Printing, Graphics, & Direct Mail Document Scanning Index Form High Speed Scanning Date of Request: 12/01/14 Box 23 of 64 Senator or Department: SENATOR HARKIN Instructions: Prepare one form for insertion at the beginning of each record series. Prepare and insert additional forms at points that you would like to index. For example: at the beginning of a new folder, briefing book, topic, project, or date sequence. Record Type*: Speeches Inclusive Month/Year of 1975-2001 Records*: (1) Subject*: Education Speeches (2) Staffer*: Jim Whitmire I, Maintain (Return to Office) Q Destroy (Shred) *REQUiRED INFORMATION Bastyr University Commencement June 20, 1998 Remarks of U.S. Senator Tom Harkin Thank you Sandi Cutler for that kind introduction. As Mark Twain once said when he was introduced with efTusive praise: "Sir, you will go to heaven for your generosity-- unless you go elsewhere for your exaggeration." It's been said that graduation is one of the 5 great milestones of life--the others being, of course, birth, marriage, death, and the day you finally pay off your student loans. It's a great honor for me to share this milestone with you and to be here at Bastyr. And it's a privilege to be here for to celebrate the 2 0 '' anniversary of Bastyr. I want to salute Drs. Griffith, Mitchell and Pizzorno as well as Ms. Sheila Quinn for having the persistence and vision to make this great institution a reality. President Pizzorno, members of the Board of Trustees, distinguished faculty, honored guests, parents, friends, and--most of all--the graduating class of 1998--first and foremost I want to say: Congratulations. For years, you the students of Bastyr have had to endure hard work from your classes...tough challenges from your professors... and bad Elvis jokes from your friends back home--but you made it. And don't worry the rest of my speech is Elvis-free. You should be proud of your achievement. Bastyr College has turned out some of the best and brightest medical professionals. Today, you enter that great tradition. But now comes the hardest part--sitting through the commencement speech. Now I'm not so vain or presumptuous to think that years from now, you'll look back on this speech as the highlight of your graduation. In fact, try as I might, I couldn't even remember who the commencement speaker was or what he or she said at my graduation. I'm reminded of what an Irish priest once told me that puts my role today in perspective. Father John Ryan was pastor at St. John's Church in my hometown of Cumming just up the way. Like most Irishmen, Father Ryan was wise in the ways of the world. The first time I was ever asked to speak at a graduation, I asked Father Ryan how I should approach it. "Commencement speakers," said Father Ryan, "should think of themselves as the body at an old-fashioned Irish wake. They need you in order to have the party...but they don't expect you to say very much." So be comforted, I know my part is small. We're here to celebrate your accomplishments, not my insights. Besides, any counsel I can give you pales in comparison to the advice, love, encouragement, of your parents, grandparents and friends here today to celebrate with you. As the writer Robert Orben once said, "Considering the cost of tuition, room, board, clothing and books--more than ever before--a student has to be very careful in their selection of parents." Well, you chose well. All of us have leaned on and learned much from our parents, our families, our loved ones here. Heck, even our professors. Please give them all a round of applause. This is their achievement, too. I wondered how best to get my message across today. So I've chosen a method that has stood the test of time. Something that has imparted wisdom to millions of people through the years. Something that has undoubtedly helped all of you get through college. I speak, of course, of David Letterman and his top ten list. I sat down and made a list of ten things that I learned in my life. Let's call them the ten rules to live by. It was actually 15, but Newt Gingrich insisted we cut it back to 10. I hope you find some of these useful: - - - - -- 2 _ Number 10. Don't panic. You're going to find a job. I know some of you here are headed to graduate school. Others have job offers. Others are looking. But whether you have a job right now or not, don't worry. I know this for one reason: because you came to the right school. Your family and Bastyr College have seen to it that you are prepared for the challenges of the 21" century. As many of you know, Bastyr was recently named one of the 100 best college buys in America. And if that doesn't convince you, then consider this. 95 percent of Bastyr College graduates have found career-related employment or have been accepted to graduate school within 6 months of graduation. As you go on in life, I hope you look beyond the big cities. Many towns and small communities in the Midwest are looking for bright young people like you to help them build for the future. They need not only your talent and training, they need your leadership and energy. You can really make a diterence in a small community. And it's a great place to start out and raise a family. Rural towns have solid values, strong communities, friendly people, safe streets, and are just plain fun. Regardless of where you settle, you are all future leaders. But to get there, you've got to follow rule number nine. Number 9. Believe in yourself. You have to believe there is nothing--absolutely nothing--that you cannot accomplish by hard work and commitment. Let nothing or no one ever destroy that belief you have in 3 yourself It is your strongest asset. Growing up in Cumming, Iowa--population 151--I wondered if I'd ever go to college. My parents brought up six kids in a 2-bedroom home. My dad was a coalminer with an 8*i grade education. My mother was an immigrant who never went to school. We didn't have any money. But my mother and father believed in me--as your parents believed in you--and taught me if you work hard, study, and are responsible--you can accomplish anything in life. My parents were right. So were yours. You can accomplish anything. And you've got the robes and the funny hats to prove it. As you continue to accomplish, the key is to love what you do. Whatever it is that the best people are doing--nursing, farming, teaching, preaching--they don't do it for the money. All the happy people I know love their jobs for the excitement, the challenge, the fun, and the satisfaction of doing something they do well. And the fact is, if you choose a job you love--you'll never have to work a day in your life. Number 8. Don't let the virtual world take the place of the real one. The information superhighway is opening up new avenues of opportunity every day. Our world is changing faster than Dennis Rodman's hair color. And technology is a wonderful thing--except those times when the computer freezes at 11:30 at night and your paper's due the next morning. Well, you are going to be a part ,of progress that none of us can even dream of today. But remember--what's most important is not a web on the internet, it's what we weave through our actions that make up the fabric of our lives. 4 Call me old fashioned, but it boils down to the basics--the values and faith our grandparents grew up with, and our parents instilled in us. Let that always be your anchor. Number 7. Don't go to New Hampshire. I'm sorry, that's my mistake. That belongs in my top 10 pieces of advice if you run for President. Which actually leads to the real: Number 7. Don't let a few stumbles stop you dead in your tracks. I speak from experience. In 1962, I worked for a Senate campaign and we lost. In 1963, I entered the Navy and became a jet pilot. I tested to be an astronaut, but I never made it into space. Well, unless you exclude being in the Congress of the United States. In 1968, I ran a campaign for governor and we lost. In 1970, I ran a campaign for Congress and we lost. In 1972, i ran for Congress--and despite the help of a lot of good people at Bastyr, I lost. And in 1992, as 1 mentioned, I ran for President. Don't worry if you missed it...Someone once said Harkin wanted to run in the worst way--and he did. So I've stumbled a lot. But the real failure would have been if I had given up. You're going to suffer setbacks--be prepared. You can't let that deter you. The person who never makes mistakes is the person who does nothing. Do something. Take risks. Keep looking ahead. Stick your neck out. Since all of you are pioneers in the medical field, you have already faced more than your share of obstacles.