U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Todd Whitman urged Hamilton College graduates to "consider using part of your time to serve others" in her speech at Hamilton's 190th commencement on Sunday, May 26.
Before the ceremony Whitman, former governor of New Jersey, walked up and down the line of graduates, shaking hands and exchanging greetings. Bachelor of arts degrees were awarded to 412 Hamilton graduates at the ceremony, held in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House.
In her speech, Whitman focused on the aftermath of September 11, how it changed the way people treated each other and served as a catalyst for helping others.
Whitman reminded graduates that that day shaped their final year at Hamilton. But, she said, "I'm not here to dwell on September 11. Instead I want you to think about September 12, a sunny warm day with blue skies. September 12 was when our healing began. September 12 was when the response of ordinary citizens moved into high gear. We saw leaders emerge on campuses like Hamilton and in communities across the land. Everybody wanted to help and everybody found a way.
"What happened that day and in the days that followed, was something more: a fundamental change in the way people treated each other," Whitman said. "The spirit of September 12 is compassion…The spirit of that day is action…The spirit of September 12 is generosity. These acts of kindness don't usually make the daily papers or the 10 o'clock news. But that's ok," she said.
She urged graduates to "consider using part of your time to serve others. American needs you because your neighbor needs you." She reminded the audience that "President Bush has urged all Americans to devote at least two years of our lives to serving our communities, the nation or the world. That's a mighty challenge and I hope each of you will look for ways to take it on. You've learned so much, you've developed your talents so well, and yet the most valuable and precious thing you have to contribute is your own time. There's no greater gift than sharing some of that."
Honorary degrees were presented to Stephen Carter, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale Law School; jazz pianist Dick Hyman; Paul Kellogg, general and artistic director of the New York City Opera; Broadway's The Producers librettist Thomas Meehan, a 1951 graduate of Hamilton; and Whitman.
