me that day. i ended up not being drafted and instead set on an academic and government career, and little did i know that 28 years later i would begin nearly a decade of leadership in the army fighting wars in iraq and afghanistan, and working to put into effect the most sweeping policy changes since the truman administration's end desegregation of the force and in our case the end of the policy of don't ask don't tell with respect to gays in the military and to allow women to serve in combat rolls. when i graduated from college i could not imagine the vicious act of terrorism, the bombing of the murrah federal building in oklahoma city 20 years ago this year, and the subsequent attack on 9/11. i would not have predicted that in 2008 we would endure the

worst global financial crisis since the great depression of the 1930s. and i certainly would not have predicted 45 years of higher education and government service nor the president of the united states asking me to be the united states ambassador to saudi arabia, responsible for our relations with a country that's a great strategic and economic importance and at the center of one of the most complex, embattled regions in the world. i also would not have predicted i would set out from new york to work on a master's degree at oklahoma state university. back in those days, most of us in new york thought the rocky mountains were in pennsylvania, didn't know what to expect here. guess who was my commencement speaker in 1974 when i finished that master's degree? richard nixon, president richard nixon. we held that ceremony here at osu and lewis field, and it was

a warm day. the president did a good job. he really talked about the generational change that was about to happen. his long address that day was well received and of course as all of you know that was may of 1974. in august 1974, president nixon had to resign or resign from the presidency because of the watergate scandal. he concluded his speech that day by noting that in 26 years the graduating class of 1974 would usher in the 21st century. we all thought that was a huge deal. he closed the speech with some very interesting words to our post boomer generation. quote. on that new year you will look back on this day and then you will judge your generation. let me tell you what i think you will be able to say. yours was a generation that was there, that had the strength and

stamina to see that america played a responsible role so that we did have peace in the world for a generation. yours was a generation that helped america become self sufficient in energy that helped america to develop the food resources for ourselves and other nations so that the level as far as people's abilities for nutrition are concerned was raised not only for ourselves but for all people. yours was the generation during which great strides were made forward in terms of fighting the scourges of disease, wherever they existed throughout the world. and most of all that yours was a generation that asked questions, a generation not afraid of controversy, but a generation that when the chips were down was strong in the mind strong in the right, believed in what we were doing. i say to you when the year 2000 comes, i am confident that members of the class of 1974 oklahoma state university, will look back and say yes, we met the test, ours was the great

american generation. end of quote. and you know i think he was right about that. all the things he said then in 1974 have evidenced in today's society. so let me conclude by suggesting some issues you may want to consider for your commencement address in 2060. if you're asked today what worries you the most, many may answer the threat of terrorism and fear of violent extremism. today the middle east is at the core of that battle between the majority that want peace and security and prosperity and a minority that wants tyranny and domination. great challenges face us in the mideast, bringing in a comprehensive, enduring peace to israel, the palestinians, and their neighbors, concluding an agreement with iran to end their pursuit of nuclear weapons negotiating a political solution to the conflict in yemen, dealing with the threat of

nonstate actors like isil and al qaeda in iraq and syria. how we address these challenges today will greatly effect your generation tomorrow. the agreements we sign the solution we put in place you will inherit. you will own them. how will they effect the way the world sees america? how will they effect your relationship with the global community? if you believe like i believe that the united states is stronger as an engaged constructive partner, how you strengthen connections with people around the world and breakdown barriers to improve the world around you will determine what you will really say in the year 2060. think about it this way. when you stand at this podium in 2060, 45 years from today, the world will be a very different place and your advice to graduates will likely be unpredictable by what's true

today. the world you're inheriting today is smaller, more populated, more integrated, far more impatient for instant gratification than the world my generation inherited. when you deliver that commencement address in 2060, what will you say about the ethics of genetics and robotics? how will you address the significant challenges posed by religion, cultural differences population growth, and threats of global health. will you have visited mars by then? how will you make yourself relevant when technology makes your job obsolete? you will live longer than me because of greater access to advanced medical treatments. so what will you do in the next 20 to 30 years of productive life? how will changes in climate effect availability of food and water? you will be living those fears alongside more than 9 billion people who will populate the

world by the time you give that commencement address. it is also predicted by 2043 no ethnic group will constitute majority of population making the united states a truly plural nation. will these population demographics create stress and tension in society or will a more diverse population foster greater innovation and productivity. will the internet continue. certainly will it continue as it is today. and what will be the impact to society as a result of it. what will the university look like in 2060? will professors still stand in front of a classroom and deliver lectures or will learning be all virtual. more than any other generation before you you will need to address inevitable consequences of globalization protectism, nationalism, aggression, and other actions that divide and collide. in the next four decades of this century, you will share all

these issues with all the people of the world. i urge you to think of the words from president obama in a speech in cairo in 2009. this is what he said quote. recognizing our common humanity is only the beginning of our task. words alone cannot meet the needs of our people. these needs will be met only if we act boldly in the years ahead, and if we understand that the challenges we face are shared. and our failure to meet them will hurt us all for we have learned from recent experience when a financial system weakens in one country prosperity is hurt everywhere. when a new flu infects one human being, all are at risk. when one nation pursues a nuclear weapon, the risk of nuclear attack rises for all nations. when violent extremists operate

in one stretch of mountains, people are endangered across an ocean. when innocents in bosnia and darfur are slaughtered that's a stain on our collective conscience. that is what is meant to share this world in the 21st century. that is the responsibility you have to one another as human beings, end of quote. so let me say to you, graduates of osu, i have great confidence that you will act boldly, that you are more capable than any other generation before you to lead us into the future and share the world in the 21st century. you, your children and your grandchildren will understand better than all of us that came before you the challenges that you will share with the rest of the world. i tell my six grandchildren ages 7 to 11, that they will witness and participate in a new era of invention entrepreneurship and innovation

that will change the course of history. as you ponder these questions i posed earlier, think about the tools you will need to sustain our america with its greatness and don't be afraid to use them to engage and challenge complacency and do not be afraid to change. it is essential for survival. so congratulations to all of you, the class of 2015, and when you get home thank your grandparents and great grandparents, that great generation that made it possible for me to be here, for you to be here, and made it possible for future generations to be here as well. thank them for what they did for us. god bless all of you congratulations. god bless the united states of america. [ applause ] ceo of amtrak and the safety board will testify regarding the

derailment in philadelphia last month. there were 8 fatalities and 200 injuries as a result of that crash. live coverage here on cspan3 gets under way about 10:00 a.m. eastern. then in the afternoon at 2:00 eastern, a hearing on the status of the takata air bag recall and safety issues. a house subcommittee will ask the takata vice president kevin kennedy and other witnesses how long it will take to fix vehicles and findings of air bag inflater testing in the last six months. that's also on cspan3. veterans affair secretary robert mcdonald giving the commencement address at university of utah. secretary mcdonald is a graduate of the university earning an mba there in 1978. before leading the veteran's affairs, he was ceo of proctor and gamble.

