[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 19 (Monday, May 14, 2007)]
[Pages 616-619]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Commencement Address at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania

May 11, 2007

    Thank you all. Please be seated. Thank you for the warm welcome. 
Archabbot Douglas, Your Excellency, Jim and Mary Towey, members of the 
faculty, members of the clergy, moms and dads, and--most important--the 
class of 2007: Thanks for inviting me. I am honored to be here.
    Laura and I feel like we have a very special connection to St. 
Vincent College through the Toweys. We have come to know Jim and his 
family well during his time in Washington--after all, he was the 
Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community 
Initiatives. And now he's attained another high office. So today, before 
his family, his friends, and colleagues--I would like to address Jim 
with two words he probably never thought he would hear from me: Mr. 
President. [Laughter]
    I know he appreciates the importance I place on my speeches. He 
knows my style well. I want all of you to know I was very moved by a 
letter he recently sent me that invited me to this commencement. Here is 
what Mr. President said: ``Mr. President, I believe that by hearing you 
speak, every member of the class of 2007 will leave this campus with a 
priceless lesson about the importance of the English language.'' 
[Laughter] At least he didn't say, ``I'm proud to welcome to the podium 
a man, the first President for whom English was a second language.'' 
[Laughter] I did call him. I said what my speech ought to be about. 
That's what I asked him, what my speech ought to be about, Jim. He said, 
``About 10 minutes,'' so here goes. [Laughter]
    It's a proud moment for the class of 2007. You're the largest 
graduating class in your school's history. You're the first class to 
take a mandatory course in microwaving--[laughter]--a requirement that 
was imposed after you set off a record number of fire alarms while you 
were trying to make popcorn. [Laughter] You cheered the Bearcats with 
the Carey Crazies. You walked through the lighted arches of Melvin 
Platz. Some of you are the first in your family to attend college.

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In a few moments, you will collect your degrees, the Ave Maria Bell will 
ring, and you will leave this campus with a lifetime of good memories. 
You've worked hard, and we're all here to congratulate you on a fabulous 
achievement.
    I also congratulate the many people who helped make this day 
possible, starting with your parents, who paid your tuition and were 
patient, even after the phone bills arrived. [Laughter] I thank the 
people who have worked hard to make sure you leave with a sound and 
solid college degree--and that's the St. Vincent's faculty. I appreciate 
very much the monks of the Archabbey--the men whose prayers are surely 
responsible for some of the degrees being offered today. [Laughter] And 
so I ask the class of 2007 to continue to make these good people proud; 
to take what you've learned here into the world, and always live up to 
the high ideals that this college stands for.
    At the heart of these high ideals is the name Benedict. Benedict was 
the saint who set down a practical guide for community life--and helped 
save Western civilization. Benedict was the inspiration for the man who 
came to this country to plant these ideals in American soil--and founded 
this college. And Benedict was also the inspiration for the Pope, who 
took his name in tribute to the Benedictine ideals of charity and 
community that he believes the world needs now more than ever.
    These ideals of charity and community have a special resonance for 
Americans. From the beginning, America has offered the world a new model 
for strong community life. In the early 19th century, a Frenchman named 
Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States. He was impressed by the 
way Americans came together in voluntary associations to help out a 
neighbor in need. And in his book, ``Democracy in America,'' he wrote 
something that captured the spirit of this great country. He said, 
``When an American asks for the cooperation of his fellow citizens, it 
is seldom refused. If some great and sudden calamity befalls a family, 
the purses of a thousand strangers are at once willingly opened.''
    De Tocqueville saw the good heart of America back in the early 19th 
century. We continue to see the good heart of America in the early 21st 
century. We see it in citizens who responded to the worst atrocity on 
our soil with acts of selflessness and compassion. We see it in the 
historic new commitments our Nation has made to alleviate poverty and 
suffering, by feeding the hungry and fighting malaria and working to end 
the scourge of HIV/AIDS on the continent of Africa.
    We see it in the volunteers who serve in our faith-based and 
community organizations--good and decent folks who are living the 
commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. Today, more than 61 
million Americans volunteer their time to serve others, more than three-
quarters of our citizens give to charity. The volunteer spirit of 
America makes us unique, it represents the true strength of our Nation, 
and it must constantly be reinvigorated and renewed.
    And that's why it's vital for our country that our young people step 
forward and serve a cause larger than yourselves. When you serve your 
fellow citizens, you find benefits you'll never imagine. You discover 
that a caring person is sometimes all it takes for someone to turn their 
lives around. You see for yourself that kindness and respect make an 
enormous difference in a person's life. You learn to take the 
initiative, instead of waiting for a government to step in. You become 
more aware of others, a better man or woman to your friends and 
families, a better citizen of your country. You start to put your own 
difficulties in perspective. And soon you learn a great truth, that you 
always get more out of service than you give.
    Your generation's willingness to serve will define the character of 
our Nation, and us older folks have good reason to be confident. 
Americans now in college are more likely to volunteer or become engaged 
in civic life than previous generations. Here at St. Vincent College, 
you have learned that service outside the classroom is as important as 
what you learn inside the classroom. The challenge for you is to keep 
this up as you begin your new careers and your new families and your new 
lives. So today I ask you to make service more than a line on your 
resume. Find a need that is not being met. Do your part to fill it, make 
a difference to our country.

