done.
Your knowledge, your skills, your talents, your vision are desperately needed in our world today, yes? Yes. Commencement is not the final destination in your learning journey. In fact it's only the beginning. Now is the time to share and apply what you have learned. Now is the time to use the power that you have to change the world for the better. You have aimed high. Now it is time to aim even … higher.
Audience: Higher!
Paula Singer: Right, I'm glad I got you with me. Good.
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At first this may sound more like a lofty aspiration than a realistic goal, but Jon told you I don't believe in that. So let's break it down and begin with what's closest to us. And for many of us that is our children. As a former schoolteacher, I believe whole-heartedly in sharing our gifts with our nation's children, our own children and others' children.
When I think back to my own experience teaching in the inner city and serving students in great poverty, I am most proud of the work my fellow teachers and I did to establish a Montessori school for students K through six inside a public elementary school in Dallas. That program not only brought these poor students the finest of instructional materials and great pedagogy, but it engaged their parents as partners in our progress. We didn't have to fight city hall or protest. In a way, we had to do something even more difficult. We had to apply all we knew with sustained commitment, with sustained enthusiasm. We had to hold each other accountable for realizing the dream of achievement that we had for these struggling students, and together, with those parents, we did. In my class all students at year end were reading at grade-level or many levels above grade-level.
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And our parents, so very proud of their children, had renewed hopes for what the future was going to hold for them. Even more interesting the following year as a result of our children's success, parents from the wealthier parts of town brought their children to our little school on the very poor side of town.
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That was just priceless. And that second year we all learned the challenges and the benefits of a diverse community working together for the benefit of all our children.
Setting the path for future generations also reminds me of my very favorite photo. The graduate in this photo is someone from several years ago, probably about six or seven years ago, Dr. Darnita Payden, and she was the first in her family to earn a graduate degree. Her family—all 975 of them it looks like—were so excited about her achievement that they filled an entire bus and drove from Washington, D.C. to Indiana in the heat of summer to attend her commencement ceremony. Nobody should ever think that a degree doesn't matter.
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Now I don't claim to know her whole story, but this is what I see when I look at this picture. Please look at it carefully. In the center, I see a grandmother who probably never ever dreamed of going on to college. I see a mother who may not have dreamed for herself but certainly aspired for her daughter. I see a daughter who has achieved those dreams and has set a high bar for her two nieces on the far end of the picture, you see them? There's two, there's a little, little one and like an 8-year-old. OK? Those two girls, boy they got expectations set for them. And I see two young girls who will grow up with the expectation that higher education is in their grasp. What a change a few generations make; powerful, positive, social change.
I love that family, love that family. I believe it's necessary to model the importance of education to even the youngest among us, so today I am practicing what I preach. I have brought my 12-year-old niece, Audrey Marie, who is going to be very embarrassed now, Audrey Marie with me. Audrey Marie with me so that she could be insp—stay standing—so she could be inspired by the Walden community. Now, I would like all the other children in the room to please also stand and join Audrey; all the children please stand up because I have a message for you, I told you I had to give you this message all right? Listen up: Education is not an option.
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It is a requirement, Audrey Marie. Education is not a privilege for some. It is a right that should be enjoyed by all.
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And children, education is always worth fighting for.
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You can all sit down now; thank you very much for helping. I appreciate that. Your parents will quiz you on the way out.
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Walden grads, we don't want you to limit your reach just to children. As a graduate, you are an ambassador for higher education, your experience and knowledge can be of great value to your extended family, colleagues, and peers as well. Please, offer your time as a mentor. You may be surprised at how rewarding mentoring can be. Over the course of my career, I've had the privilege of serving as a mentor many times, and I have to tell you that it is every bit as exciting to see a mentee aim high and attain their goals as it is to teach a first-grader to read. Helping others is a rewarding habit to indulge in.
