inner strength and physical resiliency. filled with circuses. you will fail. you will likely fail often, it will be painful, it will be discouraging, at times it will test you to your very core. but if you want to change the world, don't be afraid of the circuses. at least twice a week the trainees are required to run the obstacle course. contains 25 course obstacles, including the wall, a cargo net, a barbed wire crawled -- but the most challenging was the slide for life. it had a three level, 30 foot tower at one end into one level timer at the other. longtween was 200 foot rope. you had to climb the three tiered tower and at the top, you grab the rope, slung undereneath, and pull yourself hand over hand until you got to the other end. the record had stood for years when my class began.

it seemed unbeatable. until one day, students decided to go down the slide for life headfirst. instead of swinging his body underneath the rope, he bravely mounted the top of the rope and thrust himself forward. it was a dangerous move. seemingly foolish and fraught with risk. failure could mean injury. without hesitation, he slid down the rope perilously fast, it only took him half the time. by the end of the course, he had broken the record. if you want to change the world, sometimes you have to slide down the obstacles headfirst. during the warfare phase of students go to an island. the waters are a breeding ground for great white sharks. to pass training there along swims that must be completed, one is the night swim.

the instructors jointly brief the students of all the species of sharks that inhabit the waters. i assure you, however, that's no student has ever been eaten by a shark. at least not that i can remember. but if a shark begins to circle your position, you were taught that you must stand your ground, do not stand away, do not be afraid will stop if the shark darts toward you, summon up all your strength and punch them in the snout. he will turn and swim away. there are a lot of sharks in the world. if you want to complete the swim, you will have to deal with them. if you want to change the world, don't back down from the sharks. jobs is to conduct underwater attacks. we practice this technique extensively during training.

it's where a pair of divers are dropped in any harbor and swim well over two miles underwater using nothing but a depth gauge and compass to get to the target. during the entire swim, even well below the surface, there is some light that comes through. it is comforting to know that there is open water above you. ship, you approach the which is tied to appear, the light begins to fade. the structure of the ship blocks the moonlight, blocks the surrounding streetlamps, locks all ambient light. to be successful, you have to swim under the ship and find the keyhole. this is your objective. but it is also the darkest part of the ship, where you cannot see your hand in front of your face, or the noise from the machinery is deafening. you can fail. under the knows that

keyhole, at that darkest moment the mission, it is a time when you need to be calm. when you must be calm. you must be composed. in all your tactical skills, your physical power, enter inner strength must be brought to bear. change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moments. the ninth week of training is referred to as hell week. of no sleep,ks constant physical and mental harassment, and one special day at the mudflaps. diegoan area between san and tijuana, where the water runs off and creates the tijuana sloughs. week on wednesday of hell that you paddle down to the mudflaps and spend the next 15 hours trying to survive this freezing cold, the howling wind, the incessant pressure to quit

from the instructors. as the sun began to set on that wednesday evening, my training class was ordered into the mud. the mud consumed each man until there was nothing visible but our heads. we coulductors told us leave the mud if only five men would quit. only five. we could get out of the cold. looking around the mud, it was apparent that some stews were about to give up. it was over eight hours until the sun came up. chattering teeth, shivering loans -- moans... it was hard to hear anything. then one voice began to echo through the night. one voice raised in song. the song was terribly out of tune. but it was sung with great enthusiasm. and twoe became too,

became three, and before long everyone was singing. the instructors threatened us with more time in the mud if we kept up the singing, but the singing persisted. and somehow the mud seemed a little warmer home and the window little tamer, and the don not so far away. if i have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope, the power of one person, a washington, a lincoln, a mandela, who can change the world by giving people hope. if you want to change the world, start singing when you are up to your neck in mud. finally, there was a bell. theass bell that hangs in center of the compound for all the students to see. quit hisave to do to ring the bell. ring the bell and you no longer have to wake up at 5:00. you no longer have to be in the

freezing cold swims. have to do the runs on the obstacle course. you no longer have to injure the hardships of training. all you have to do is ring the bell to get out. world,want to change the don't ever ring the bell. class of 2014, you are moments away from graduating. moment away from beginning your journey through life. the woods away from starting to change the world for the better. it will not be easy. of 2014,re the class the class that can affect the lives of 800 million years -- people. find someone to help you through life, respect everyone, know that life is not fair and you will fail often. but if you take risks, step up when times are tough, face down the bully, lift up the downtrodden, and never give up, if you do these things, the next

generation and the generations that follow will live in a world far better than the one we have today. what started here will indeed have changed the world for the better. thank you very >> vermont senator patrick leahy talked about challenges graduates will face throughout the years. he is a senior member of the senate and third in line to presidential succession. his remarks are just under 15 minutes. >> thank you very much. what of my best friends, chuck ross, the secretary of agriculture.

