Texas A&M Has Had a Profound Impact Upon My Career, My Life and My Values, and That Is

Texas A&M has had a profound impact upon my career, my life and my values, and that is why I consider it a deep privilege to join with you, my fellow Aggies, and your families and friends today.

When Lincoln drafted his Gettysburg address, he wrote, “The world will little note nor long remember what we said here…Actually, I think he must have been thinking about college commencement speeches…

Of all the best-selling books I have read since my own commencement here, I cannot recall one of them being titled,

How My Commencement Speaker Changed My Life. 2

What I do hope is that for a few moments today or in the days ahead you will reflect on what your experiences here at A&M have meant to you and to your future.

As individuals, each of us experiences A&M in different way, yet there truly is a common bond among us…“ a spirit that can n’er be told”.

We Aggies come from different backgrounds, interests, races, religions and countries. We are architects, engineers, doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs and much more.

Yet, there is a special kinship among all of us who proudly wear the Aggie ring. While it is “a spirit that can n’er be told,” I find that spirit felt most 3 deeply in our revered traditions of Silver Taps,

Muster and the 12th Man.

To me the common thread of these three meaningful traditions is the understanding that we are not in this world alone, that life isn’t so much about our own self but rather about us together.

Three centuries ago John Dunne wrote the now famous words, “No man is an island unto himself….

Think how the world has changed since 16____, but the enduring truth of Dunne’s values live on. _____ years later we, in a way express those values in Silver

Taps, Muster and the 12th Man. 4

At Silver Taps and Muster, we say in a real sense every person, every life is special. As the symbolic

12th Man, we are part of a team greater than ourselves. We recognize that, together, we can make a difference.

It took me a several years to realize that the spirit of the 12th Man isn’t just about A&M football, it is about life itself. It is about our being willing, as

Aggies, to work together to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

Of all the lessons I learned at A&M, the one that stands out above all others to me is that each of us has a responsibility to make a positive difference in 5 this world. To me, that is what the A&M spirit is all about.

Making a difference is what leadership is all about. True leadership isn’t about power, titles or fame—it is about exercising the vision, integrity and tenacity, the building blocks of leadership, to make a positive difference.

As I look back on my years at A&M, I realize that the ideal of leadership and making a difference wasn’t just expressed in our traditions, it was personified by faculty, staff and students here.

The Aggie spirit was personified by Members of the Corps of Cadets who were willing one day to defend our nation. It was Earl Rudder, who led his 6

Rangers up Point du Hoc at Omaha Beach on D-Day.

It was J. Wayne Stark, a lawyer, who gave up a promise of a legal career and monetary wealth to teach generations of MSC’ers about the values of leadership and service. It was Congressman Olin E.

Teague, Class of ’32 who fought for his country in combat against Hitler’s forces and served his country and beloved alma mater, Texas A&M in Congress for three decades.

There’s another person I met here at A&M when

I was a student. Few here today would know the name of Dr. John Paul Abbott, but I will never forget him. Dr. Abbott was my freshman English professor, and he changed my life. 7

By immersing me in the timeless values and questions of great books—from Don Quixote to

Dante’s Inferno, from the Iliad to the Odyssey, Dr.

Abbott challenged me to think—about my life and my values and about the world around me. He gave me an appreciation for how literature, history and the arts can add a richness to our lives that cannot be measured by modern day monetary standards.

What took me many years to truly understand was that the most important lesson Dr. Abbott taught me came not from his beloved great books, from from his life. You see, Dr. Abbott, Phd, who taught

English at A&M for____ years, probably never made over $35,000 or $40,000 a year in his life, but 8 in my book, his life was an unqualified success.

Why? Because he dedicated his life to making a difference for others—by challenging his students to think, to question and to savor life itself and the world around us. What a gift he gave me and generations of Aggies, a gift I hope to pass on to my two young sons, thus keeping alive the spirit of my

English professor from 34 years ago.

So, this is the value that I learned at Texas

A&M, that I would want to share with you today.

Choose to make a difference in the lives of others, whether it is your family, your community, our state or nation. 9

How you do that—as a teacher, a lawyer, an architect, as an entrepreneur or public servant, good neighbor or loving parent—that must be your choice, not mine or anyone else’s.

There is much I don’t know in this complex world of ours and studying philosophy, history and literature at A&M taught me, above all, intellectual humility. Yet, there is one thing I feel as certain about as my faith and my life will allow me—your life will be more fulfilling if you live it committed to making a difference for others.

Winston Churchill’s words during the dark hours of World War II ring true to us today. In his wisdom, 10 he reminded us that “we making a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

As you face so much that lies ahead in your life, perhaps it is difficult to even contemplate the end of your life. But, perhaps it wouldn’t be such a bad idea, as you begin your careers or families, to think about what you, in your last moments here on earth, would want others to say about the life you led.

