    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [May 11, 2006]
    [Pages 918-921]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Commencement Address at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in
    Biloxi, Mississippi
    May 11, 2006

        Thanks for the warm welcome. President Lott;
    members of the faculty, staff, and administration; distinguished guests;
    family, friends, and, most importantly of all, the graduating class of
    Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College: This afternoon, we celebrate
    commencement in a stadium that is still under repair, near streets lined
    with temporary housing, in a region where too many lives have been
    shattered, and there has never been a more hopeful day to graduate in
    the State of Mississippi.
        I am proud to stand before some of the most determined students at
    college or university in America. Over these past 9 months, you have
    shown a resilience more powerful than any storm. You continued your
    studies in classrooms with crumbling walls. You lost homes and slept in
    tents near campus to finish courses. You cleared debris during the day,
    and you went to class at night. You worked past exhaustion to catch up.
    By your determination to reach this day, you have sent a message to our
    Nation and the world: Mississippi is coming back, and it's going to be
    better than ever before.
        You have sent a message, and I've came with a message of my own:
    This Nation honors your dedication. We're inspired by your optimism, and
    we're going to help this great State of Mississippi rebuild.
        I'm honored to be the first sitting President to address a community
    college commencement. Recognizing this is a grand occasion, I wanted
    some tips from the best speaker I know, so I went to the First Lady,
    Laura. [Laughter] I asked her what I should talk
    about, and she said, ``You ought to talk about 15 minutes.'' [Laughter]
    Listen, I've learned her advice is worth taking. She sends her best to
    you all.
        Today I want to share a few thoughts on the history you've seen this
    year and the history you will make once you leave this fine college. For
    some of you, graduation day has been a long time in the making. Many of
    you have large responsibilities beyond school, such as jobs and families
    to care for, and none of those roles are part-time. Others here are
    taking a first step toward further education at one of Mississippi's
    fine universities. And on this special afternoon, some of you are
    fulfilling the dreams of generations by becoming the first person in
    your family to graduate from college.
        This college is also part of a strong military community, and it's
    obvious some of you have earned your degree while serving your Nation in
    uniform. And I'm proud to be your Commander in Chief. There are also
    military family members in the graduating class, including the Levens
    family of Long Beach. Margaret Levens and
    her son, Matt, are getting their degrees, and
    they're both carrying pictures of a loved one who they remember today.
    Earlier this year, Donnie Levens, Margaret's son and Matt's brother, was
    killed in a helicopter crash while his Marine unit was fighting
    terrorists near the Horn of Africa. Margaret says Donnie's courage
    inspired her to complete her studies. She said, ``I've never been a
    quitter. Donnie was never a quitter either. He had a job to do, and

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    he did it well. And I am graduating for him today.'' America honors the
    service of Donnie Levens, and we honor the strength and the sacrifice of
    our military families.
        This day of accomplishment would not be possible without the faculty
    and the staff and the administration of this college. They reopened this
    school just 17 days after the worst natural disaster in American history
    struck your campus and your State. All who work at this college have
    dedicated themselves to this school's stated mission of making ``a
    positive difference in people's lives every day.'' You have fulfilled
    that mission and so much more. Your students will always remember your
    unselfish service in an hour of need, and the United States of America
    is grateful for your service.
        This is my 10th visit to Mississippi since Hurricane Katrina hit.
    I've seen firsthand the devastation in Gulfport and Gautier, Poplarville
    and Pascagoula and Pass Christian, Bay Saint Louis and Biloxi. This was
    the first city in your State I visited after the storm. I remember
    walking down the street with your fine mayor
    through a neighborhood where every house had been destroyed. I remember
    sitting on a doorstep that was surrounded by boards. I remember looking
    in the eyes of people who were stunned and saddened, longing for all
    they had lost.
        I remember something else too--a quiet, unyielding determination to
    clear the wreckage and build anew. People who saw their own houses
    flattened rose to the aid of neighbors. One group of men tied themselves
    with a rope, dove into a flooded street, and pulled 20 others to safety.
    Churches and congregations gave to their limit of their resources and
    then found a way to give more. Thousands lost their homes, their cars,
    and their businesses, but not their faith in the future. Across this
    State, a powerful spirit has emerged, a Mississippi spirit that sees
    hope in adversity and possibility in pain and summons a strength that
    wind and water can never take away.
        And that Mississippi spirit is embodied by your great Governor,
    Haley Barbour. Haley spoke for the State when
    he said, ``People aren't leaving. They're hitching up their britches and
    rebuilding Mississippi.'' That Mississippi spirit is carried to
    Washington by your superb United States Senators, Trent Lott and Thad Cochran,
    and by an outstanding congressional delegation. And the Mississippi
    spirit is sustained daily by your mayors and county officials and local
    leaders, and many of those leaders are here today. And I appreciate your
    service, and you can count on a steady partner in my administration.
        Over the past 9 months, we have seen what the Mississippi spirit can
    achieve. The population of coastal Mississippi has returned almost all
    the way to full strength. Every school district that closed after the
    hurricane has reopened. More than 90 percent of the debris has been
    cleared. Highways and bridges are being repaired. Homeowners are
    rebuilding with the help from the State and the Federal Government.
    There are more jobs available in Mississippi today than before the
    storm, and the resurgence of this great State has only begun.
        The renewal of the gulf coast is one of the largest rebuilding
    efforts the world has ever seen, and all of you will play a leading
    role. Your experience at this college has prepared you to shape the
    future of your State. I ask you to rise to the challenge of a
    generation: Apply your skill and your knowledge, your compassion and
    your character, and help write a hopeful new chapter in the history of
    the gulf coast.
        A hopeful future for the gulf coast will require your skill and your
    knowledge. The destruction left by Katrina reaches beyond anything we
    could have imagined. Rebuilding will create an immediate need for
    workers with a wide range of skills. I appreciate how this college
    responded, by offering courses in carpentry and plumbing and electrical
    and drywall and other skills in

