 Now, I'd like to introduce the 2018 winner of the Peter E. Haas Public Service Award, which recognizes a Berkeley alumnus or alumna who has made significant voluntary contributions to the betterment of society who has cultivated his or her civic life. Here with us today is Ambassador Jeff Blythe, Berkeley Law Class of 1989. Jeff's commitment to public service was already evident when he was here on this campus. He was performing at the top of his class, serving as the editor-in-chief of the California Law Review and taking on prestigious research positions, but he also led efforts to found the East Bay Community Law Center and still found time to go to Castlemont High School in Oakland twice a week to help high school students understand the law. After graduation, Jeff quickly became a partner in a major firm with a large practice, but he also took on almost an equal number of pro bono clients. He represented homeless San Franciscans, defended the rights of Native Americans, and supported gay and lesbian service members, but he also worked with a local law clinic on matters as small as landlord-tenant disputes. He's continued to give huge amounts of his time in many ways for the public good. He took unpaid positions in both the Clinton and the Obama administrations and eventually served the country as ambassador to Australia. He's also led the California State Bar and was chair of the California State University System. He is also an engaged member of the UC Berkeley community serving on boards and chairing reunion campaigns as well as teaching numerous courses over the years. Jeff truly embodies the spirit of public service that drives this university. The following video gives you a glimpse of why that is true. I grew up pretty lucky. No impediments, no discrimination against me. But if I'd been my grandparents, they were born Russia, Jewish, they were persecuted. And why should I have no impediments in my life when my grandparents faced all these impediments? My mom, she was a receptionist and I'd see how people treated her and how she treated others. And she treated everyone with respect, it didn't matter who they were. She was always friendly, polite, and there were some people who were very dismissive of her and I thought, shouldn't ever treat anyone that way. And everyone is someone's mom or dad or son or daughter and it made me want to change how people treat one another. And it also made me aware of how I should treat others. When I came to Berkeley, I was deeply in debt. I had to borrow money for my graduate school and I'd always wanted to be a lawyer and I couldn't afford to go to any of the law schools. And while I was there, I met a lot of other people who were in the same situation. It creates a bond and also a sense of gratitude. To have a community of people who care more about one another than about themselves, it was just rare and inspiring. From the time I left the gates here at Berkeley, I've had a different life, a different ethic, a different vision for who I could be. I've been able to work with President of the United States, clerk of the Supreme Court, be a U.S. Ambassador and represent us overseas to argue cases in the Supreme Court on behalf of those who are underserved and to work with an amazing group of people in all sorts of different disciplines, including education, you know, being on the Fulbright Board and sharing the Cal State University Board, getting the chance to dig in on issues that I cared about with people who have devoted their lives to it, whether it was homelessness or foster youth, victims of domestic violence, helping people who are LGBTQ fight, don't ask, don't tell so that they could serve their countries. I'm just doing what I think citizens do, you know, you look after each other, you know. The regrets I had in life were never things that I had done wrong. They were the acts I hadn't done, the little courtesies and kindnesses that change people's day and can sometimes change their life. I think I've organized my life in a way that allows me to have room every day to help somebody. And I don't know who that person is going to be or what the issue is going to be, but if you leave just a little bit of give in your day, just being a little helpful to people and sort of taking in their situation and trying to put yourself in their place and help them, it becomes almost almost a habit and it's enriched my life and hopefully it's made other people's lives better too. Someone much wiser than me said you make a living from what you earn, but you make a life from what you give. And I found that by giving to others, not only did I get more satisfaction in my life, but it opens doors that you never imagined. Please join me in welcoming Ambassador Jeff Blyke. I was supposed to put this around your neck. Wow. I am just deeply grateful to you, Chancellor, to the Haas family, to UC Berkeley, to Professor Cynthia Lee who nominated me for this, to my family and friends who are here, and especially to you, the great UC Berkeley Class of 2018 for letting me celebrate with you today. I mean I have to say it's a real thrill. I get to walk in with Nathan Adrian and sort of stand shoulder to face with Nathan. And we can look at each other's gold medals now. This day is your day and it's a happy day for everybody, particularly for you and your family and friends who supported you and got you here today. In fact, the only people who aren't happy are at least a bittersweet on graduation day or the faculty who have to see you go. So I'd like to say two words that I just know will help make each and every member of the UC Berkeley faculty happy. Robert Muller, you're welcome. Rather than offer the usual advice at graduation, follow your dreams, never give up, always wear sunscreen. I'd like to offer just one piece of advice and three strategies to help you achieve that. But don't get me wrong, I also want you to follow your dreams, never give up, and wear sunscreen. And don't text and drive. My advice is this, don't be a Kardashian. Don't marry a Kardashian, just don't. Don't devote yourself only to yourself. Anyone can be famous, but fame is an empty thing. It only means that people who don't know you think they do. Think Anthony the Scaramucci the next time you crave fame. Likewise, anyone can become wealthy for a while. Just do outrageous things, don't pay your debts or your taxes. Ask Paul Manafort. If fame and fortune are your sole end, you may in fact find your sole end. Of course, people can be wealthy and famous and lead satisfying lives, but it's not because they're wealthy or famous. Neil Armstrong didn't go to the moon to be famous. He went there to serve all humankind. His pride