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And of course, with Walden, there's always one more thing, OK? There's one more thing: We want you to serve the greater good. In this era of Twitter—I saw you twitting out there, tweeting whatever it is—and Facebook, it is easy to forget that our nation was built on community service; neighbors supporting neighbors and citizens coming together to answer a collective call to serve their nation. Your involvement in your community is critical to the success of our society. It is essential that we as individuals and as neighbors find the time, find the time, to serve those around us who are in need.
This is not easy given our busy lives but consider individuals like Walden faculty member, Walter McCollum who finds the time to lead social change missions in addition to teaching, managing his own business, and publishing books. Dr. McCollum, an Air Force veteran, has been leading social change missions in the U.S. as well as Africa, Central America, and the Philippines for more than 20 years. Most recently …
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Most recently, he led a team of Walden students to Haiti to assist families still suffering in that terrible devastation of 2010. Prior to the visit, he led students in a three-month curriculum on multiculturalism and self-dignity to help promote mutual respect despite challenging conditions including removing rubble from a collapsed building in over 100 degree weather. The team left the experience even more committed to make a difference in their world. Dr. McCollum, please rise and let us acknowledge you and your service. It's just awesome.
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Doesn't he make you proud? All right, the desire to lead positive change has been part of our university from the very beginning. In 1972, which was Walden's first graduating class, which included just 70 doctoral students, they proved that access to education could be broadened. These first graduates proved the belief held by our founders, Bernie and Rita Turner, who happen to be with us today, that there could be a different way to support adult learners. As the Turners could tell you, if you wanted to do your doctorate degree, get your doctorate degree 40 years ago, you would typically have had to be a full-time student, totally full-time student in order to get even accepted into the program. So you'd quit your job, say goodbye to your family, and somehow find a way to pay for tuition and mortgage at the same time. Not working. Fortunately, the Turners saw a different way and so these two educators in their own home with not a whole bunch of help started their own movement for positive social change and that was called Walden University.
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We're so glad you did that, Bernie and Rita. Please wave or stand, whatever you're comfortable with. They're over in the corner over there. Let's give them a round of applause.
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Whoo! So never forget that your Walden education has prepared you to make a difference in your own life as well as the lives of others. We speak so much of acquiring knowledge but true, the true beauty of knowledge is when we give it away freely and without limits. Its value is found in treating a patient in need, instilling a love of learning in a child, leading sustainable practices in business, or guiding others in difficult times. Janet Clarke-Green is a good example. Janet, who earns her M.S. in Education today, teaches more than reading and social studies to her fifth- and sixth-grade students. In addition to all the other demands of the classroom, and we all know there are many, she teaches them the importance of giving back from providing books to the poor, collecting canned goods for the homeless, and writing letters to our troops stationed in Afghanistan. Her students are experiencing firsthand the power of service. Janet, please stand and accept our congratulations.
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And Janet is not alone. All of you here today have answered one call already: the call to improve and strengthen yourself through education. We as a society now need you to answer another. We ask you to aim high and then aim higher.
Audience: Higher!
Paula Singer: Recognize the unique position you are in to change the world for the better and commit yourself to be a role model for children. Show them the transformative power of education. Serve as a mentor at home, in your work, in your community, give of your time and give of your heart. Stay active in your local neighborhood. Continue the grand tradition of volunteering and contribute to the very foundation of our nation. Lead positive change in your field and in the greater global community.
Whew, I'm tired already. If this seems a little too out of reach right now, I really do understand. I don't accept it, but I understand, and so I'm going to offer you words of advice from a beloved author who has won two Academy Awards, two Emmys and a Pulitzer Prize. To quote, "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're your own, and you know what you know. You are the one who will decide where to go." Thank you, Dr. Seuss.
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And in these lighthearted yet really profound words, I hope you find the courage to go where you are needed most, all your hard work has prepared you for today and for what lies ahead tomorrow. Go out. Lead as agents of change. Speak of the transformative experience of earning your degree, and carry that message of change and possibility in all that you do. If you achieve this then undoubtedly you will have aimed high and will have made a positive impact on our world.
Congratulations to our Walden graduates, their families, and friends. You are an inspiration to all of us. Thank you very much.
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