>> thank you. thanks to president pershing for that kind introduction, and thank you, dave for your service to our country. members of the board and trustees and president pershing, thank you for inviting me this evening. let me begin first and foremost by congratulating the graduates. you've labored long and hard you've done excellent work, and we're all here today, tonight to honor you, and wish you the very best as you continue your life's journey. [ applause ] >> equally important are your faculty, your family, your friends this evening. they supported you encouraged you, they're a large part of the reason you're here now.

they often sacrificed in ways you never knew, and to give you opportunities you wouldn't otherwise have. so graduates decide tonight to make a similar difference in the life of someone else. i applaud the university's new tradition, the red, white tassels and cords for veterans. to all veterans graduating to all veterans graduating tonight congratulations and thank you for your service to our country. thank you for volunteering to serve, thank you for you and your family's sacrifice, and i am deeply honored to be your secretary. [ applause ] i gladly accepted this opportunity not only because of

the respective for president pershing, but also for my love of university of utah. it has been nearly four decades since the university granted me an mba. i was a young man then. to you ready to graduate. it may seem like time passed slowly to get to this point. well, hang on. things are about to start moving at light speed. so first take away don't waste a moment. live every day with a clear purpose. fast forward with me for just a moment. let's say you're at your life's end, maybe here in a hospital in salt lake city. you're surrounded by people you love and people who love you. and those people ask you did you accomplish your purpose in life?

it would be a sad moment if your response was well i don't know. i never decided what my purpose would be. purpose is first and most important. purpose is first and most important. my life has had a couldn't knew the of purpose. for me it is always about improving the lives of others. that's why i became a boy scout. it is why i choose to become a west point cadet, why i became an officer in the united states army. why i joined the proctor and gamble company to serve the world's consumers. that's why when president obama asked me to serve at secretary of the department of veteran's affairs. my whole life has been leading to this privilege of serving

veterans. the power of institutions like university of utah department of veteran's affairs is that they help us discover and pursue our purpose. they help us begin to bring meaning to our lives and to our work. they bring people together who share a sense of purpose and they provide an opportunity to be part of something greater than ourselves. the core of utah's mission is to serve, to serve the people of utah and the world through discovery, creation, and application of knowledge. veteran's affairs mission is derived from president lincoln's charge in his second inaugural address as the bloody civil war was drawing to a close, lincoln directed us to serve and care for those who have borne the battle and for their families. it is the best most inspiring

mission i know of. utah's mission and va's mission reflect core beliefs that call on us to make a difference in the world. but how do we make a difference how do we make a difference in the world. sounds like an intimidating proposition and i can't tell you how. there's no formula, no road map, there's no smart phone application. there's no sure fire way steps to follow. but there is a north star to guide you and that north star is a sense of purpose, a commitment to make a difference with your life in the lives of others. that's the sole message i would like to leave you with tonight. many of you probably heard of lauren eisely's story of the star fish. let me repeat it. a young man was walking a

deserted beach before dawn. in the distance he saw a frail old man. as he approached that frail old man he saw him picking up a stranded star fish, and throwing them back into the sea. the young man gazed in wonder as the old man again and again bent over, picked up a star fish, and threw it from the sand to the water. the young man finally asked old man, why do you spend so much energy doing what seems to be a waste of time. the old man explained that the stranded star fish would die if it was left in the morning sun. the young man replied but there must be thousands of beaches and millions of star fish. how can you possibly make any difference. the old man looked at the small star fish in his hand as he threw it to the safety of the water, he said it makes a difference to just this one.

in 1966, robert kennedy told the star fish story but he told it in a different way. he said each time a person stands up for an ideal or acts to improve a lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he or she sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. these ripples crossing each other forming a million centers of energy and daring. they build a current that can sweep down the walls of oppression and resistance. one person can't do much. well gandhi did it in india martin luther king did it in the united states, nelson mandela did it in south africa. but we don't need to be a gandhi or a martin luther king or a nelson mandela to make the difference in the life of just

one person. let me tell you about one of the best days of my life. it wasn't when i graduated from west point. it wasn't when i graduated from university of utah. it wasn't when i was given the opportunity to serve as chairman and ceo of the proctor and gamble company or the secretary of veteran's affairs. one of the best days of my life was when i saw a paralyzed veteran wounded in combat walk. get up from their wheelchair as if they had been able to do it for 40 years and walk. some might call it a miracle and in a sense it was miraculous, but not in the way you might think. his name was billy. and he could walk because some good people trained him how to use a device we call the ex-oh skeleton. it wasn't so much about getting

someone to walk. that is important. but it is important because of what happens when you don't walk. when you don't walk, your muscles atrophy your bones become brittle and your gastrointestinal system stops working the way it should. so an important aspect is getting the human body to function properly again. but to billy, the most important thing was this he could look you in the eye again. it was that simple. it was about being able to look another person in the eye. it was about his sense of human dignity. the miracle wasn't billy standing, the miracle was his sense of purpose, that guiding light that drove some good people to make a profound difference in the life of just one person. and others will follow. tonight is a great moment to

dedicate or rededicate ourselves to this quest, finding our purpose, making a difference in the life of just one person. don't wait for that one big decision. don't wait for that one big opportunity. start right now. if you get in the habit, the rest will follow. if you're worried about no longer being a student after this evening don't. be a student every single day of your life, life has a great deal to teach you and to teach us all. thank you very much. god bless you and congratulations. [ applause ] live coverage of the u.s. house on cspan and the senate on cspan2 here on cspan3 we complement that coverage by

showing you the relevant hearings and public affairs events. on weekends, cspan3 is home to american history tv, with programs that tell our nation's story. the civil war anniversary visiting battle fields and key events. american artifacts, during historic sites to see what they reveal about our past. bookshelf, the presidency looking at policies and legacies of our nation's commanders in chief. lectures with top college professors delving into the past. and real america government and educational films from the 1930s through the 1970s. cspan3 created by the cable tv industry and provided by your local provider. former president george w. bush addressed the graduating class at southern methodist

university. 2015 is the university's anniversary. it opened 100 years ago. [ applause ] >> thank you all. thank you. [ applause ] thank you very much. president turner, thanks. members of board of trustees provost, faculty staff, distinguished guests, parents, most importantly the class of 2015. i thank you for your warm welcome. i appreciate the invitation to

be with you. you know when i mentioned this speech to some of my pals they were surprised i was going to give it. i haven't given a commencement speech since leaving office. my decision is quite practical. i got a phone call from my landlord. gerald turner. rare than raising the rent or threatening to hold our security deposit, i was relieved to hear president turner ask if i believed in free speech. [ laughter ] i said yeah. he said perfect. here's your chance to give one. proud member of the smu community, i am honored to be here truly honored to deliver

the 100th commencement address. i admire president turner's persuasiveness and his leadership. he runs a fantastic university. [ applause ] it is dynamic, diverse and destined for continued excellence. he's assembled a strong administrative team. he is supported by engaged alumni and has an outstanding board of trustees. i know many of the trustees. i am good friends with the chairman, mike boone. there's one trustee i know really well. she's a proud graduate of the class of 1968 and went on to become our nation's greatest first lady.

do me a favor don't tell mother. i see firsthand when i attend bring your spouse night dinners. i also dropped by classes on occasion. i am impressed by the intelligence and energy of the faculty. thank you for sharing your knowledge with the students. to reach this day, the graduates had the support of loving families. some of you love you so much, they're in the overflow sites across the campus. congratulate parents that sacrificed to make this moment possible. it is a glorious day when your child graduates from college and a really great day for your bank

account. i know the members of the class of 2015 will join me in thanking you for your love and support. [ applause ] most of all i congratulate the last of 2015. you worked hard to reach this milestone. you leave with lifelong friends and fond memories. you will always remember how much you enjoyed the right to buy a required campus meal plan. you will remember your frequent battles with the park and pony office. you may or may not remember productive nights at the barley house. you were founding members of the mighty smu mob. bouncing like mad, watching in wonder as your then student body

president, senior lobster danced with joy after the victories. you'll think back to care free fall game days on the boulevard though i don't recall seeing too many of you in the stadium. those of you who are graduating this afternoon with high honors awards distinctions i say well done. and as i like to tell the c students you, too, can be president. [ cheers and applause ] after four years of sitting through lectures, i have a feeling you're not in the mood for another one. what i learned about graduation speeches is they're too long and

rarely remembered. so i am going to keep this short, i can't attest to how memorable it will be. i also learned it is important to learn with someone associated with the university, i picked one, an smu trustee who by the way is not here, reverend mark crick. i asked mark to deliver the sermon at first united methodist church in austin before my second inauguration as governor of texas. i still remember his fort worth twang as he talked about moses. god called moses to action and moses repeatedly found excuses not to act. who am i that i should to pharaoh, bring the sons of israel out of egypt. oh, my lord, i pray send some other person. i have sheep to tend. and people won't believe me. ooichl not i am not a good speaker. he is obviously not the only one that muddled the english language, or in his case arabic.