i want to thank the members of the board of trustees, the faculty, the parents, the family, the class of 2014. thank you for inviting me. extraordinary. as the singing went on, i said, i used to go to a lot of grateful dead concerts. [applause] i actually remember them. wife sitting over here, who knows i cannot carry a tune in a basket, if you do this, you might as well stay there because you not coming home tonight. [laughter] i decided not to. the president reminds us that he cares about the environment and

he studies science. off.ain would hold peter welch was asked, what does he think about serving in the house of representatives way it has been lately, on questions of global warming. i serve with some of the finest minds of the 17th century. [laughter] name of this college evokes the beauty of our state. just two decades shy of 200 years old. 1834, the green mountain college in 1974, the

year i was first elected to the united states senate. i pay tribute to the resilience and thosestitution people who made it what it is today. , through thed on depths of the civil war, when they thought vermont would disappear as a state because of the losses we had. the great depression, the first and second world wars, vietnam, the recent global economic recession into the present day. i mention this history because i to those whoy graduate today, your parents know the sleepless nights of hard work to get you to this point. that is something to remember always. .ou were fortunate

you have acquired invaluable knowledge and skills. vermont in theto 1800s. leahy to getfirst a college degree. my sister the second one. i think of all of you here today . some of you may be the first and your family to get one. this is a very special moment. now the question is, what do you make of it? a college education is far beyond the reach of millions of people your age. maybe even billions worldwide. in fact, we have been reminded in some countries, girls and women have no access to any formal education at any age. talk about a violation of human rights. remarkable in the

21st century when you and i can use our smartphones to download information, girls in northern beeria are kidnapped and may sold as property because they dared to seek an education. words, a school that taught something different than the distorted version of an ancient religion. inknow there are countries south asia, schools have been burnt to the ground and girls and young women killed just for seeking an education. impossible when you sit , this veryin vermont , andal jewel of a state think about the education you have gotten. vietnam, you have one student here from vietnam.

will he raise his hand, please? we visited the home of two aspiring students. the were struggling to read most elementary text because they suffer from severe mental and physical disabilities, most likely resulting from their parents spoke sure to --taminated herbicides parents exposure to contaminated herbicides. country,magine if this the schoolyards, the national parks were contaminated with

millions of unexploded mines? we have visited all of these landmine areas. we have helped with the clearing up of them. us toavels have taken countries where human trafficking and forced labor is common. one quarter to one half of them are children. we have seen photographs with child refugees and child soldiers and no scavenger and dump sites. you might ask why on a joyous day like this that i mention the history.

it is today's inescapable reality. you, because of the fortunate position you are in, you are in a position to change that reality. i hope you will. you live in a time that is both unchanged, but drastically different from the world your parents inherited. millions of people are suffering from poverty and more, they are no longer invisible. that is why the president is sending u.s. military advisers .nd the fbi nigeria the world was shocked into consciousness by millions of e-mails worldwide. something your parents and my parents would not have imagined. an example of something that it can suddenly galvanize people and from pages all over the world. it reminds me of the international campaign to and

landmines. -- to ban landmines. they use social media worldwide to do this. i even helped write a batman comic book that was used to ban landmines. i wish i would've kept more of them, they are a valuable collector's item now. [laughter] wepassed a law that said would no longer export landmines. 161 nations have signed the treaty. learned a lot about the environment including patients implications. thatnnot take for granted the things that have undermined our democracy will stay that way

without your involvement with the pressures of the coming shortages arrived. of you will become teachers, scientists, farmers. some of you may run for political office. some of you may ensure -- venture into outer space. stake inyou do, take a these larger challenges because they involve you and they involve the generation that will follow you. you need to resist the tendency so often amplified in the media and politics to define us by our differences. muslim versus christian, north versus south, rich against poor, white against black, or us against them. do not let that ever be part of your life. trap. ever fallen that

-- fall in that trap. [applause] what we have learned in the in the textpaign messaging to bring back our girls, it is the antithesis of our differences. every person wants and deserves an education. they want and deserve a safe environment. they want and deserve the right to speak freely. they want and deserve the right to choose their government, their religion, or their way of life. these are common aspirations. these are more powerful than those things that divide us. you have the knowledge, the tools, thanks to those who have , thoseed this college and yourd in the past,

own hardware, and you live in a country that prides itself in the right of free expression and peaceful protest. much of the world looks to us for a moral example. let us set that example. connect with your peers around the world. think of your voice and added two others. -- add it to others. you can do that because you have the tools, you have the ability, and i believe he will do it. now is your chance. begin putting what you learned to greater use for yourselves and those you love, for your country, for your future, for all of our futures. godspeed. [applause]

