graduation talk

Posts Tagged ‘barack obama’

Patriotism, that’s the main focus of Pres. Barack Obama’s commencement speech at the United States Naval Academy. He admired the spirit of service of the sailors, Marines, soldiers, airmen and Coast Guardsmen who gave their very best in every mission they were assigned. According to him, they are the citizens who choose to serve the country and embraced the values that country needs in times of turmoil.

He reminded the graduates to imitate the deeds of those who have gone before them and fulfill the true meaning of citizenship. He also emphasized the essence of Honor, Courage, and Commitment that will be needed in facing new threats and protect the American people as well as the Constitution. He expressed the country’s need for people like them in to lead the path in writing the new chapter of America’s saga.

Here is the video and transcript of the commencement address by Pres. Barack Obama on May 22, 2009 at United States Naval Academy.

Read the rest of this entry »

As U.S. President Barack Obama rendered his first commencement speech (as US President) on May 13, 2009 at Arizona State University, he put out the controversy on the decision of the ASU officials in not giving him an honorary degree by talking about the insignificance of titles in today’s arising problems. He challenged the graduates to never rest on their laurels because there is more work to be done.

He also noted that using the formulas for success that have ruled the past years are obsolete when applied to the challenges that will be faced by the ASU graduates. Pres. Obama enlightened them to always adapt to change and continually take the risks as new opportunities arise. According to him, the country needed people who are willing to follow their passions and make a difference in this world by doing things that is meaningful to them as well as helpful for others. To inspire the graduates, he enumerated some ordinary people who changed the course of history. The emphasized that those people were not after the money and didn’t have impressive titles, instead “they had a passion, a commitment to following that passion wherever it would lead”.

Lastly, he acknowledged that the graduates were building a career in a difficult economic times but they should treat it as a privilege. He believed that “it’s moments like these that force us to try harder and dig deeper and to discover gifts we never knew we had — to find the greatness that lies within each of us. So don’t ever shy away from that endeavor”.

Here is the video and transcript of the commencement address by Pres. Barack Obama on May 13, 2009 at Arizona State University.

Read the rest of this entry »

U.S. President Obama’s commencement speech as the University of Notre Dame turned out to be a controversial one. As he gave some inspirations to the new graduates, Obama touched one of the most explosive subjects nowadays, which is the abortion debate. He challenged them to seek the common goal of the two contradicting sides and have “Open hearts. Open minds. Fair-minded words”.

Obama did not denied his stand on supporting the abortion rights but he clarified that the procedure should only be applied on rare cases. He also suggested ways to prevent abortion by “working together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term”.

Aside from confronting the abortion issue, Obama advised the graduates to take part on rebuilding the economy and act in response to the global economy crisis that hit over countries by valuing fairness, and diligence, and an honest day’s work.

He ended the speech with a reminder that everyone is a fisherman; everyone seeks the same love of family and the same fulfillment of a life well-lived so each one must carry each other’s burdens.

This is the video and transcript of the commencement address by U.S. President Barack Obama, delivered on May 17, 2009 at University of Notre Dame.

Read the rest of this entry »