fortunately moses recognized the call to serve something greater than himself. he answered the call led his people, and history was made. you, too, will be called at some point. the question is will you be optimistic and hopeful or pessimistic and cynical. here are three reasons to be optimistic and hopeful. one, you're graduating from a great university. your smu degree will open the door to a wide variety of career options. millions will never have had this opportunity. smu laid a foundation to reason and continue throughout your life. it has given you tools to be productive citizens. one of the great strengths of america is active public square. issues are influenced by the

wilfl of the people. that's why an educated citizenry is so important to the country. as smu graduates you are well equipped to participate in these vital debates. my hope is that you speak out on the issues that matter to you, participate in your nation's civic life as citizens, not spectators spectators. you'll learn who you are is more important than what you have, and that you have responsibilities to your fellow citizens, your country and your family. by taking part in american democracy you will make our country stronger. secondly, you're blessed to live in the greatest nation ever. [ applause ] >> you can succeed as far as you dare to dream.

something about the country that millions around the world are willing to leave their homes and families and risk everything to come here and realize the american dream. their pursuit of that dream in vig rates our national soul renews our country's character and adds vitality to our culture. you live in a land that's compassionate and decent. because we believe in the rights and dignity of our own citizenry, we are committed to defending the rights and dignity of people everywhere. america has liberated millions around the world from tyranny and terror. we helped turn the tide against deadly disease in places like africa. in our hearts we believe all are created equal under god. the liberty we prize is not america's gift to the world, it is almighty god's gift to humanity. at home there are thousands of platoons in the armies of

compassion working to honor those beliefs. no matter what your career path, enlist. when you help another you enrich your heart and you strengthen the fabric of our collective goodness. many of you have already made service a priority in your lives by volunteering during winter, spring, summer breaks and completing more than 100 community projects through engaged learning. i thank you for recognizing the timeless truth of those to whom much is given, much is required. as you serve others, you can inspire others. i have been inspired by the example of many selfless servants. winston churchill, leader of courage and resolve inspired me during my presidency and for that matter in the post presidency. like churchill, i now paint.

unlike churchill the painting isn't worth much without the signature. 1941 gave a speech to students at his old school. wasn't too long and it is well remembered. prime minister churchill urged never give in nothing great or small, large or petty never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. i hope you'll remember this advice. but there's a lesser known passage from that speech that i also want to share with you. these are not dark days. these are great days. the greatest day our country has ever lived. and we must all thank god that we have been allowed, each of us according to our stations to play a part in making these days

memorable in the history of our race. when churchill uttered these words, many had lost hope and great britain's chance of survival against the nazis many doubted the future of freedom. today some doubt america's future and they say our best days are behind us. i say given our strengths, one of which is a bright new generation like you, these are not dark days, these are great days. and finally you can be hopeful because there's a loving god whether you agree with that statement or not is your choice. it is not your government's choice. it is essential -- [ applause ] it is essential to this nation's future that we remember that the

freedom to worship who we want and how we want or not worship at all is a core belief of our founding. i have made my choice. i believe that the almighty's grace and unconditional love will sustain you. i believe it will bring you joy amidst the trials of life. it will enable you to better see the beauty around you, it will provide a solid foundation amidst a rapidly changing somewhat impersonal technologically driven world. it will show you how to love your neighbor, forgive more easily, and approach success with humility and failure without fear. it will inspire you to honor your parents. eventually be a better spouse and parent yourself. it will help you fully grasp the value of life all life. it will remind you that money,

power and fame are false idols and i hope and believe god's love will inspire you to serve others. i want to thank you for letting me share this special day with you. i wish you all the very best. stay in touch with your friends. love your family. treat this day as a step toward a lifetime of learning and go forth with confidence. may god bless you. [ applause ]

republican senator lindsey graham has declared he is running for the republican nomination for president. we will see more campaign announcements this week. wednesday, former governor lincoln chafee will be announcing a democratic candidate. then thursday, former governor rick perry will declare he is a republican candidate for president. that will be live beginning 12:30 p.m. eastern. also on cspan3 and online at cspan.org. dream works animation chair mellody hobson is chorpt director at he is tee lauder and starbucks, president of one of the largest african-american money management and mutual fund companies in the u.s. her husband "star wars" creator

george lucas was a usc graduate. >> what a day. i want to send my congratulations to the usc class of 2015. now i would like to ask the graduates to do something. i would like you to look past the rain and look up at the sky. now i would like you to imagine that you are in a lightweight capsule and it took you two hours to be 24 miles up. insane, right? the only way you can get back to earth is to jump. this actually happened in 2012 for a parachutist, felix

baumgartner. he put himself in this exact situation. as he looked out, he could see the curve of the earth as he contemplated his next move. you hear the ground crew tell him disconnect the two oxygen supply hoses attached to his pressurized suit. felix doesn't move. moments pass. then you hear the command again. disconnect the oxygen. so why did felix hesitate? i think most of you know in fact i would say sitting 24 miles up is not that different from where you're sitting here right now. graduating from college is a major transition. you know that. you're probably feeling eager, you're feeling excited and like felix, you may also be feeling scared.

the world may look bigger than it's ever looked and you may feel smaller than you've ever felt, but those of you graduating today, you know why felix hesitated. it wasn't because he was not brave. it was because you cannot be brave without fear. so despite a racing heart extremely sweaty palms felix did disconnect the oxygen and he put his faith in his preparation in his parachute and jumped into the unknown. did he make it? we will leave him suspended in free tall and come back to him. i am happy to be here on solid ground with all of you. i want to thank the president for that kind introduction, and

congratulate my fellow honorary degree recipients i want to con congratulate all of the alumni, family and friends. today we're all one big trojan family. some of you were born into it. some of you chose it. i married into it. i remember the first time my husband george lucas brought me to campus. i like him too. first stop was the film school obviously, then we attended a football game, not a game, the game against west wood high. now i will just go back east and one thing i can tell you i think football is mostly cold

and boring, cold like it is right now, but the game was amazing. i cheered the entire time. i could not believe you had a real horse as a mascot. i was amazed. then i learned that that's not the original, and i thought what a nice tradition, but doesn't it make more sense to replicate pete carroll? now i can tell you i am truly grateful to now have my own degree from usc, i cherish this honor as well as the opportunity to speak to you. as i was preparing for today, made me think of my own college commencement 24 years ago. our speaker was a highly esteemed leader well known for what he did. he talked to us about honestly i cannot remember a thing that he

said nothing. and he may have divulged the meaning of life but my mind was racing i was so eager i could not focus. and i didn't have texting back then. i was like you guys are today, going a mile a minute. i am sure many of you feel the same way. i am going to give you permission not to remember a thing that i say 24 years from now except for three words. three words. come on, it is not a lot. and those three words are just add bravery. just add bravery. let me be clear what i mean about bravery. to me, being brave means even when you know an action can end very badly you still forge ahead. now, there's super sized bravery, the kind that leads a relatively sane person to jump from 24 miles up. and there's what i call bite

sized bravery which requires smaller but equally important leaps. it was bite sized bravery that compelled you to take that applied mathematics class. it was bite sized bravery that led you to speak out when everyone agreed on a topic in session and you knew they were completely missing the point. it was bravery that led you to fight for a friend in need or perhaps even a stranger. it was bravery that led you to take that shot at the buzzer and it was bravery that led not one but two women to run for president of the usc student council. bravery allows us to push beyond the boundaries that hold us back from living the lives that we want. for those of you, some of you those boundaries may have been imposed by your family. in this regard, i have to tell you i was lucky. i grew up in chicago, youngest

of six kids to a single mom. my situation was one that was challenged. some of you may have had the same situation. sometimes we didn't have enough money for rent and we'd get get evicted which happened a lot. that's not why i was lucky. i was lucky because one of the things my mother did despite the harsh realities we had to deal with, she made sure she never gave up and she made sure we didn't either. even when my childhood was filled with her brutal pragmatism pragmatism, she gave us tremendous love and encouragement. the words she spoke nearly every day, she said mellody, you can be or do anything. it was because of those words i loved school more than anything. i would wake up at the crack of dawn, still do to study. because of those words i dreamed the biggest dreams. i hope you have your family

support as you pursue your passions and dream your own dreams. you might need bravery to push past the stereotypes that come with our culture and where we live. when i was a little girl taking public transportation to school i can bet not too many were sitting on the bus going there goes the future president of an investment management firm with nearly $11 billion of assets in her management. they might have thought that, if they spent five minutes talking to me, but i don't think they had those ideas, and their expectations didn't run that high from afar. so i hope we can be better judging people not under assumptions and appearances but on their achievements and actions. here's how we can do that. just like i told you you can be or do anything i want you to believe that's true of anyone and everyone.

