[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[June 19, 1991]
[Pages 696-698]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Scholars 
Awards
June 19, 1991

    Welcome. Good to see all of you. Welcome. Well, please be seated. 
It's a delight to have you all here at the White House. May I salute the 
Chairman, my old friend John Engler, who also doubles as the Governor 
from Michigan, an awesome assignment, but has found time like all of our 
committee to give to this worthwhile program. And I'm very grateful to 
you, John. And then, of course, on my right here, Secretary Lamar 
Alexander, our new Secretary of Education, a former Governor who's 
really bringing a new drive and a new focus on our program, America 
2000, which I think has a real shot now at revolutionizing education in 
this country. And we need it. We need to start from scratch and take a 
new look. So, I salute both of them.
    I particularly want to thank the members of the Commission and the 
corporate sponsors, and all of you, thank you for coming. Welcome to the 
White House and to an event that bestows the highest scholastic honor 
that a President can bestow.
    First, I want to say that there's absolutely no rule here that says 
that the person giving the speech has to be as smart as the students 
receiving the scholarships. [Laughter] Thank heavens. [Laughter]
    Which reminds me of what George Burns once said: ``Smartness runs in 
my family. When I went to school I was so smart my teacher was in my 
class for 5 years.'' [Laughter] Well, even at 95--and he was here the 
other day--George Burns would salute this program, the Presidential 
scholarship program, now 27 years old. And today, I would like to 
discuss briefly how education can and must help prepare America's 
children to serve the Nation and the world.
    Let me begin by asking you to look at yourselves and say, what do 
you see? You see some of our best and brightest young people. You see 
living educational success stories. You see our hope for an exciting and 
rich future.
    You come from every sort of background, every race and creed. You 
live in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and in 
other lands. But as Americans, you revere learning, achievement, and the 
hope that both create.
    California's Marisa DeSalles realizes all of

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that. And she expects to be the first woman in her--where is she? Now, 
we've got to salute some of these folks, if I'm going to be talking 
about you. Okay. She expects to be the first woman in her family to earn 
an undergraduate degree.
    And so does Jonathan Sievers. No, no? Okay, the guy didn't make it. 
Well, I'll talk about him anyway. There he is. Good. Good. He was born 
in Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, and he is the third sibling in his 
family commended as a Presidential scholar. And that is really 
remarkable. And he knows who to thank. He thanks his parents--and let me 
just say how he phrased it--for ``making me practice and for leaving the 
fish alone.'' [Laughter] You have to be from Kwajalein, like I was once, 
to understand this inside joke. [Laughter]
    Then there's another, Kai Ng of Illinois. Kai, where are you? Right 
there. Coming here from Hong Kong in 1974, she learned English from her 
sister and ``Sesame Street.'' She can tell you how you can do it. That's 
the same place I'm trying to learn how to run a computer. [Laughter]
    Now, education traditionally has served as the ladder that enables 
individual Americans to reach beyond the clouds. And every time someone 
succeeds in going further, higher, we all reap initiatives. And we all 
reap the benefits.
    Aimee Crago, a Presidential scholar from Louisiana--she's here with 
us. Aimee, now, we don't want to embarrass you, but stand up. And if you 
don't mind my quoting you, ``I think that in order to be the person one 
wants to be, one needs to have a knowledge of all the people one could 
be, and education provides this knowledge.''
    It's become something of a cliche to say that knowledge is power, 
but it really is. And knowledge, imagination, ambition--these form the 
pillars of our future. Education can help us keep our competitive edge 
and imaginative fires, here and abroad. It gives us the means to raise 
our standards, the standards of living, to improve the quality of our 
lives. It can lead us into a new golden age of information, 
understanding, and technology.
    America has no natural resource more precious than its intellectual 
resources. And that's why recently I announced this program I referred 
to earlier called America 2000. It's an education strategy. It is 
really--look at the details--it's a pioneering crusade to make and keep 
American education number one.
    For today's students, we must make existing schools not only better 
but more accountable. For tomorrow's students, the next generation, we 
must create a new generation of American schools. And for all of us--for 
the adults who think our school days are over--we've got to become a 
nation of students, recognizing that learning is a lifelong process. 
Finally, outside our schools, we must make our communities places where 
learning can occur.
    Our education strategy realizes that education can help us 
practically. For over 200 years, America's genius has created 
innovations like the wireless, the Model T, and integrated circuits. I'm 
reminded of the man who was asked what he would take if his house was on 
fire and he could only remove one thing. He answered, ``I would take the 
fire.'' American scholarship works. [Laughter]
    Yet education must also shape us morally, providing the grounding 
ideas and values crucial to democracy. I have said, and I really believe 
this, that in America the definition of a successful life must include 
serving others. But you cannot serve if you can't think. You cannot 
serve if you can't separate good from bad, true from false, practical 
from dreamy.
    Just as many have labored to share their knowledge with you--parents 
and teachers and administrators and friends--you must follow suit. Give 
of yourselves: as a tutor in a prison, at a local school, in a homeless 
center. You will share something far more profound than little scraps of 
information. You will share a way of looking at the world and, in the 
process, of looking at yourself.
    So, this may be hard to put in focus, but you are today's 
trailblazers and leaders. What you learn today and in years to come will 
help us make the 21st century the next American century. It won't be 
easy. I recall once, marvelous story of a professor who left Yale just 
before I got there. He was marking an examination paper shortly before 
Christmas--and for those of my gen-

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eration, I'm talking about William Lyon Phelps, and the noted scholar 
that he was--came across a note. The note read: ``God only knows the 
answer to this question. Merry Christmas.'' The guy handed his paper in 
like that. Phelps returned the paper with an annotation: ``God gets an 
A. You get an F. Happy New Year.'' [Laughter] True story.
    I guess what I'm saying is, you can't bluff your way through the 
future. And you have to face it squarely and take it on. And you will 
encounter obstacles, but you will overcome them. And you will conquer 
through resilience, through scholarship and, above all, the example of 
your lives.
    And as you do, think of those in this program again who deserve our 
thanks. Our Governor here, Governor John Engler, who is Chairman of this 
White House Commission. Think of the Commission sponsors who enable you 
to do this. And let me salute the Commission members who choose 141 
honorees from among all of America's high school seniors.
    But also remember the teachers who inspired you, the friends or 
adults who counseled you, supported you, gave you the confidence to 
achieve great things. Kathryn Cunningham, a scholar from Vermont, has 
said, ``I thank my parents for their advice that achievements mean 
nothing if they don't help anyone else.'' All your parents ought to be 
proud. While this is your day, I kind of think it's also theirs.
    And to every Presidential scholar, my heartfelt congratulations. And 
in closing, a challenge: Let us not only move mankind into the future, 
let us better it, ennoble it. Make the best of the special blessings 
bestowed upon you. God bless you all and your wonderful families. And 
may God bless the United States of America. Thank you, and 
congratulations to all of you.

                    Note: The President spoke at 2:35 p.m. on the South 
                        Lawn at the White House. In his remarks, he 
                        referred to Gov. John Engler of Michigan, 
                        Chairman of the Commission on Presidential 
                        Scholars; Secretary of Education Lamar 
                        Alexander; comedian George Burns; and 
                        Presidential scholars Marisa DeSalles, Jonathan 
                        Sievers, Kai Ng, Aimee Crago, and Kathryn 
                        Cunningham.