More than 4,500 caps graced the Durham sky as undergraduate, graduate and professional students received degrees Sunday morning in Wallace Wade Stadium.
President Richard Brodhead, along with commencement speaker John Chambers and student speaker Mike Lefevre, urged graduates to engage life with enthusiasm and courage.
“In a few moments, you will gain a distinguished title that will stay with you your whole life,” Brodhead said at the beginning of the commencement ceremonies. “You will be a graduate of Duke University.”
Chambers, the CEO of Cisco Systems, encouraged students to use their degrees to accomplish their dreams, stressing that courage will be one of their most important tools in the future.
“Do not be afraid to fail,” he told the graduates. “Have the courage to take risks.”
Chambers, who attended the Pratt School of Engineering from 1967-1968, received an honorary degree from the University earlier in the ceremony.
During his speech, Chambers also stressed his belief that there are three “equalizers” in life—education, the Internet and social media. After discussing these equalizers, he gave four pieces of advice to graduates based on his experiences, urging graduates to listen carefully, to learn constantly, to embrace change and to help others.
Chambers called change “the only constant in life” and added that though students often fear change, graduates can use their experiences to handle even the most unexpected circumstances. He referred to his experiences with Cisco during the company’s financial troubles as an example.
“The only constant [in life] is change,” Chambers said. “It’s your ability with education and preparation to handle those changes that makes the difference.”
Graduating senior Mike Lefevre echoed the importance of courage in his address. The former Duke Student Government president was selected to speak by a committee of students, alumni, faculty and administrators.
In his speech, Lefevre emphasized Duke graduates special preparedness in terms of handling potential challenges, adding that students’ unique Duke experience provides this advantage.
“Is there any other student body in the country that cares so much about being together?” Lefevre said in his speech. “We choose to sleep in tents for two months for a game we know we could walk into on game day. We come back early from summer break to carry mini-fridges upstairs for incoming students. We join 17 different listservs so that even when we’re not together, we’re talking.”
As an example of Duke graduates’ unique strength, Lefevre also referred to his recent experience in Russia where he met Arkady Dvorkovich, a leading Russian economic advisor who graduated from Duke in 1997.
“Mr. Dvorkovich showed me that as Duke graduates enter the world, they turn their tradition of sticking together into a commitment to teamwork and empathy,” he said, adding that Dvorkovich transferred his fondness for his peers at Duke into a commitment to helping Russia’s poorest citizens.
In addition to Chambers, six other scholars and public officials were awarded honorary degrees. Among them were former U.S. poet laureate Rita Dove, former North Carolina governor James Hunt and NFL Hall of Fame member Alan Page. Also receiving honorary degrees were Lisa Randall, professor of theoretical physics at Harvard University; Eric Shinseki, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; and Tan Chorh Chuan president of the National University of Singapore.
Graduating senior Aaron Lam, who majored in biomedical engineering and plans to attend medical school in a year, said he has enjoyed his time at the University and looks forward to the future.
“My personal experience at Duke has been very fulfilling,” Lam said. “The University has given me a lot of skills. While I’m nervous [about leaving], the bottom line is that I’m not scared of the future because Duke has prepared me so well.”
Other graduating seniors echoed Lam’s confidence for the future.
“I’m not really that scared about leaving,” said Aaron Dmiszewicki, a member of the Class of 2011. “I’ll be missing my friends, but at the same time I am really excited to graduate and move on to new things.”
And though in previous years the University has dealt with health emergencies during commencement, Duke Police Chief John Dailey said no one had to be transported to the Emergency Department this year.
Correction: The number of graduates has been corrected to 4,500 to reflect September and December graduates also receiving degrees at commencement. The Chronicle regrets the error.
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