you see at college you have a fear of control around social interactions, you can decide who to sit next to in class who to room with, but i bet in the next chapter of your life you won't have much say about who is in the cubicle next to you at work and you might actually sit next to someone who you have absolutely nothing in common with. and i actually think that's great. it is so easy to get trapped in a self selected subset of humanity. yes, it feels comfortable. but it is also extraordinary and confining. make an effort to step outside your circle. do more than just accept diversity. seek out diversity. i promise. it will make you more interesting, more understanding, and just basically smarter. here's another benefit. when you have the courage to

expand your world, you expand the entire world. because tolerance scales. person by person, weekend stereotypes and remove barriers awareness, it actually doesn't end there. we need action. and the way to move from awareness to action, just add bravery. so it brings me back to felix. okay. i left him suspended in air right? after leaping into the great unknown, he went into a free-fall, and all went well for seven seconds. in the eighth second, felix had accelerated to 600 miles an hour and he began to spin violently. he was still in an uncontrollable spin when he broke the sound barrier. now he says it turns out the most terrifying part was not the leap, it was trying to get his bears and to right himself.

once again, felix provides the perfect metaphor to after college life. each of you will head off on to your own unique path. you may have different goals but there is one thing you will all have in common. it's 100% certain, a 100% that you will all have significant challenges in your life. you will spin out and you will struggle to right yourself. and you know the best way to confront those inevitable life challenges and struggles? just add bravery. and that won't always mean charging the hill with fist in the air. sometimes it will mean not charging the hill. this year we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the march on selma. people of all faiths came together to walk to the alabama state capitol to demand the passage of the voting rights act. what is less well-known except perhaps to the american studies majors is there were three attempts to do this march. the first time, 600 peaceful

protesters tried to cross the edmund pettus bridge, and they were attacked with tear gas and night sticks. the second time martin luther king jr. came and he assembled all the marchers that were ready to cross the bridge. he told them first let's kneel in prayer. they did. and when they got up he told them to turn back. they were shocked. you see, sometimes restraint takes bravery. it was the third time 16 days later when they had all of the federal protections in place that dr. king actually completed the 54-mile march to montgomery with 25,000 marchers. now let's return to felix. he is in his violent death spin, remember? 15 seconds into the jump, he is going at 844 miles an hour. or as the physics majors know,

mach-1.25. now he starts working systematically and using all of his years of preparation and training to right himself. and it actually doesn't matter what he did or how he did it, because i don't think any of us are going to find ourselves in this situation. but what we can all take away from this is this. when you feel yourself spinning out at supersonic speeds, keep your wits about you and rely on your preparation. five minutes later felix landed safe and sound except for a few bruises and a slight case of whiplash. basically, the equivalent of a fender-bender on exposition. and i hope wherever you land you too will wind up successful, happy and proud to have done something unique. and if you can't see a clear path to your dreams i can offer you three equations that can help get you there. now this is simple math. so simple that even the students who took the selfies class are going to understand what i am

talking about. okay. equation number one. hard work plus bravery equals success. however you define success set your sights high. be a hard grader on yourself. when i started in money management, i knew that there were people who had a lot more experience, a lot more knowledge, and the one thing i knew i could do is outwork them. and i actually did. if i didn't understand something, i'd ask questions. if i didn't know how to do something, i'd ask to learn. most people don't want to admit what they don't know. i do. i see nothing wrong with that. i think it's actually smarter. so don't pretend that you know more than you do. in fact, i have to tell you, i'm jealous of you. you've got years you can milk because you're new as you go into the workforce. so take advantage of that. at the same time don't pretend to know less than you do either. my first day at aerial, my boss

and mentor john rogers told me you're going to be in rooms with people who make a lot of money and have huge titles. and just because you're young and new doesn't mean you don't have great ideas. i want them. and even if you don't have support from the top, i urge you to participate fully, not in a cocky or smug way but with confidence and humility. be willing to speak up and stand out. i know firsthand this can be very hard at times for women and minorities who are desperate to fit in. i see a lot of women hang back and say tell me what you want me to be and i'll be it when a better attitude is really this is who i am. and i have value. and i hope that you like it. but if you don't, this is who i am. and no matter who you are i promise, if you focus on the work success will come. if you focus on the success,

nothing will come. equation number two, imagination plus bravery equals creativity. there are so few originals in life. i think the best compliment you can ever receive is i've never met anyone like you. being unique means forming your own opinions. it helps if you reach for questions and push for answers. if you bring that attitude to work, you will not only advance yourself, you will advance all of humanity. usc has produced visionaries in every field -- technology, medicine, and the arts. and i want to talk about the arts for a minute. because they're near and dear -- they're near and dear to my near and dear. you see this university has something that no school anywhere can match, the greatest film school in the country. [ cheering ] this matters because our society is held together, all societies

are held together by stories. from cave paintings to "star wars," stories serve an essential purpose in our communities and in our lives. five centuries ago the majority of people could not read at all. so the church relied on artists to turn the sistine chapel into a stunning classroom. these frescos did more than give people something to stare at as they were listening to long services in latin. they were actually like a 15th century highlight reel of moses and jesus christ. the art entertained as well as educated. george wrote his movies not just because it's fun to watch harrison ford fly through space with his furry copilot but to really teach the values of society. he crafted a story that offered a choice between being selfish and being compassionate. he took a stand and made his

beliefs clear that all the dark side can be more powerful and alluring, the light will bring more joy. which brings me to my last equation. love plus bravery equals happiness. a lot of graduation speeches will encourage you to be passionate about something. i'm going encourage you to be passionate about someone. now, i'm going to be brave and talk about love. and i know for some of you just the word probably makes you squirm. i get that. i was totally that way. for a long time i avoided the subject. for me it was career business, those were my priorities. it took me a long time to be as brave in my personal life as i was in my professional life. that's because to be brave in love means opening yourself up to the possibility of heartbreak. and for me, like felix in that

violent spin i didn't want to lose control. i didn't want to be in a situation where i would not be able to right myself. then i met george. people talk about soul mates. i met my mind's friend. and since i always trusted my mind when it told me to leap, so did my heart. usc has a rich tradition of brave graduates. now it's up to you to carry on that tradition. your bravest self will be your best self. moving forward from this momentous occasion i hope you embrace these words written by w.e.b. dubois who cofounded the naacp. in 1914 he sent his then teenaged daughter to boarding school in england. and here is the advice he offered to her as she set out on this exciting and terrifying adventure.

i mean, think about it. 1914, black teenager going to england. he said, and these words apply to you," you're in one of the world's best schools in one of the world's greatest modern empires. deserve it then. be frank honest and fearless. the main thing is the you beneath the clothes and skin. don't shy away from new experiences and custom. take the cold bath bravely." and so i say to you, as you plunge into your own new adventure, take the cold bath bravely. and as inspiring, as importants that message was, he didn't end his letter there. he actually ended with something more important. he said, "above all, remember your father loves you and he believes in you." that is my hope for all of you,

that you are brave and that you are loved. congratulations to the usc class of 2015. fight on! [ applause ] this summer, book tv will cover book festivals from around the country and top nonfiction authors and books. this weekend we're live from the chicago tribune lit fest including our in-depth program with lawrence wright and your phone calls. near the end of june watch for the annual roosevelt reading festival from the franklin d. roosevelt presidential library. in the middle of july, we're live at the harlem book fair, the nation's flagship african american literary event with author interviews and panel discussion. and at the beginning of september, we're live from the nation's capitol for the national book festival celebrating its 15th year.