>> republican senator susan collins addressed about 400 graduates in augusta, maine. the senator talked about her first loss running for political office and she encouraged the graduates to give back to their community. this is just under 15 minutes. >> thank you. thank you very much, president, for that gracious introduction. faculty,

administrators, staff, parents, family, friends, and most of all, graduates, it is a great pleasure to join you on this day of celebration. in addition to this being graduation day, today is armed forces day. let me begin by asking all of those who have worn the uniform of our great country at any stage in your life to stand so that we can recognize you with a round of applause. [applause]

members of the class of 2014, i am obviously not the first to since io you today, have the microphone, perhaps i can say at the loudest. congratulations. [applause] it.did i am mindful of the fact that when i was at my college graduation, all i could think of was will the speaker ever finish speaking? i will confess that i do not remember a single thing that the commencement speaker said at my own graduation. in fact, i don't remember his name. the great honor of addressing you today with a

great deal of humility. its first commencement 44 years ago, this college has opened the doors of opportunity for thousands of students. some of you came here directly from high school. others from the workforce. i met some today who came through the trade adjustment jobs andfter losing have now retrained for it exciting new career. some of you are going directly into the workforce, others are .oing even further whatever category you are in, you are here today because each of you has demonstrated a determination to secure a bright future.

it has been said that the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. the diplomacy received today are proof of your ability to work hard, to set clear goals, and to reach this major milestone in your life. neverth to success is straight and smooth. we heard that today. there will be obstacles along your journey, but you have already demonstrated the determination, the resilience, and the skill to succeed in whatever comes your way. i know from first-hand experience that you don't always

succeed the first time you try to pursue your dreams. when i first ran for public office back in 1994, i was clobbered in the general elections that fall. therealways grateful that was a fourth candidate from the green party because at least i came in third brother than dead last -- came in third rather than dead last. --the end of that complaint campaign, i was flat broke, uninsured, and unemployed. i was worried about what was going to come next. passion to i had a serve the people of maine in public office and after working out a wonderful college, i had the opportunity to run again.

i tell you briefly a little bit of my story because i hope you asl always pursue your dream you have done today by graduating from this fine school. the degrees you have earned cover a remarkable range of trades, fields, and interests. together, you are a powerful force that will help drive maine's economic future. asset hass greatest always been our hard-working resilient people and robust workforce development is essential for all of us to achieve our dreams. from the newest advances in information technology and health care, to the sustainable

agricultural program that builds on our heritage as the breadbasket of northern new england, you have acquired the skills and education maine needs to compete in the 21st century. you have reached a great moment in your lives, but of course, here bynot get yourself. the faculty, staff, and administration have created a close not learning community. the support from businesses and leaders of the industry throughout our state have helped to provide the resources for your career oriented education. and those people in the stands and in the audience beaming with

family,our parents, loved ones, had a lot to do with your success. their support and encouragement help to meet every challenge and they will be there for you for the challenges to come. let everything that you do from this day forward honor their sacrifices and their belief in you. while you are giving thanks to those who helped you to get to today, look to your fellow graduates as well. i know one of the special is --ies is the bond that that it forges among its students.

studying and working together on community service projects have brought you together and giving you a needed boost when you needed one. a shared sense of purpose is evident throughout this campus. i was pleased to work with your college to secure the federal funds that help to lunch the hugely 6 -- launched the hugely successful machining and radiologic technician program. whenever i advocate for funding thataine, i do so knowing the investment will deliver results. kvcc reaffirms my confidence.

.ere is my prediction for you your education will deliver real value for you your entire life. long after the information in your textbooks, obsolete -- become obsolete, you will find that the skills that the education you required -- acquired here will allow you to adapt with the times. graduates areur eager to get out there and show the world what you can do. the diplomacy received today represent a great deal of hard work on your part. but they also represent a debt to those who made it possible.

there are many ways you can repay the debt. i urge you to apply your enthusiasmergy, and right here in the great state of maine. needs the entrepreneurs, the innovators, the health-care providers, the risktakers who will create our future. i urge you, please stay in maine. one final bit of advice, serve your community. a great humanitarian and physician once said, i don't be, what your destiny will but one thing i do know, the ones among you who will be really happy in life are those who