Even a cloudy day with a slight drizzle could not dampen the spirits of the graduating Class of 2007 Sunday.
The sun broke through the clouds as President Richard Brodhead conferred more than 4,000 degrees during the 155th annual commencement ceremony, held at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Commencement speaker Richard Wagoner, Trinity '75 and chairman and chief executive officer of General Motors Corporation, urged graduates to embrace all future opportunities.
"The most important piece of advice that I can give you from my own experience is simply this: Don't overplan your life," Wagoner said. "While planning for your future is great, the fact is, things change and opportunities will arise for you that I suspect you, today, can't even imagine. Do your best at whatever you're doing, but be open to opportunities as they come up."
He also congratulated all the mothers and grandmothers present on receiving the "gift" of having a daughter or son graduating from Duke on Mother's Day.
Wagoner said that after graduating, he only knew that he was going to attend business school in the fall and that he wanted to be close to home. After receiving his master's degree in business administration in 1977 from Harvard University, Wagoner went on to work for GM in its New York office.
"That was exotic enough for me," Wagoner said of his decision to go to New York City.
In the following years, however, Wagoner's career took him to Brazil, Canada and Switzerland.
"It turned out to be a great chance to grow as a business executive and-more importantly-as a person and as a family. It was undoubtedly the best business and personal 'learning experience' that I could have asked for," Wagoner said. "So my advice is to be flexible, be open to everything the world has to offer, be global. You'll be amazed at what you can learn, and how you can contribute."
Wagoner also encouraged students to use their capabilities to the fullest extent and to not give up in the face of adversity.
"In my experience there are actually lots of really smart people out there. What distinguishes those who are truly leaders is passion and enthusiasm," he said. "So my advice is simple-go at life every day with passion and enthusiasm and when challenges arrive, simply do not give up."
In conclusion, Wagoner, reminding graduates that they cannot have it all, urged them to create priority lists as they proceed in life and encouraged them to keep "giving back" to the community high on the list.
"You have a tremendous opportunity to use your intellect and passion and creativity, not only to build great careers and personal lives for yourselves, but also to make a real difference in our society," said Wagoner, co-chair of the Financial Aid Initiative and a member of the Board of Trustees and the Fuqua School of Business Board of Visitors.
Graduate Rebecca Fairchild said the speech was both helpful and funny.
"I really liked all the speeches," she said. "It was funny, easy to understand and relate."
Speaking before Wagoner took the podium, student speaker David Schmidt shared the lessons he learned from being a Blue Devil mascot his senior year with his fellow classmates.
The first lesson he said he learned was, "Not every game is played at home."
Schmidt recollected having "vile and demeaning comments" directed at him during away games.
"I could have returned their jeers in kind, but that wouldn't have left time to root for Duke. So I didn't worry about them because who cares-adversity is the spice of life," he said.
No matter what the score is and what comments have been directed his way, the Blue Devil always smiles, he explained.
"This isn't because everything goes his way; if any group of students can appreciate how much hasn't gone Duke's way recently-it's us," Schmidt said. "He smiles because the costume makers know that if the mouth closes, I suffocate."
The always-smiling mascot taught Schmidt to celebrate, but always keep it in perspective. Relating to "the truly sad things" occurring at Duke and around the world, Schmidt reminded graduates that life is serious.
"What does matter is that we are mindful of those less fortunate than us, those for whom life is an uphill climb and fellow students who have had to deal with more than just losing a game," he said. "I'm not saying that I no longer take sides when we play [the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill], but that I try to think twice before considering a bad game cause for 'a bad day.'"
As the mascot, Schmidt had to converse with the crowd through his actions, as the Blue Devil never talks. This taught him the third lesson: "Be bold. Take action."
"Even with everything that I couldn't say, there was still a lot that I could do," Schmidt said. "What will be important for us is what we do with our lives."
The fourth and final lesson he said he learned as a mascot was that, "It's time to make something of myself."
"Duke has helped us all immeasurably along the way. In a couple of hours, I'll have a Duke degree. That degree will open doors and unlock first-floor windows for the rest of my life," Schmidt said. "Duke is the sum of its parts, and we have all played different roles as ambassadors of our university.... As a prominent symbol of all that Duke is and does, I was able to benefit enormously from your noble efforts."
The Derwood, Md., native, who transferred to Duke his sophomore year from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, also urged his fellow graduates to remember each other and thank those who have helped them along the way.
Some graduates said Schmidt's speech was both hilarious and relevant to their lives.
"Dave did a great job, it was hysterical," graduate Laura Peterson said. "It was entertaining and connected really well with our class and our Duke experiences."
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