and that's a few of the events this summer on c-span2's book tv. up next former massachusetts governor mitt romney receives an honorary doctorate and gives the commencement address at saint anselm college in manchester. the 2012 presidential nominee talks about losing to president obama, and he urges the graduating class to get involved in the upcoming new hampshire primaries. >> it gives me great pleasure at this time to call upon governor mitt romney to deliver the commencement address. [ applause ] >> thank you. the president and trustees and honored guests and weary parents, to the class of 2015 well done and congratulations. and to you parents the years of investment and prayers have added up to this joyful

achievement. hopefully you're about to experience a new american dream which is no longer owning your own home it's getting your kids out of the home you own. now, you just heard that i've been awarded an honorary degree. when i think of all the times i've been here at saint anselm, for debate, forums, town meetings and rallies i might argue that this is an earned degree. but i'm afraid to get one of those i would have had to win. now 16 years -- 16 years of education has made your world a great deal bigger than the world of your childhood. it's a funny thing about little kids. they don't see much beyond what is right around them. they see their family their school maybe their city. but they just can't imagine distant places. their vision, their world is like a small circle, bounded by their very limited experience.

your world now is breathtakingly large, almost without boundaries. with so much vastness and so many possible directions to take, some of you may understandably feel somewhat anxious and uncertain. you may even be tempted during your life to look for a smaller more comfortable world, one that is less complex and less demanding of you. that's not who you are. and that's not what saint anselm has prepare you'd to do. to experience a fulfilling purposeful life, one thing you're going to have to do is this live a large life. living large means embracing every fruitful dimension in life. it means continuing to expand your world and engaging it as fully as you're able. let me offer a few suggestions about how to do that. and the first involves friendship. i remember sitting in a business class, looking around the room

and thinking to myself that i'd probably never see any of these guys again. all my attention was focused on what was being taught. but you know what? i have forgotten almost everything that was being taught. it's the classmates i remember. and it's those friends that i value most today. 40 years since my graduation, the guys in my six-person study group continue to get together. we've congratulated one another on our highs and consoled one another on our lows. and believe it or not, your parents can become even closer friends than they are today. my friend stewart stevens decided to take his father to every single ole miss football game home or away. what's unusual about that is that his father's 95 years old. and stewart had moved away from home to go to college over 40 years ago. he lives in vermont. his dad lives in north carolina. so these father-son excursions

would mean a lot of travel a lot of time together and long talks. and he dig would dig deep into understanding his dad his personality, his dreams and his fears. and delving so far in his father's personhood their friendship deepened. their relationship expanded in such noted ways that a new york publisher has decided to publish book about the experience this fall. your life will be large fer you value and nourish friendships. friendships from here at saint anselm, from your home and from the growing circle of your life. now, for most of you, living life to the fullest will also mean marriage and children. i don't expect everyone here to believe as i do that the bible is the word of god or that it's inspired by god. if not then at least you have to acknowledge that it represents the wisdom of the ages written by extraordinary

thinkers and philosophers. either way, its counsel warrants attention. and in its opening pages, it says this. adam gives this direction. "therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh." the one flesh part we get. but the part about leaving mom and dad and getting married trips some people up. now i'm surely not going to tell you when it is you should tie the knot. you've got parents that will do that. but i will tell you that marriage has been the single most rewarding part of my life by far. marriage involves passion, conflict, emotion, fear hope, compromise, understanding. in short, it is living large. and then there are children. here the bible also has advice. "children are a heritage of the

lord. as arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth. happy is the man that hath his quiverfull of them." i'm not sure if five sons qualifies as a quiverful for me. but i can affirm that they brought immeasurable happiness. and in point they engaged anne and me in life in ways we couldn't have expected. on one occasion years ago anne and i were invited to speak to the parents of harvard business school about our choice of careers. i as a management consultant and she as a full-time mom. anne was reluctant, in part because the other two couples would also be speaking on that same topic. and both of the other women had chosen to become wall street bankers. in the class, the other couples went first and then i followed and anne spoke last. and she explained that while she expected to have a career outside the home in the future that she had chosen initially to be a full-time mom until her five kids were raised.

she went on to explain that her job had required more of her than she had ever understood. she was psychologist, tutor counselor, nurse practitioner, nutritionist, budget director, and more. when she sat down, the class was silent for several seconds. and then they rose in standing ovation. golda meir, the former prime minister of israel was asked what was her greatest accomplishment. she didn't hesitate. raising my daughter, she said. marriage and children expand your world and engage you more fully in it. now there is a family burger joint i like whose founder put a little book out of homespun wisdom. he says to be happy requires three things. number one, someone to love. number two something to look forward. to and number three, something to do. in other words, work. you might be inclined to think

that a garden of eden life would be preferable to working in a job, but you would be wrong. i'm convinced that adam and eve would have been bored to tears if they stayed in that garden. no kids, no challenges, no job. i think that adam being made to grow food by the sweat of his brow was a blessing, not a curse. of course, there is a lot not to like about a job. the early alarm clock, the rush hour traffic, the stress. but work engages you in life. you come to know more people. to understand their motivations and their values and to learn the intricacies of the enterprise that employees you. don't waste time bemoaning your job. don't skim by with the minimum of effort. dive in. get more from your job than a paycheck. hard work is living large. now, there is a part of life that you won't welcome, bad things. bad things that happen to you.

if you're like i was, you imagine that bad things happen infrequently, and when they do they happen to other people. i used to sit in church and look around the congregation. everybody was smiling and happy. life seemed to be nothing but puppies and pansies for everybody. and then my church asked me to serve as the congregation's pastor. and as pastor i got to really know the people behind all those smiling faces. and to my surprise, many of them held what anne and i call a bag of rocks behind their back. that bag of rocks could be a chronic illness, a battle with some kind of addiction, a child that couldn't keep up in school unemployment, financial crises withering loneliness, or a marriage on the rocks. to my surprise almost every single family faced one kind of challenge or another. they all had a bag of rocks behind their backs.

we will all hurt. engaging in your world means accepting the hurt and confronting it, and then endeavoring to ascend above it so that you can keep pursuing a fulfilling and abundant life. during my campaign i met sam schmidt in las vegas. in january of 2000, his indianapolis racing car hit the wall. this father of two young children spent five month on a respirator and was rendered quadriplegic. he is move nothing below his neck. he and i spoke about his life today. his morning begins with a two to three-hour routine for bladder bowl, teeth, shower, and getting dressed. that would be enough for a lot of people to just give up. but instead sam owns and manages an indy racing car team, which by the way regularly dominates the firestone indy lights having won 60 races. and he himself has actually

begun to drive again. he has a corvette. it's been fitted out with special controls. to accelerate he blows into this little tube. and to brake he sucks air out of the tube. to turn left or right, he looks carefully left or right. accordingly, he has warned his racing buddies on the track you got to keep the bikinis out of the grandstands. sam's disability is still there. he endures it every day. every hour. but that has not kept him from fully engaging in life. your career may be different than you expect. the biggest departure from my predicted career path came when i decided to run for political office. when i stepped into the auditorium to debate ted kennedy and boston's historic fan well hall, i turned to anne, sweetheart, in your wildest dreams, did you see me running for senate?