I can’t help but think it would be sad to think one’s life was like a footprint in the sand at the edge of the beach—washed away with the next wave, as if it has never been there—having never made a difference. 11

Steven Covey, in his book, The Seven Habits of

Effective Families, makes the point that you would never get on a commercial airplane unless you believed the pilot had a planned destination and flight plan. If we wouldn’t even get on a commercial plane without a destination and flight plan in mind, does it make sense we would go through life without an ultimate goal and plan to get there?

When students come to Washington, D.C. and visit the memorials and monuments dedicated to our nation’s historic leaders—Washington, Jefferson and

Lincoln—it is appropriate to be inspired by their historic leadership. Yet, I hope they never return 12 home with the mistaken impression that history is molded by only the famous few.

In the hallowed grounds of Arlington Cemetery, at the foot of the gravesite of Robert F. Kennedy, the words he spoke in South Africa in 1966, during the height of racial apartheid there, speak of this.

“Human history is shaped by numberless diverse acts of courage. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or strikes out against injustice or acts to improve the lot of others, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. And, crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples can build a mighty current that can knock down the greatest walls of oppression and resistance.” 13

You, too, can be ripples of hope in this world, whether it is for a needy child or your family and friends, for your neighborhood, or for your community, state and nation.

When Rosa Parks, an African-American woman with no wealth or title living in the segregated

Alabama of the 1950’s exercised one small act of courage by refusing to move to the back of a bus, she ignited the Civil Rights movement of the 50’s and

60’s. The world is better today for that one simple act of courage.

Whatever your dreams and goals, in whatever way you choose to make a difference, I have 14 observed that tenacity is the common trait of true leaders.

Former President Bush could have given up politics after losing his U.S. Senate election in 1970, but he persevered, was elected President and played an historic leadership role in bringing down the former Soviet Union. President George W. Bush lost his first race for Congress in 1978. He could have given up but didn’t and, and now he is only the 16th president in our history to have been re-elected for a second term. Helen Keller could have given up due to her inability to speak, hear or talk, but she persevered to inspire the world. 15

There’s another true story about a man who

______.. In 1860 Abraham

Lincoln was elected president and preserved the

United States as one nation.

I would never be presumptuous enough to believe any speech of mine would change your life, but in the years ahead if you will think about and live out the true meaning of the Aggie Spirit, if you will exercise your own vision, integrity and tenacity to make a positive difference for others, yours will be a life of purpose and the world will be a better place.

Somehow I have to believe that Dr. John Paul

Abbott understood that, in a greater sense, being the 16

12th Man isn’t just about Aggie football, it is about the deepest meaning of life itself.

In a few moments, you will become ambassadors of the Aggie Spirit in a world that cries out for a new generation of leadership. I congratulate each of you, and may God bless you in all your endeavors in the years ahead. Gig ‘am Ags. 17

When I was a freshman at A&M, I found a poem, entitled A Small Moment. , posted on a wall at a student conference. I have carried this poem with me throughout life, because it

When Lincoln drafted his Gettysburg address, he wrote, “The world will little note nor long remember what we said here…Actually, I think he must have been thinking about college commencement speeches…

I will never forget Dr. John Paul Abbott, my first

English professor at A&M. He changed my life.

By immersing me in the timeless values and questions of great books—from Don Quixote to

Dante’s Inferno, from the Iliad and the Odyssey to

Plato’s Republic, Dr. Abbott challenged me to think

—about my life and values and about the world around me. He gave me an appreciation for how literature, history and the arts can add a richness to 19 our lives that cannot be measured by modern day monetary standards.

In the busyness of my post graduate career, I never thanked Dr. Abbott, so I do it now, recognizing that I should have done so years ago but hoping that somehow in his learned wisdom, he understood that he had made a profound difference in a young

Aggie’s life.

What took me many years to truly understand was that the most important lesson Dr. John Paul

Abbott taught me came from his life, not from his beloved great books. You see, Dr. Abbott, Phd, who taught English at A&M for____ years, probably never made over $40,000 a year in his life, but in my 20 book, his life was an unqualified success. Why?

Because he dedicated his life to making a difference for others—by challenging us to think, to question and to savor life itself and the world around us. What a gift he gave me and so many other Aggies, a gift I hope to pass on to my two young sons, and, thus, in a real sense, keeping alive the spirit of my freshman

English professor from 34 years ago.

So, this is the message I share with you today as a fellow Liberal Arts graduate of Texas A&M.

Choose to make a difference in the lives of others. To me, that is what leadership and life are all about. How you do that—as a teacher, a lawyer, an entrepreneur or as a public servant, good neighbor or 21 loving parent—that must be your choice, not mine or anyone else’s.

There is much I don’t know in this complex world of ours and studying philosophy at A&M taught me, above all, intellectual humility, but, outside of my faith,