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Delaware Congressman and Hamilton College alumnus Mike Castle '61 told Hamilton graduates that their "education prepared them for a career but it also prepares you for life," in his address at Hamilton's 192nd Commencement on Sunday, May 23.  "You are the best positioned of your generation to be the masters of your destiny -- to control your future and the future of this nation. Limits exist only in your mind," he said.

Bachelor of arts degrees were awarded to 457 Hamilton graduates at the ceremony, held in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House.

Castle recalled life at Hamilton when he was preparing to graduate in 1961. "The United States had just retreated from the brink of nuclear war and was dealing with the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs invasion. At the same time the Berlin Wall was being built dividing Germany into effectively two nations." Castle said now, as the U.S. faces the threat of terrorism, "The reality that our greatest threat in the 21st century would be ill-defined enemies, organized by cells and not countries, could not even be perceived back then."

Castle noted that while the future is as hard to predict now as it was 43 years ago when he was graduating, everyone is looking for the next big thing that will change people's lives. 

"Communications will be instantaneous, chronic diseases will be substantially reduced or eliminated and America's populations will more closely resemble a composite of the world's population . . . Broadband will take us places we cannot even imagine," Castle said. "Will we have in-person meetings or will telecommuting become the norm?  Instead of a 20-hour plane ride to Tokyo we will see planes that "skip" in and out of the atmosphere."

The six-term Congressman also observed, "Gone are the days of being locked into one career for the next 43 years.  Remember, I am from the old school of thought -- pick a career until they throw you out of it. But the jobs you will have in your lifetime will be based on who is hiring and who is not.  And of course that might not be in the United States or even Europe, it could be anywhere in the world." 

A two-term Delaware governor, Castle told graduates your "43 years from now are going to be vastly different than my 43 years from then. But you and I, and all of the Hamilton graduates who have come before us and will come after us, have a constant common denominator, which is the greatest preparation possible for whatever unfolds," he said.  "The education you receive at Hamilton is far different, far better and longer lasting than that of students at other schools.  It prepares you for your career but it also prepares you for life."

Castle noted that another hallmark of a Hamilton education is communication -- "whether pre-med, pre-law, pre-ministry or pre-anything, we are taught how to communicate effectively, efficiently and persuasively to a variety of audiences -- peers, teachers and the community at large.  Communication is the root of the work all of you will do, no matter your profession," he said. 

Others speakers included class valedictorian James Baker, Weedsport, N.Y., and Mary Beatrice Dias, salutatorian and winner of the James M. Soper Merrill Prize, given to the student who best typifies the ideals of the college. Honorary degrees were awarded to Hamilton College graduate and trustee Kevin Kennedy '70; Margaret Miles, Emerita Professor of Historical Theology, The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, Calif.; Hamilton graduate and Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Nelson '72; and Joseph Wilder, jazz trumpeter.    

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