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    I'm pleased to see that the class of 2007 is answering the call. In 
the graduating class today are five students who have volunteered to 
wear our Nation's uniform. You knew the risks of serving in a time of 
war, and you have volunteered to accept those risks. You have chosen a 
noble calling. You will take your place as officers in the finest 
military the world has ever known. At some point, the lives of other men 
and women will be in your hands, and they will need leaders of character 
and selflessness. As your Commander in Chief, I salute you for your 
service, and I ask Almighty God to keep you close as you keep our Nation 
safe.
    There are many ways to serve our Nation. Across this great land of 
opportunity we have citizens with great needs. And for every need, there 
is a path to service.
    Some of you have chosen the path of teaching. We all know a teacher 
who has made a difference in our lives. In my case, I married her. 
[Laughter] The First Lady showed me that teaching is more than a job or 
profession--it is a vocation. When you make the decision to become a 
teacher, you know that your reward will be greater than money. It will 
happen in wonderful moments when you see a student grasp a difficult 
concept, or come alive during the reading of a poem, or discover how a 
work of history speaks to our time. To do this for even one child is 
special. To do this for hundreds of children over a career will bring 
you satisfaction that few other professions can match.
    The beauty of teaching is that its rewards can be found in any 
classroom. Some of you know this from your visits to St. Benedict's, an 
all-boys school in one of the poorest areas of New Jersey. For many of 
these boys, St. Benedict's is their only safe haven from the crime and 
drugs and hopelessness around them. Each Christmas holiday, several St. 
Vincent students spend time mentoring these young men.
    One of your classmates, Anthony Fiumara, spent two breaks at St. 
Benedict's. Here's how he describes the experience: ``I always knew that 
I wanted to be a teacher. But my time at Saint Ben's showed me that a 
teacher could become more than a dispenser of knowledge. When I talked 
with the students about their dreams of attending college, I realized 
that as a teacher, I would be the one that would help them achieve their 
dreams.''
    Our Nation needs more teachers like Anthony--I'm so pleased that 
nearly four dozen members of this class have chosen to go into teaching. 
I thank you. And as you go forth, I ask you to set high standards in 
your classroom. Challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations. Teach 
your students with respect. And always remember the ideals that 
attracted you to this noble profession.
    Some of you may not yet have decided the best way to serve. It's 
okay. The Government can't put love in your heart. But what we can do is 
when you find love and find the drive, we can help put it in action. And 
that's why I created the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives 
that Mr. President ran. Through this office, we are helping to ensure 
that Federal funds for social service go to organizations that get 
results--even if they happen to have a crucifix or a Star of David on 
the wall.
    We also established the USA Freedom Corps to help mobilize 
volunteers to bring the comfort and kindness of America to people both 
at home and abroad. Today, hundreds of thousands of volunteers mentor 
children, they assist the elderly, they build schools and clinics, they 
respond to natural disasters. No matter what your interests, no matter 
what your skills, there is a place for every one of you to serve in our 
armies--our Nation's armies of compassion.
    Even if you can't devote yourself to a career of service, you can 
make a life of service. We have that on good authority from one of 
President Towey's great heroes: Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa's whole 
life was dedicated to doing small things with great love. I'm pleased 
that Jim is taking a group of you to Calcutta later this month. I hope 
it helps inspire a new generation to carry on her good works. In almost 
every documentary about Mother Teresa, you see her going to the side of 
someone who is suffering terribly--often about to die. She treats them 
with great gentleness, squeezing their hands and whispering words of 
comfort. Their look of wonder tells you that these are people who may be 
feeling loved for the first time in their lives. As they look up at 
Mother Teresa, their eyes say: Here's someone who cares.

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    One of your classmates, Kara Shirley, knows what I'm talking about. 
Just 2 months ago, Kara went on a service project to Brazil where she 
visited an AIDS clinic. The clinic was called Hope and Life. While 
there, she and the other students helped clean up after the patients, 
administer their medicine, and just sit by their bedsides holding their 
hands. One of these patients was a man who weighed just 70 pounds. When 
he was sent to this clinic, he had already been given his death 
certificate. But that only told the people at the clinic that this man 
needed even more love.
    Here's how Kara puts it: ``This man was so weak he could not even 
speak. But when I held his hand he turned his head, and you could feel 
the gratitude. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life--and 
by the end of my time there, I didn't want to leave.'' Kara's gesture 
was a--seemed like a small thing to hold a man's hand. But because it 
was done with great love, it helped fill a dying man's final days with 
dignity and grace.
    I've met thousands of volunteers like Kara who serve their fellow 
citizens in many different ways. They put themselves in some of the 
harshest places in our country and in the world. Yet instead of telling 
me how hard they have it, they always tell me how fortunate they are.
    You can know this joy in your own lives. All you need is a warm 
heart and a willing pair of hands. When Mother Teresa accepted her Nobel 
Prize, she told the story about visiting a nursing home. At first she 
was impressed by the home because it was attractive and well equipped. 
But she soon noticed that none of the residents were smiling, all were 
looking at the door. When she asked why everyone seemed so sad, one of 
the caretakers explained, ``They are hurt because they are forgotten.'' 
They stared at the door in the hope that it would open and someone who 
loved them would walk through it.
    My challenge to you today is this: Be the person who walks through 
that door. Be the face that brings a smile to the hurt and forgotten. 
Lead lives of purpose and character, make a difference in someone else's 
life. And if you do, you will lead richer lives, you will build a more 
hopeful nation, and you'll never be disappointed.
    My congratulations to you all. I ask for the Almighty God's 
blessings on you and your life. Thanks for letting me come and share my 
thoughts.

Note: The President spoke at 11:24 a.m. in the Robert S. Carey Student 
Center. In his remarks, he referred to Rev. Douglas R. Nowicki, 
Archabbot and chancellor, and H. James Towey, president, St. Vincent 
College; Donald W. Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington; Mary Towey, wife of 
H. James Towey; and Pope Benedict XVI.