sws4420
05-12-2007, 10:05 AM
ARLINGTON -- The graduation ceremony that featured first lady Laura Bush at the University of Texas at Arlington on Friday was not a traditional graduation ceremony.
No degrees were conferred, just words of encouragement. No hats were tossed in the air at festivities' end, but there was a 15-minute fireworks show.
Instead of calling the event a graduation ceremony, its organizers called it a celebration of graduation. Here are a few excerpts from Bush's 15-minute speech to the sold-out crowd:
"Now, I know I'm supposed to offer some kind of parting wisdom. So I thought back to my own graduation. And I tried to remember the advice my graduation speaker gave to me. But I couldn't recall who gave that speech at the University of Texas [at Austin] back in 1973. And maybe that's because I skipped the ceremony. But I did look it up, and I found out who gave that address. And you can imagine my surprise when I discovered it was some guy named George Bush. Four years after that speech I married his son. We never know where life is going to take us."
"You won't waste your talents and education if you use them in service to others. Serving others comes naturally to UTA students. ... In the School of Urban and Public Affairs, certain students breathe new life into Dallas' poorest communities. In the College of Science, students help run a planetarium to educate local schoolchildren. The School of Architecture students revitalize neighborhoods in Fort Worth, Arlington and south Dallas. The College of Liberal Arts brightens community life through free musicals and theater. Students in the College of Education tutor young people in the Metroplex public schools. The School of Social Work has clocked more than 170,000 hours bringing equality and justice to neighbors in need."
"The School of Nursing has nurtured preemies, comforted the ailing and healed the sick in local hospitals and clinics. They've shared their skills and their love with more than 61,000 patients. Their compassion hasn't gone unnoticed. The class of 2007 can be proud of its roll in placing UT-Arlington on the Presidents Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with distinction. Congratulations to all of you."
No degrees were conferred, just words of encouragement. No hats were tossed in the air at festivities' end, but there was a 15-minute fireworks show.
Instead of calling the event a graduation ceremony, its organizers called it a celebration of graduation. Here are a few excerpts from Bush's 15-minute speech to the sold-out crowd:
"Now, I know I'm supposed to offer some kind of parting wisdom. So I thought back to my own graduation. And I tried to remember the advice my graduation speaker gave to me. But I couldn't recall who gave that speech at the University of Texas [at Austin] back in 1973. And maybe that's because I skipped the ceremony. But I did look it up, and I found out who gave that address. And you can imagine my surprise when I discovered it was some guy named George Bush. Four years after that speech I married his son. We never know where life is going to take us."
"You won't waste your talents and education if you use them in service to others. Serving others comes naturally to UTA students. ... In the School of Urban and Public Affairs, certain students breathe new life into Dallas' poorest communities. In the College of Science, students help run a planetarium to educate local schoolchildren. The School of Architecture students revitalize neighborhoods in Fort Worth, Arlington and south Dallas. The College of Liberal Arts brightens community life through free musicals and theater. Students in the College of Education tutor young people in the Metroplex public schools. The School of Social Work has clocked more than 170,000 hours bringing equality and justice to neighbors in need."
"The School of Nursing has nurtured preemies, comforted the ailing and healed the sick in local hospitals and clinics. They've shared their skills and their love with more than 61,000 patients. Their compassion hasn't gone unnoticed. The class of 2007 can be proud of its roll in placing UT-Arlington on the Presidents Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with distinction. Congratulations to all of you."