Find your passion; Ripkin urges new grads

A crowd of more than 24,000 turned out May 31 to celebrate UD’s Class of 2008 and to hear words of advice and encouragement from a speaker who knows firsthand about the value of hard work and persistence.

Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., in his first-ever commencement address, urged the University’s newest graduates to find their passion in life and strive to do their best while doing good. The former Baltimore Orioles shortstop and third baseman is best known for breaking Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played, raising the mark to 2,632 before voluntarily ending his streak in 1998.

The University’s 159th Commencement celebrated about 5,300 new graduates. Conferred were approximately 214 doctoral degrees, 767 master’s degrees, 4,077 bachelor’s degrees and 247 associate’s degrees. The ceremony at Delaware Stadium opened with the alumni procession, which included representatives from the classes of the 1940s through 2007, representing all 135,000 alumni living in 81 countries.

Ripken was introduced to the enthusiastic crowd by Provost Dan Rich, the University’s chief academic officer. He lauded Ripken’s impact as one that extends far beyond the baseball diamond.

“He is admired for his strength, character, hard work, integrity and service,” Rich said. “This is his first University commencement address, and we are proud to be part of what may become the start of a new Cal Ripken Jr. record that will extend well into the future.”

Ripken began his talk by noting lightheartedly that, “depending on how it goes, it could very well be my last,” and pointing out that he never attended college. Challenges, he said, are something that everybody has to deal with, usually beginning with a chance, an opportunity, and followed by a choice, a decision to take on the challenge.

Ripken asked members of the Class of 2008 to consider three ideas to help meet the challenges they may face in their lives: Find a career that is your passion, he said, then persevere to be the best you can be as you perform your tasks, and strive to be a good person in all that you do.

“When I say find your passion, I’m asking you to think about career choices and to let your heart play a role in making those choices,” Ripken said. “By saying this, I mean give more thought to what you really want to do than to what you will be paid or what acclaim you will receive.”

He added that he received similar advice from his father and mentor, the late Cal Ripken Sr., who said that a main problem in society is that many people work at jobs they hate, while the “secret to happiness is finding something you love and working at it each and every day.”

Perseverance, Ripken said, is not the result of following some complex, secret formula but rather accompanies an optimistic view of life.

“Once you believe goals can be achieved, then that belief will fuel the perseverance it takes to do your job right,” he said. “Simply put, perseverance will put you in the best possible position to achieve what you desire.”

He cautioned that the pursuit of goals without ethical guidelines can lead people to make the wrong decisions, such as the athletes who chose to use performance-enhancing drugs.

“In the end, I suspect that almost everyone who made that decision now regrets it,” Ripken said. “And, at the end of the day, it’s more important to weigh how you become successful than it is to be proclaimed successful.”

His speech was received with a standing ovation led by the new graduates.

Earlier in the program, President Patrick Harker welcomed the Class of 2008 and their guests and asked them to join him in recognizing the achievements of his predecessor, UD President Emeritus David P. Roselle.

“I would like to take a moment to personally thank President Roselle, who had the pleasure to welcome most of you to campus,” Harker said. “He has passed on to us such a strong and vibrant institution. I am grateful to him for his service and leadership.”

He said that the reach of the University, which in 1915 existed only as the 225-student Delaware College, today has extended to partnership agreements with other institutions of higher education around the country and around the world.

“We live in the age of the Butterfly Effect—this is the idea from chaos theory that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in China can set off a tornado on the other side of the world,” Harker said. “We just started an exchange program with the Southwest University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, China. So, when the tragic earthquake struck there recently, we felt it here in Newark. The world is bound together ever more tightly, and we all have a responsibility for our shrinking planet.”

In noting that more than 40 percent of UD graduates have participated in one or more study abroad programs,
he said that both the Class of 2008 and the University are embarking on a journey that will take them to new levels of success and recognition.

“Remember the impact of small initiatives and small steps. Remember the small elms planted [on The Green] by those students in 1917 and the University planted here, which has grown into one of the world’s great universities,” Harker said. “In your time here, you have become a part of this tradition, and now this is your University.”
Southern Delaware Convocation

Earlier in the week, 250 graduates, parents and friends attended UD’s Southern Delaware Convocation ceremony in Rehoboth Beach.

Harker opened the ceremony by congratulating graduates on having met the rigorous demands of earning a degree, saying their hard work and persistence have earned them a distinctive credential that will last a lifetime.

As part of UD’s new strategic plan, Harker has committed to explore opportunities for an increased University presence in southern Delaware. In keeping with that initiative, he said a UD committee would be appointed to investigate the feasibility of constructing a new, four-year, model “green” campus there.

After Harker’s remarks, Robin Morgan, dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, presented the University’s Medal of Distinction to Hiram Lasher, a pioneer in the world of poultry biologics. Lasher has long supported education in Delaware and poultry health programs at UD.

More Commencement coverage, including videos and photo albums of the ceremony and the full text of the honorary degree citations, is available [www.udel.edu/commencement].