came from his service. If you've watched any celebrity rehab shows, you already know this. Ultimately, honest service to others is the only thing that brings contendment. Neil Armstrong's fame is a lot different from Lance Armstrong's fame. So here are my three strategies for performing honest service in your life. First, don't think you need to change the world every day. It would be a pretty chaotic world if 8 billion people could change the whole world every single day. But even if you can't change the world every day, you can change someone's world every day. I don't look back on my career as a series of wins and losses or titles or honors. Honestly, when I think back on my career, I just see faces. People I've represented or taught or mentored or connected or celebrated. And it doesn't matter if it was a veteran that I helped at a Thursday night clinic or the LGBT service members are represented in the Supreme Court. The faces are just as vivid and just as memorable. Sometimes the work took years and sometimes it just took a couple phone calls. But the life we make is ultimately the accumulation of the lives we've helped others make. I heard a story that brought this home to me once. It's about a father and a daughter and they're walking along a beach. And the tide had gone out and they came to a place where there are hundreds of starfish that had been left high up on the shore and they were drying out and dying. And the girl picks up a starfish to put it back in the water and the dad says, you know, honey, there are hundreds of starfish here. Saving one starfish isn't going to make a difference. And the girl said, it will to this one. Regardless of the career you choose after you leave these gates, each of us can change someone's life every day. The second strategy is about making luck. We don't just create our own luck. We create others' luck as well. And it's true, if you work hard, follow your dreams, never give up and wear sunscreen, you will have more opportunity than other people who don't. But that doesn't mean that everyone who works hard has the same opportunities. My great grandparents on both sides were refugees. And I'm only here and able to live this life because the United States opened its doors to two desperate families that spoke no English. That was not a matter of luck. It was a matter of choice, a choice that people in this country made to extend the blessings of liberty, to give others a chance. And I've simply tried to carry on that choice. I've helped others in need not because of who they are, but regardless of who they are. I've donated my time to immigrants, to victims of human rights abuse, disabled veterans, homeless children, Muslims, racial minorities, Native Americans, sexual assault survivors, and victims of mass shootings. And it wasn't because I was a member of those groups or because I only care about those groups. I did it for the same reason generations before I let my family into this country. Because everyone who wants to be a full part of this society deserves that chance. And I don't care if it's coal miners' child in West Virginia or a dreamer in Fresno. If someone is being held back from pursuing their dream because of prejudice or because of indifference, that isn't just their bad luck. That's our bad choice. And the way you bring people luck is simply treat them the same way you treat your most fortunate citizens. America's not a great nation because we always put ourselves first. It's because we choose to put no one else second. And that, frankly, is what makes America great. Finally, my last piece of advice about public service. You don't need a special title or an office to start. Gandhi never had a title. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dolores Huerta. They didn't have titles. The only title they ever held was Citizen. But that's not an insignificant title. It's probably the most important title we have. Because we actually ask a lot of one another's citizens. Contributing in quiet, anonymous ways. Learning the issues. Voting. Paying taxes. Showing up for jury duty. Withholding judgment and presuming innocence. Volunteering. Running for office. Supporting candidates to run for office. Marching and protesting. Defending our nation. And in some cases, sacrificing our own lives. And lives of our children. For that nation. We'll only do that. If we believe, most other people will as well. Only if we believe that the wealthy and poor alike, the fortunate and the unfortunate, are going to sacrifice for one another. And if you've ever been in a failed state, you know that they failed. The moment that they lost faith in one another. So good citizenship isn't about, it's about more than respecting our laws. It's about respecting one another. It's bigger than politics. Neither party's got a monopoly on good ideas or good people. I've served as many Republicans as I've served Democrats. Because when there's a fire, no one asks if the person in the burning house is a Democrat or a Republican. No one on September 11 cared who the people that perished had voted for. They were all part of us. Every one of them. From time to time we forget about good citizenship. We forget who we are and where we've come from. There are leaders today who've forgotten their oath to serve all the people. Not just those who are like them, but all the people. But not here. Each time that elements rose to divide and demonize our own people, it's the students at this school, at the University of California Berkeley, who stood up. People at Berkeley have always fought to defend others. People at Berkeley have done what citizenship demands. We run towards fire. And this is my final point. Yeah, you can give yourself a hand. You don't have to wait for a crisis to discover your citizenship. It just takes some perspective. There's a story of a man who sees two bricklayers working side by side and he asks the first one, what are you doing? And the first one says, you know, what's it look like I'm doing? I'm laying bricks. And I ask the second one the same question, what are you doing? And she looks up and says, I'm building a cathedral. I haven't written a great book, I haven't cured a disease or ended a war. I've just lived with the simple faith that each day, through modest acts, I can add a brick that will make a difference. And that isn't something amazing. It's just citizenship. But our Constitution promises that big things can be accomplished by those small acts if we all do them together. We the people can form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our prosperity. And you seed students. It is your time. The bricks are in your hand. Don't build a wall. Build a cathedral.