Rocky Mount Telgram: Wesleyan Graduates Told To Do Their Best

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Wesleyan Graduates Told To Do Their Best

Rocky Mount Telgram

www.rockymounttelegram.com

John Henderson

A U.S. senator and the son of a renowned civil rights leader encouraged N.C. Wesleyan College graduates to remain determined in the face of adversity as they move on after graduation.

Speaking to a packed audience in Minges Auditorium at the college's graduation ceremony Saturday morning, U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and Martin Luther King III encouraged students to be risk-takers and make a difference in the world.

"Number one, decide to be something, because we only regret what we never do," Hagan told the audience, which included 180 seniors receiving diplomas. "Number two, don't be afraid to fail. It's the only way innovation can occur. And if you fall, get up. If you get it wrong the first time, do it over again. Never stop trying, reaching for the next step."

She told the students to "never stop taking risks," and to keep in mind a quote from poet T.S. Eliot: "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."

Hagan told the graduates that statistics show that college graduates earn twice as much as high school graduates.

"Your diploma means that you will leave this building today with a better chance of employers answering your knock at the door," she said. However, Hagan said, it would be disingenuous for her to say there will not be challenges facing graduates in this economy.

"For those of you who have sent out job applications, I know you understand the magnitude of the situation we are facing," she said. "For some of us, it may take longer than anticipated to find that job you wanted."

Hagan said America is at a crossroads, with a weakened economy, rising energy costs and diminishing natural resources. In this climate, graduates can step up to the plate and shine.

"The reality of our time is unsettling, but as we challenge ourselves to take risks and to innovate, it will also be a time of great opportunity," she said.
Hagan said nowhere is that opportunity greater than in renewable energy.

In the near future many people will be driving battery-operated cars, living in houses powered by windmills and coated by paint that acts as a solar panel, Hagan said.
She said the opportunity is ripe for graduates to move into careers in green energy.

"You (can) follow a long history of North Carolinians who weren't afraid to take a chance, who weren't afraid to fail in the spirit of innovation," she said.

Hagan told the graduates they will encounter setbacks that graduates only a few years ago did not have to consider.

"But this is not the time for self-pity," she said.

Hagan urged the graduates to take heed of a quote from the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

King's first son also spoke to the graduates.

King III, the 20th century civil rights leader's eldest son and founder of Realizing the Dream, received an honorary degree from the college.

King III said he recalled his father talking about how people should do the best job they can - in any endeavor.

"He said, "You must do those jobs so well that neither the living, the dead or the unborn could do those jobs better,'" he said. "He went on to say that even in life if it's your lot to be a street sweeper, go on and sweep streets like Michelangelo carved marble."

He said everyone has the capacity to excel at something.

"It may be a graduate of this institution that comes up
with a cure for cancer," King said. "It may be a graduate of this institution that comes up with a cure for sickle cell (anemia). It may be a graduate of this institution that helps revive our economy. We just don't know what God is planning for you."

The graduates included a wide mix of people on different career tracks, including some who were pursuing second careers.

Annie Ruth Chadwick, 56, of Kinston was among them. She received her degree in psychology and religious studies after retiring from a job with Caswell Developmental Center in Kinston.

"I'll probably go into teaching or some form of counseling. I plan on attending grad school," she said.

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