'You are powerful,' Bertini tells graduates

Addressing a crowd of nearly 4,000 graduates and their proud families and friends, university President Patrick Harker and commencement speaker Catherine Bertini challenged the class of 2010 to begin their lives with boldness and compassion, keeping in mind the principles and lessons they have learned over their years at the university.

Harker, whose address began with a reflection on his past three years as university president, said the university is one of innovation and talent, featuring distinguished faculty and ambitious students.

"And talent wants to go where talent already is," Harker said during the hour-and-a-half long ceremony on Saturday morning. "Apparently, that's Newark, Delaware."

In a shout-out to the parents filling Delaware Stadium, Harker said the university's affordability sets it apart, and students will find that their educations literally will pay off — something parents may find valuable.

"Whether they give any of it back to you, well, that I can't say," he said.

Harker highlighted select members of the graduating class in his address and outlined their accomplishments. Featured students included Zach Schoepflin, a mechanical engineering major who will be attending medical school in a combined M.D. and Ph.D. program for biomedical engineering, and Lindsay McCormack, who overcame a paralyzing spinal cord injury to both earn her nursing degree and walk once again.

Harker cited the social, political and economic changes of the last four years, and said the time is right for graduates to take chances.

"People with less to lose are more willing to risk," he said. "Most of you are young and free. So decide you've got nothing to lose. What would you dare to do then?"

Quoting a popular Christmas movie, Harker challenged the graduates to defy conventional wisdom and blaze their own trails.

"In the spirit of ‘A Christmas Story,' I'll issue what Ralphie called the coup de grace of dares: I'll triple-dog dare you," he said.

Commencement speaker Bertini, the former chief executive of the United Nations World Food Programme, also emphasized the potential of the class of 2010. Bertini said her own professional successes are the result of a need to affect change and contribute to the global community, and this desire was first established when she was 17 years old.

"I only knew that I would not stop until I made a positive difference somewhere," Bertini said.

In introducing Bertini, Provost Tom Apple said Bertini's role as commencement speaker is especially fitting because she is a role model for this young generation.

Bertini's work to fight hunger in North Korea, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Kosovo, among other locations, has been lauded at both the national and international level. Her particular passions include empowering and feeding poor women in particular, for women have a pivotal role in community food distribution.

"There's no question every one of you can do that and more, because you are powerful," Bertini said.

The phrase "You are powerful" was a featured mantra of Bertini's address, and she used it to pump up the graduates. Bertini said graduates' contributions as world citizens can and will vary, from building hospitals in Haiti and joining Teach for America to lobbying government representatives and donating money to important causes.

She invoked political theorist Edmund Burke in saying that all that is needed for evil to triumph is for enough good men to do nothing. She asked that the class of 2010 make their own contributions to the world, using their university education as a foundation and stepping stone.

"It has infused you with the power to do good," Bertini said. "You can change the world. We can't wait to see how you do it. You are powerful."