she said mitt you weren't in my wildest dreams. actually, she didn't say that that was a joke i bought. but through all the occupations i've had i've experienced successes and as you know, failures. i'm asked what it felt like to loose to president obama. not as good as winning. failures aren't fun but they are inevitable. more importantly, failures don't define who you are. some people measure their life by their secular successes. how high on the corporate ladder they got, how much money they made. did they do better than their high school classmates. if that's the kind of success you're looking for, you're bound to be disappointed. life has way too much chance and serendipity to be assured fame or fortune. more importantly, if your life is lived for those things, your life will be shallow and unfulfilling. the real wealth in life is in your friendships, your marriage

your children, what you have learned in your work what you have overcome your relationship with god. and what you have contributed to others. that last dimension, contribution to others is often the most overlooked and most undervalued. tom monihan's father died when tom was just 4 years old. his mother entrusted him to a catholic orphanage because she was unable to care for him and his brother. he went on the graduate from high school and then enrolled in the university of michigan. the tuition proved to be beyond his reach. so to help meet costs, he bought and ran a pizza shop. he called his shops domino's, and tom became wealthy. he bought a bugatti for $8.4 million. he bought the detroit tigers and won the world series the next year. when i met tom in 1998, i was surprised to find him seated in a closet-sides anti-chamber to

what had been a luscious, spacious executive suite. he had sold the tigers and the bugatti car. tom had signed what was called the millionaire's vow of poverty. accordingly, he would not drive a luxury car fly in a private plane or assume any of the trappings of wealth. that included him trading his impressive office in for the small cubicle where i found him. he explained that in reading the bible and the essays of c.s. lewis, he had been reminded of his upbringing in that catholic orphanage. he wanted to change his life and devote his years to service. shortly thereafter, on behalf of my firm, i wrote a check to tom to buy domino's for over $1 billion. and then all but a small living stipend, he then turned around and donated to catholic charities. he found a college and named it not after himself, but after the

mother of god, ave maria university. i asked him a few weeks ago what was the most rewarding part of his life? was it winning the world series? building dominoes from nothing or driving that bugatti? you can guess his answer. he said i've had enough toys to know how important they aren't. it was giving back through the university. living life in fullness includes serving others. and doing so without pride or personal gain. it will fill your heart expand your world. i've seen that kind of service in large and small ways in my own family. my sister's devoted the last 45 years of her life to the care of her downs syndrome son. my wife volunteered as a teacher for a class for at-risk girls. my mom was a frequent visitor to the homes of shut-ins and widows. my brother-in-law served in the navy. my cousin joan was foster mom to

57 kids. my dad and i both ran for political office. now wait a second. that last item running for office, what does that got to do with service? well i no efor some politics is an occupation and a fine one at that. but for dad and me it came at the time when our careers were over. i believed and my dad believed we could really help people if we were elected. most of you probably won't run for office. but the country needs all of you to serve. america faces daunting challenges -- generational poverty, looming debt, a warming climate, particularly today. and a world that is increasingly dangerous and tumultuous. washington appears inept powerless, and without an effective strategy to overcome any of those. america needs your passion your impatience with inaction, your

participation in the political discourse. you have the opportunity to take part in one of america's greatest endeavors, new hampshire's first in the nation presidential primary. get involved with the candidate of your choice. work a phone bank. march in a parade like my favorite, the fourth of july wolfeboro parade. go door to door. attend town meeting and ask tough questions. new hampshire is the greatest presidential proving ground we have. its enduring impact is only as certain as the next generation of citizens who choose to get involved. engaging in your world includes engaging in citizenship. and so this cozy little world of your childhood is gone. you may be tempted to try to create for yourself that same kind of small and safe circle, concentrating on entertainment for yourself, doing the minimum at work. reading nothing because nothing has been assigned.

avoiding meaningful commitments, complaining about the inevitable unfairnesses of life. alternatively, you could live large by expanding your world engaging in your world constantly learning, overcoming reversals, nourishing friendships, engaging in citizenship, and serving others. that's the road less traveled. and it will make all the difference. god bless you in your journey. thank you. [ applause ] republican senator lindsey graham has now declared that he is running for the republican nomination for president. we'll see more campaign announcements coming up this week. wednesday, former governor lincoln chafee will be in arlington, virginia. he'll announce that he is a democratic candidate for president. he'll be able to watch it live here on c-span3 and on c-span.org starting at 5:30 p.m.

eastern. and then thursday former governor rick perry will declare that he is a republican candidate for president that will be live beginning at 12:30 p.m. eastern also here on c-span3 and online at c-span.org. we continue with commencement addresses now. this one from south carolina republican governor nikki haley as she speaks to university of south carolina graduates at the schools of business, communications, nursing, pharmacy, and public health. she currently is serving her second term as the 116th governor of south carolina and the first woman to serve in that role. [ applause ] >> thank you very much. i want to thank president pastides and the board. as daughter of indian parents, i first want to say if you know in the indian community, your parents, they raise you, and

they want you to be one of three things either a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer. now i can tell them i made it i'm a doctor. thank you very much. i'm incredibly honored. to president pastides members of the faculty and staff, trustees, families, friends and most of all, to the distinguished members of the university of south carolina's class of 2015, let me say this. it's a great day in south carolina. [ applause ] it's true i say that often. the wonderful thing about our state in this time is that each day brings with it a different reason to celebrate. it's something i never take for granted, something we should all be proud of. but today, today is different. mark twain once said that quote, there are basically two types of people. people who accomplish things and

people who claim to have accomplished things. the first group is less crowded. today because of the people filling this arena because of your hard work, your dedication, your sacrifice your talent, we've made mr. twain's first group a little more crowded. to the faculty sitting around me, let me say thank you. thank you for shepherding through this wonderful university the next generation of south carolina's leaders. thank you for being a tutor, a mentor, a friend. the great american poet and educator robert frost said, quote, i'm not a teacher but an awakener. you have awakened in young minds entrusted to you a desire to learn, an ability to achieve, and a capacity to lead. today is your celebration too. to the parents and the grandparents, the brothers and the sisters, aunts and uncles i

can feel the pride radiating from you. it should. nothing of great consequence is ever realized alone. and make no mistake, earning a degree from such a prestigious university is an act of great consequence. you'll hear it from your graduates today, but you'll hear it from me as well. they could not have done this without you. the support of family means everything. and to the graduates, the class of 2015 from this proud clemson tiger, i say congratulations. i knew you were going to boo me on that one. for the last few years some of you did it in four, some in three, maybe some of you like me, did it in five. yes, i was a five-year girl. you have called the university of south carolina your home. it has been a place of challenge and success, of friendship and

heartache, of lesson after lesson, both inside and out of the classroom. over these years you have grown you have changed, and now you have graduated. you have completed this part of your journey, and now the world awaits, anxiously to see what you will do next. believe it or not, it was not that long ago that i sat where you sit faced with the choices and the challenges and the uncertainties, but most of all, the opportunities that lie ahead of you. i've long believed in the benefit of reaching out to those who have been where i'm going who have walked in the path i'm soon to travel. any time someone can save me a few steps or even better the pitfalls beneath them, i take that as a huge opportunity of valuable advice. so on this day of celebration for you for your family and your friends, i'd humbly like to share some things i've learned

along the way. first, trust who you are. golda meir, the first female prime minister of israel once said the following. quote, trust yourself. create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. make the most of your self by fanning the tiny inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement. you don't immediate to look anywhere outside yourself for confirmation. your gut matters. you know yourself better than anyone else does. and that will be true forever. you know what is right and what is not. you know what will make you proud and will make you strong. that knowledge is a wonderful thing if you trust it. so don't shy away from who you are or what you know. your core beliefs and the intuition they drive means something.

