[applause] thank you so much for that kind introduction everyone

with that kind invitation to be part of this very important day for all of you. i know it is important to your family and friends and so many others who played a part to support your journey without transitional moment. i know many of you received your commissions to serve in all branches of the military only yesterday i want to thank you for that not only for your willingness to serve but commitment and sacrifice of your selves in the development of citizen soldiers in the active your committee through no obligation to demonstrate why the all volunteer armed forces are unmatched from any other force in the world. your willingness to put that

aside for the american idea of democracy than for no other reason to inspire those of us not in uniform to be good citizens. this way we honor your service. and then others would continue the education as graduate studies elsewhere but regardless of your next stop, discipline values and development take with you from your time here positions you as a starting block for the stage in your life. in the midst of the celebrations also know as you close out this phase of your life and preparing for the future you take time to think that people who helped you along the way.

your teachers and professors as important as they are but your parents and grandparents and coaches and mentors and others who helped you to learn and succeed. like no generation before you, most likely all of you will be required to consider the entire world clearly and understand how your life and abilities can help address many of those shared oval challenge confronting us. in 1975 more than 40 years ago, graduate such as myself and my classmates could afford to focus on our own nation and pockets for opportunity and growth that is no longer the case. all day professional engineering exams i was given my first handheld calculator one year after i went to work

for exxon. it could add and subtract and multiply and divide and it amazed me with the square root key. [laughter] i received one of the first desktop computers, the macintosh with the green screen in 1983. eight years into my career. fast-forward to the classes available to almost anyone in the world over i will leave it to you to compensate one -- contemplate the changes you will live over the next 40 years. those challenges with national security is that proliferation of digital communication whether we like it or not or for better or for worse our own inventions and innovations have connected our world in ways we could not have imagined to create economic security for tendencies we have not contemplated or the

world has more or less the enjoyed along by technology rather than our political and business leaders shaping these technologies. digital highways and back roads are great enablers with advanced progress of humanity but also connections for the spread of evil ideology and the know-how to spread the jewels of terrorism all too easily. the great challenge is to how to protect and preserve society while enforcing those legitimate exercise of free speech. this is a challenger generation will continue to confront. now to see in global context to recognize the value of friends and allies born of shared values and shared

sacrifices one of america's great advantages is we have many allies, our adversaries china, russia, iran and the terrorist organizations have you. we must never take these allies for granted. we must strengthen them not just in the areas of complete agreement but in particular to bridge our differences in trading relations and national security matters. seeing the future in a global context requires recognizing the economic development taking place the world over the dynamic population growing in asia and africa and latin america and the challenges that will come from meeting the needs to realize the aspirations of billions of people on this planet. these global reactions have created a new economic and

national security status with pressures here at home these changes have led society in fear about growth and foreign markets and the global movement of jobs. we must acknowledge every nation aspires to a better quality of life. and those are the means by which opportunity is created for all people so in this year 1.4 billion people live without access to electricity to cook their meals and clean their drinking water for these men and women and children the innovation of technology comes with economic growth means health and safety so citizens can develop those economies come to the realization that

many here at home still have a way to go to embrace the global economy and recognized with these changes our challenges and opportunities. it is a world through transition and change simply your education and skills your contributions to society depend on a firm foundation of personal and professional integrity. as i reflect upon the state of our american democracy, looking at ethics and integrity looking at the main building of my matter in texas you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. that is from the book of john chapter eight verse 32.

you shall love the truth and the truth shall make you free the founders of american democracy and i believe many agree were crafting the structure and financial documents guided by inspiration and the central tenet of a free society free and equal is access and proof of government structure with the understanding freedom to seek the truth is the very essence of freedom itself and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free only by experience through a common set of facts that we create a framework for a democratic free society through richly diverse people that those free people can explore to find solutions to the very challenges

confronting a complex society of free people. if our leaders seek to conceal the truth to be accepting of alternative realities grounded in fact, that we are on the pathway. this is the life of the nondemocratic society those that are not predisposed to the truth. we know them well, societies in russia, iran, north korea, you can complete the list. the responsibility of every american citizen to each other and to preserve and protect to recognize what truth is and is not or what the fact is and is not and begin holding ourselves accountable to demand pursuit of america's

future be fact-based not placed on wishful thinking or shallow promises or with a clear eyed view of the fact that they are guided by the truth to set us free from these challenges. also the foundational commitment to truth and facts that binds us to other like-minded democratic people who deal with the same set of truth in fact and it is truth that says to the adversaries we say what we mean and we mean what we say. even on what may seem the most trivial matter if we do not as americans confront the crisis