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    high demand. Federal funds allowed students to complete these courses
    for free, and many have moved straight into good jobs with Mississippi
    companies. When it comes to rebuilding this State, there is no question
    ``if;'' it is a matter of ``when.'' Mississippi will rebuild, and you
    will be the ones to rebuild it.
        Ultimately, rebuilding this region will require more than the
    reconstruction of building and bridges that were destroyed. A renewal of
    the gulf coast will also require creativity and innovation and
    enterprise in every aspect of society. The growth and vitality of the
    gulf coast will come from people who open new stores, design new urban
    plans, create new jobs, teach children, and care for the sick. The key
    to unlocking these opportunities is knowledge, and millions who want to
    gain new knowledge come to community colleges just like the one you're
    graduating from. In the gulf coast and beyond, community colleges are
    the centers of hope and the gateways to social mobility. At any stage in
    life, you can come to a community college, and you can learn something
    new, and you can put yourself on a course to realize your dreams.
        The class of 2006 is filled with people determined to use their
    knowledge to revitalize the gulf coast. It's full of people determined
    to realize dreams. Today I met Tracy Malosh,
    and she's graduating with a degree in nursing. Tracy was born nearby at
    Keesler Air Force Base, and she has lived in this part of the country
    for her whole life. She married her high school sweetheart,
    Charles, 13 years ago, and they have three
    children who, by the way, are proudly watching their mom graduate today.
    After Tracy's son Trevor was born with a heart
    condition, she decided to come to this college to become a pediatric
    nurse. When Hurricane Katrina hit, Tracy's family lost everything they
    owned, but she kept coming to class. She was determined. The family is
    now looking for a new home in the area. Today Tracy gets a degree, and
    she's planning to work in pediatrics at a local hospital. And here is
    what she said, ``I can't even begin to describe to you how good it feels
    to finish this. I always knew I'd go back to school, but I never knew
    I'd face the difficulties that I did--and I conquered this.''
        Tracy's story is a clear lesson: It's never
    too late to get a fresh start in life. And people all over the gulf
    coast are following her lead. Out of the devastation of Katrina will
    come great opportunities to get a fresh start in life. And for many in
    this great State, the road to a brighter future will run through a
    community college.
        A hopeful future for the gulf coast will require your compassion and
    your character. Our whole Nation has been moved by the outpouring of
    kindness and decency shown by the people of this great State. Neighbors
    have joined forces to care for the weak and the vulnerable. Strangers
    have come together to help each other cope. Now you must work to sustain
    the compassion inspired by this storm long after the damage has been
    cleared away. I urge you to take the same determination you brought to
    rebuilding schools and use it to ensure that every school provides a
    good education. Use that same bravery it takes to rescue people from
    water to rescue communities from poverty. My hope is that one day,
    Americans will look back at the rebuilding of Mississippi and say that
    your work added not only to the prosperity of our country but also to
    the character as our Nation.
        Earlier today I met one of your classmates who represents the
    character necessary for the gulf coast to succeed. Kendrick
    Kennedy grew up here in Biloxi. He's a
    proud graduate of Biloxi High. At age 30, an illness caused Kendrick to
    go blind, and eventually he lost his job. So he decided to come to this
    college. He recorded each of his lectures on tape, and he scanned his
    books into a computer program, provided by the school, that reads them
    aloud. When the hurricane hit,

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    Kendrick opened his home to family members in need, and he returned to
    school as soon as possible. Today this good man is graduating at the top
    of his class, and he hopes to attend law school one day. Here is what
    Kendrick said: ``I'd be doggoned if I was going to let Hurricane Katrina
    stop me. I thought, `You started school when you were blind, and you can
    overcome this hurricane.''' Kendrick is right, and today we honor his
    inspiring example.
        That same optimism is present in many of the graduates today, and so
    many others across the gulf coast. And optimism is justified. There is
    going to be a day when communities across Mississippi sparkle with new
    homes and businesses bustle with customers and this college is filled
    with more students than ever before. I plan to return one day to the
    Biloxi neighborhood I visited on my first trip and see beautiful homes
    with children playing in the yards. Across this entire region devastated
    by the storm, new vitality will emerge from the rubble, and cities from
    Mobile to Biloxi to New Orleans will be whole again.
        It's going to take time for that vision to be realized, and it will
    demand the skill and knowledge and character of all of you. Yet you can
    leave this college with confidence in your future and with certainty
    that you're not going to work alone. In these trying months, we have
    been aided by a Power that lightens our struggles, reveals our hidden
    strength, and helps conquer all suffering and loss. We can never know
    God's plan, but we can trust in His wisdom and in His grace. And we can
    be certain that with His help, the great State of Mississippi will rise
    again.
        Congratulations to the class of 2006. May God bless you, and may God
    bless the United States of America.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:29 p.m. in Mississippi Coast Coliseum. In
    his remarks, he referred to Willis Lott, president, Mississippi Gulf
    Coast Community College; and Mayor A.J. Holloway of Biloxi, MS.