trust them. trust your gut. it will serve you well. second, push through the fear. life is easier within our comfort zones, but it's also a lot less interesting. in the 1960s, my parents were living in india, both born from families of privilege. they were well educated. they were secure, and they had all of the comforts of upper class families in that place and time. life was fine for them. and would have remained so had they stayed. but they wanted better than fine. they knew america was a place of unlimited opportunity, and they wanted those opportunities for their children. even if it meant starting over. and so they left going into the unknown with just $8 in their pocket, moving first to canada and then later to the small rural town of bamburg, south

carolina. i don't pretend to know the depths of the fear they felt when they landed in columbia, across the world from their home, away from their friends and family, a place different from anything they had ever experienced. nor what it felt like waking up each day in bamburg, the only indian family in that small southern town. mom determined in her sari, and dad proud in his turban. but i know whatever fear they felt, they pushed through it. they raised four children, made friends, grew a business. they built a life. and a little more than 40 years after they arrived in bamburg my parents stood o :v

quote, i learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it said nelson mandela. the brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. don't be afraid of being afraid. push through it. triumph over it. find the fear and then conquer it. for if you aren't putting yourself in situations that make you uncomfortable, then you've got some living to do. third, actions matter far more than words. it's not what you say, it's what you do that people will remember you for. the story of america is the story of men and women of action. george washington, susan b. anthony, the roosevelts, rosa parks. these icons of american history changed our world. not by what they said, but by what they did. and even those words that we remember so well, the letters

and speeches and governing documents we still revere mean what they do to us today because of the deeds we know they represent. thomas jefferson's declaration of independence would simply be an elegant letter and not a seminal founding document if it wasn't for the courage of he and his fellow revolutionaries who put not just their freedom, but their lives on the line in the war against britain. the get gettysburg address a mere 272 words, still taught to every schoolchild derived their great power from abraham lincoln's towering strength, a strength that enabled him to stand behind those words do what was right, and free the slaves. even martin luther king's "i have a dream speech," perhaps the most important piece of american rhetoric in the 20th century would mean less if we didn't know he spent his entire

life working each day to make that dream a reality. his words mattered of course, but they mattered so much more because he lived them. it's not what you say but what you do that will ultimately define your life. live with that understanding. knowing that your words matter far less than the actions that you take, and that those actions are the greatest window into the person that you are. fourth whatever you do be great at it and make sure people remember you for it. i know i've quoted a few giants today, mandela and a frost meir and twain, but this comes from a place much closer to home and to my heart, my mother. it was her mantra, and she drilled it into me from a very young age. growing up my parents had an upscale women's clothing store. it was truly a family business. we all participated one way or the other, either after school

or on weekends or during our free time. when i was 13 years old, our bookkeeper decided that it was time for her to move on and she asked my mother who she should train as a replacement. my mom grabbed my arm and said train her. the outgoing bookkeeper was all out of sorts. a 13-year-old couldn't keep the books for a growing retail business. but my mom was insistent. teach her. she'll be great at it. it's that philosophy, my mom's philosophy to always, always be great. that i've carried with me through every stage of my life. because if something is worth doing, it's worth doing great. it's worth being remembered for. finally, remember that after today you represent more than just yourself. you represent the entire university of south carolina. be proud of the university that

is propelling you further along the path to adulthood. it's an amazing place one that has given you experiences and friendships you will no doubt treasure for the rest of your life. but make the university just as proud of you as you are of it. act with integrity. be honest. work hard. take risks. give back. be joyful. you're a gamecock now, now and forever. that means something. for many of you, i'm sure it feels like this is the greatest day of your life, and it should. it's an amazing accomplishment, no matter what path brought you here. but what makes me so excited for you and so proud for the chance to play a small role in your celebration today is that i know if you want them, there are far greater days in your future. so enjoy today. hug your mom or your dad, your brother or your sister.

thank a professor. call your grandmother. share it with all your friends. and tomorrow get back to work, because we can't wait to see what the university of south carolina class of 2015 does next. thank you, god bless you and may he continue to bless the entire state of south carolina. [ applause ] former hulu ceo jason kilar now delivering the commencement address at unc-chapel hill. he graduated from the university of north carolina in 1993 with degrees in business administration, journalism, and mass communication. he now runs a subscription video service called vessel. [ applause ]

>> how is everybody doing out there? [ cheering ] okay. so before i begin i got to capture this with a selfie. so you on the left and the right are going to have to move in just a little bit. and do me a favor, whoop and holler and we'll catch a little selfie here. let's go. [ cheering ] okay. i'll tweet that under under #uncselfie, #uncgrad.

okay. thank you, chancellor folk. thank you president tom ross. thank you members of the faculty and members of the board of trustees. thank you pour the very kind welcome. it is an absolute honor to address you today and to congratulate the graduating class of 2015. that's right. so as chancellor fuld beautifully covered earlier in the ceremony today is mother's day. none of this would be happening today if not for your mother's love and the estimated 51,392 hours of labor that was required collectively of your mothers to bring your graduating class' smiling faces into this world. [ applause ] thank you, mothers.

this is a spectacular day in your lives. one that will prove to be among the most memorable of life's mileposts. i'm particularly excited to be here today given that i too went to the university of north carolina at chapel hill. [ cheering ] my freshman year i lived in the architectural triumph that is hitten james dormitory. [ laughter ] i am a product of the keenan flagler undergraduate business school. [ cheering ] in addition, i'm also a product of unc's school of journalism and mass communication. [ cheering ] which is soon to be rebranded unc school of media and journalism which i think is a fantastic moment of change for the school. it has been an absolute pleasure

to be back on campus this weekend and to be welcomed by chancellor folk with the southern hospitality that can be found nowhere else on earth. y'all have been mighty kind. so it must be said that this year rather than choosing from any number of nobel prize laureates or political luminaries to be your commencement speaker, you have chosen me, the guy best known for making it easier to watch recent episodes of "south park" and "family guy." [ applause ] so assuming that there were no jedi mind tricks involved, it's clear to me that you have chutzpa and moxie.

i share it in the hope that you may find some benefit. it is a story of dreams, failure and loss perseverance and one unfortunate run-in with the authorities in southern california. in any event, my story goes like this. in 1993 i sat in the same bleachers you currently find yourselves in. adorned in my carolina blue graduation gown, excited to graduate. my mother and father were there enjoying the glorious pageantry of it all. that day my parents got to meet the girl that i began dating months earlier. she was a junior at unc. perhaps you are experiencing similar family moments on campus this weekend and on franklin street. life was pretty good. in the months prior to my graduation, i did everything i could to land a job in the machinery of hollywood.

my dream dating back to when i was a kid was to follow in the footsteps of walt disney. i had always been fascinated by stories well told and how disney leveraged technology in the interest of making them better. for most of my senior year here in chapel hill, i wrote to every executive i could in hollywood. the sum total of five months of letter writing and phone calling was a cavalcade of nos, if i was lucky to get a reply and one informational interview for a movie production. the informational interview was to be conducted at universal studios in los angeles a few days after my graduation. i wasn't exactly off to a great start, but i was hopeful that things would improve. soon after my graduation ceremony ended at keenan stadium that sunday i kissed my girlfriend goodbye and gave big hugs to my mother and to my

father. i made the cross-country drive in my 1982 subaru hatchback in record time, trying to make an impact in los angeles doing something that i loved. now this is where the story veers from the expected. and it's the first i've shared it. a day after arriving in los angeles, and on the heels of my informational interview at universal studios my mother tearfully but bravely shared the news over the phone that my dad had taken his life. he was 47. kind loving husband of 27 years, proud and wonderful father to six children accomplished professional, having put himself through school, earning three degrees. the man i admired most who taught me so much was gone from

this world three days after i last saw him in this very stadium. things went poorly in the weeks and months that followed. that movie production job didn't work out the way that i had hoped. i was hired but soon let go. this was also the time that i learned with the help of the northridge california police department that the cal state northridge parking deck was not looking to welcome recent college graduates living out of their subaru hatchbacks each night. i soon found myself working for a temp agency back home on the east coast, installing shelving at a tj maxx that was undergoing renovation. i was personally lost and professionally about as far from my dreams as one could be. i mention this part of my story because i want all of you, the

graduating class of 2015 to know that in your moments of personal and professional adversity that are sure to come, you will not be alone. [ applause ] everyone in this stadium, everyone it turns out in this world has struggled and will struggle with personal loss and professional failure. adversity is a necessary and important part of life. adversity strengthens us in ways that success cannot. the mountain peaks of one's life may get the headlines and the facebook posts but the valleys believe me, it is your journey through the valleys that will define you.

