 Good afternoon everybody and thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to speak today. It gives me one of the few opportunities I have for wearing a hat and for wearing very cool shoes. First I want to thank all the graduates. You got to the finish line. Second I want to welcome the family and friends who are here joining us. I believe that without the family and friends it would have been very hard for you to get here today, right? So I think the first thing we need to do is give a round of applause to the people who helped get you here. So let's do that now. I want to start with a quote from Arthur Ashe. Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can. What got you here today? No doubt an impressive combination of hard work, intelligence and maturity. You've accomplished so much. As you know, however, this is just the beginning. But the beginning of what? What do you do next? Perhaps you'll be going on to another degree. Perhaps you'll be starting a new position in governance or for a non-profit or at some business. Some of you might be taking some time to travel. Others just might not know yet. And all of that's okay. There's time to identify what the next step in your journey is and how you're going to get there. But today I don't want to focus on your careers. You're already on your path there. I want to focus on what you will do in addition to those careers. With this degree you'll start to encounter new opportunities. Doors will be opened for you. And my advice is to look to those openings that will make a difference in other people's lives. Each of you is graduating with a degree from the Faculty of Public Affairs. And although you might not know it, the mission of FPA is to help build better democracy and better societies, to address regional and global challenges, and to foster informed citizenship. These are lofty goals. Difficult challenges. But so many of our alumni are already helping to meet them. We have social workers and journalists and public servants and activists and politicians. FPA alumni, and you'll soon be one, are often leaders. Some are even famous. Many of them are serving their communities in very visible and in less visible ways. And unfailingly, they love what they do. Because the benefits of serving your community are unlimited. I was reminded of this during a conversation with my hairdresser. It takes some work to keep the locks looking good. She said that she believed in the importance of giving back to her community. And for her, that meant volunteering once a week to go cut hair at a shelter. She said that she got back more than she gave by doing that. And it had me thinking, I would say that's true of any time I volunteered. But she also mentioned that she was having trouble finding others to volunteer with her because they would often say their time was too valuable. Now I want to quote Winston Churchill. You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give. The pandemic made clear to us that communities require volunteers as much as they need governments and states. Volunteers help to build resilient communities. It promotes inclusion. It builds stronger democracy and better societies. It is informed citizenship. And I'm going to ask you, if you don't already, to commit to a life of volunteering. There's a motivation to get up in the morning when you know that others are counting on you. But more than that, volunteering improves your own well-being. It helps you to develop new skills. It challenges you. And it helps you to feel a sense of belonging. Volunteers are engaged and informed citizens. Volunteers embody the mission of FPA. You make a life by what you give. You are so fortunate because you now have the tools to build not only a productive but a meaningful life. You understand how the world works, how government works, community works, the legal system works, the economy works. And that knowledge should not just help you, it should help us all. We are all, as members of the Faculty of Public Affairs, working together to improve the planet that we share at this moment in time. We do it in big ways, but we do it in small ways too. There are times when the problems that our communities in the world face seem so large that they can render us immobile. You're unsure where to start. You're uncertain that you can actually make a difference. I'll go back to my first quote. Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. In the coming year I'm going to encourage my colleagues, FPA students and alumni to join me in extending our mission to community service. We already have an ethos of service with so many of our researchers, students and staff already working in their communities. My hope is to build an even stronger connection to these community partners as we move forward. And I invite you to be a part of this as FPA alumni. Helen Keller said, alone we can do so little, but together we can do so much. I encourage you to stay in touch. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors. Please know how very proud we are of all of you and my best for a meaningful life. Thank you.