of integrity in our society and among leaders public and private sector then regrettably even the nonprofit sector american democracy as we know it will be entering the twilight years. as to the matter of integrity with the honor code it was one of the reasons i look forward to addressing you today. one of the first and most important elements you are taught to the basis upon which not just how to conduct oneself while here but the foundation upon which the cadet stands apart from others and at some point during your time here you realize you have the honor not because it is a requirement to be a part of this place that rather you do it because you want to. and you come to realize without personal honor so as

you leave this place, where the person on either side of you shares the same understanding, you will now enter a world where sadly that is not always the case. and your commitment to high standard of integrity and ethics will be tested. while i am certain you have a common definition of the word integrity it is good to have a common understanding. one of the merriam-webster is the definition to be complete and whole as a civil engineer i have always liked that definition because i can relate to the structural integrity the space of being complete and hold the structural integrity of the building we know it has a complete integrity so we feel comfortable sitting beneath

the beams knowing that it will not end up around us as we sit here integrity is a critical building block of cooperation and makes possible for different people and different organizations to work together to solve the world's most complex problems regardless of industry, project or task integrity frees us to be or collaborate over the long-term. as the world becomes more interconnected with those integrated solutions the value of integrity only grows in importance. in every sector integrity is the key to unlock high impact technologies do -- to conduct business and the geopolitical challenges to make the world brighter for generations to come. we do not have to look for those prime examples where integrity is sacrificed for

immediate gain or personal achievement. such damage strikes at the very heart of a free society to undermine the public trust in the overwhelming number of individuals or organizations who do compete by the rules every day. it is a fact of life most individuals will make a positive difference in the world in which we live after all you have worked very hard and sacrificed much to get your you want your efforts to me something just beyond a job or the next rank or promotion it is true there education will play a part in your future success if you truly want to build a beautiful -- a better future you must live a life of integrity. your college inabilities will

flourish without strong moral fiber or ethical behavior. street choosing integrity has blessings and benefits and gives us a true pathway to do the right thing the right way every time whether or not anyone is looking and such discipline is the true source of progress because it is a commitment to see actions as part of a broader social fabric of cooperation and mutual advancement. in your career you will have occasions it may appear easier to take a shortcut the pressure you feel may come from within that you need to have all the answers unfortunately it could come from your organization or directly from a supervisor or coworker. these pressures can be seen in the early stages of your career pushing you to decisions before the

consequences are aware so to remind yourself of that commitment often helps you to resist that easy path of the impulse and is important to remember leadership is not a position or title becoming a leader is what happens by living a life of integrity as you grow through your career your integrity will draw people to use your coworkers will rely on your informed insight in your supervisors will trust you because of your self-discipline as you take on more responsibility to gain experience your integrity will naturally fall with the best leaders what they demand from their people until you yourself become a leader.

i never aspired to be chairman and ceo of exxon mobil i wife will tell you i achieve my objectives at about 199240 years old, a division manager with responsibilities over a large part of texas and oklahoma and colorado i wanted to do the best job i ever had it's been all downhill & . [laughter] ever since. [applause] but at some point he began to recognize you have the capacity to do more and contribute more not just for your own personal benefit for your organization with senior managers working on behalf of their people, that is when i would see them knock it out of the park.

you are going to have a great life. some of those days will be good days some of them will be bad days. but i always reminded myself get over the euphoric on the good days and don't be despondent on the bad days. going through my father's papers who passed away a couple months ago and ran across the page that said it was the attitude a scoutmaster troop of indian boys in colorado in the 50s and 60s i think these are good to talk about with the good days and bad days i have three that i take from those attitudes blessed is the man can see you make a fool of yourself and doesn't think you've done a permanent job.

[laughter] blessed is the man who does not try to blame all his failures on someone else. and blessed is the man who can say they would be proud of the man that he is. [applause] so you may protect you are but remember to be purpose driven integrity is most valuable asset that you have don't let anyone take it from you. carefully consider the organizations in which you seek to work and look for employers who set high standards for personal conduct to reward ethical leadership and identify mentors who exemplify integrity and leadership excellence

developing as a leader comes from practicing good followership. see how the leaders you are following carry themselves and manage their responsibilities. study how they communicate and make decisions and observe how they learn from their mistakes or missteps of those and of others. importantly recognize integrity is not unique to any one culture matter where you are in the world integrity and good character are prized through every tradition and integrity means managing our lives in a way to focus on ideals that unite us as people and in summary, i've lived a happy life. i want you to have a happy life to. my return to the definition of

integrity, the state of being complete and whole absence of a life of integrity no human being can live a life that is complete and whole living a life of integrity we have a chance god bless all of you in the days ahead and god bless the united states of america the 17. [applause]