back when my dad died, i took a cue from how my mom had always persevered through adversity. for 30 years she helped my dad successfully battle manic depressive disorder. and many that noble and successful fight, she chose to face adversity with courage, with kindness and with optimism. i pick myself up eventually that summer of 1993, making an important observation along the way. when things get tough i believe that we as a species surprise ourselves with how much strength we have deep within. strength that we may never have previously known or been aware of. in the most trying times, in unimaginable circumstances, that well of strength can be drawn

upon. we find that we can persevere. you can persevere. this leads me to the second part of my story. and that is a story about doing what you love, about taking risks, and never stopping. i'll be the first to admit that my career is not for most people and has been filled with unusual moments of taking risk. i got my first real job at the walt disney company by drawing myself into a comic strip rather than sending a resume. upon graduating from business school in 1997 with a debt level that approximated slovenia's gross domestic product, it's true i jumped into a modestly salaried role at a relatively small private company in the pacific northwest that was trying to sell stuff over the

internet. about that internet company. my friends and family thought i was insane to go there given the uncertainty and the traditional opportunities that i would be forgoing. but i was intoxicated by a very simple thing that this company offered. [ laughter ] bad choice of words, huh? believe it or not, after college, the word "intoxicated" has different meanings. [ laughter ] it's not just tied that he's not here. this was a mission, not a job.

yes, there was risk and yes the company could have ended up belly-up, as many early stage companies do. but it did not. the small company that i joined was called amazon, and i was able to learn for nine years from one of the finest leaders of our time in jeff bezos. i took a risk to do something that i loved and passionately believed in, and i'm very glad that i did. doing what you love pursuing your own path, is often the most unsettling option at the outset. the path that others have traveled before you, those are the paths that have greater visibility. they appear lower risk. they play better in conversations with the aunts, the uncles, and the neighbors. but don't fall for it. you are better than that, and you have the strength to go your own way. remember, i know that each of you has moxie and chutzpah by

the bucket loads. i made the decision in 2007 to jump into a new chapter, this time to build a team from day one, and to help build a company with a mission to reimagine how television programing was delivered. we decided to call the company hulu. in the early days of hulu's launch, both the company and my decision to lead and help build it were very publicly considered truly horrible, terrible ideas. we were called clownco by the smartest people in silicon valley, a digital counter even ran on one of the tech industry's most respected websites to track just how many days it was going to take for the company to implode. it's true. the early days of hulu were among the toughest in my career. i kept reminding myself of the phrase that is attributed to winston churchill. when you are going through hell, keep going.

but here is the thing that i can't emphasize enough for you here today. most people that you run into in life including the smart ones, they will be adverse to new things. they certainly were in my experience at hulu and at amazon. the typical human response in the face of the new is to ignore, mock, or dismiss it. new is scary. new is the unknown. most everyone does not believe that the new will work until it does. if you think that the world is broken in a certain way and you have a great idea to fix it do yourself a favor and follow your convictions relentlessly. the path i describe will be an

uncertain one. but don't let the fear of uncertainty, of not having all the answer be the thing that holds you back from pursuing your dreams. at your age, it's very natural your age, it's natural to have so many questions. who will i be? what do i want to do? where should i live? what makes me happy? it's easy to feel alone in uncertainty, to feel bad you don't have all the answers and details figured out although it seems like your friends do, but as you get oler you realize that no one has all the answers. it turns out that life is an exercise in learning to live uncertainty as a certainty. hulu worked out. consumers were ready for a new way to enjoy their favorite tv

programs, but this wouldn't have happened in my career had i not chosen to ignore conventional wisdom and pursued what i love and consider taking risks along the way, and when i found myself going through hell to keep going. before i finish and let you get back to watching "family guy" on hulu, i'd like to bring things full circle back to here to the said stadium. the girl from carolina, the one from my own graduation that i mentioned at the start well she is actually here in the stadium again today, and she has four small humans in her wake that keep referring to me as her father. [ cheers and applause ]

i love you, jamie, more than you can know. i better get some brownie points for that. [ laughter ] my mother also happens to be here today in this special stadium. [ cheers and applause ] my mother is taking in the glorious pageantry once more and inspiring me each day with her choices of courage of kindness and optimism. and so now graduating class of 2015 -- [ cheers and applause ]

this is when your adventure begins. my wish is that you make it the most epic adventure possible. dream, dream big. take risk. fail. pick yourself back up again. and always always remember this, there is no adversity capable of stopping you once the choice to persevere is made. it has been a true honor and the highest of privileges to address you this morning. i am rooting for each and every one of you.

thank you, and congratulations. [ cheers and applause ] [ applause ] the ceo of amtrak and safety board testifies before the house transportation committee regarding the derailment in philadelphia last month. there were eight fatalities and 200 injuries as a result of the crash. live coverage at 10:00 a.m. eastern. and then in the afternoon at 2:00 eastern a hearing on the status of the automobile air bag recall and safety issues. a house subcommittee will ask

the executive vice president and other witnesses about how long it takes to fix the vehicles and p finding of inflater testing over six months. that's also on c-span3. as the u.s. senate continues to debate national security surveillance, here's a couple panels from a symposium of an intelligence oversight. former senator gary hart and former vice president walter mondale talk about work on the church committee, one of congress's first intelligence community and effect reforms had on intelligence gathering in subsequent years. >> good morning, everyone. thank you so much for coming i'm mike german, a fellow at the justice and new york university law school. i welcome you today's symposium

in strengthening oversight. this is the 40th anniversary of the creation of the senate select committee to study governmental operations with respect to intelligence activities. more simply known as the church committee after its chairman senator frank church. it was the only within the united states. this is one of a series of activities that they have undertaken to recognize this anniversary. we published a report called "what's wrong with the court," and they will be leading a panel this afternoon on intelligence activities, and we also published a report on strengthening congressional oversight signed by 18 church committee staffers, many of whom are in the room with us today and you'll notice that they have name tags on, so feel free to talk them throughout the day.

>> there's a forward written by two members the senator from minnesota and then vice president and the chief counsel has written a book called "democracy in the dark: seduction of government secrecy," the purpose of today is to examine how the intelligence reforms instituted as a result of the church committee investigation 40 years ago have faired and how they might be improved. when they issued the report, they warned the recommendations for reform would be tested over time, and that new national security threats would arise that could be used to justify new departures from american values in the rule of law. and so we have it that they were

replaced by stellar wind and x key score and fusion centers, by black sites and enhanced interrogation techniques. we hope a new generation benefits from the wisdom generated from the church committee investigation and be inspired by the decades of public service our guests have dedicated to strength pening our democracy. it's my honor to welcome our guests. [ applause ] >> i thought i'd like to start by knocking down some of the myth, and one them persistent as an fbi agent that the church committee investigation took

place during a period of tranquility, and that in our current situation threat is so high that we should put off any kind of comprehensive investigation so as not to distract those working to protect us from their important mission, but here are just a few of the things that were going on. the united states army had withdrawn from vietnam and the north vietnam army started its final assault on saigon. the rouge took over in cambodia. saudi arabia king was assassinated. the red army faction and japanese red army engaged in bombings throughout europe middle east, ira and the volunteer force killed dozens in northern ireland and britain. the abu nadal flight killed 88 people. cia station chief welsh was

assassinated in greece. two fbi agents were killed at pine ridge indian reservation a bombing by nationalist killed 11 people and puerto rican nationalists killed four in a bombing in downtown new york so with this dynamic threat environment going on how is it possible that the investigation began? why was it necessary, and why did you want to be a part of it? >> i think you begin by looking at the story that got an explosive headline in the "new york times" containing the list of abuses and dysfunction in the intelligence agencies a list made up by the agency itself. they told the nation we were really in trouble, and if you look at these problems that